Author: Fielding, William
Biography:
FIELDING, William (1748-1820: findmypast.com)
The attribution of the Heroick Epistle of Hamet the Moor to one or the other of the two sons of Henry Fielding (1707-54) was made by HL and must be treated with suspicion (neither man is associated with any other literary composition) but there are no other candidates. William was the elder of the brothers, born at Twickenham to Fielding's second wife Mary Daniel (married 26 Nov. 1747) and baptised on 25 Feb. 1748. Like his father he became a lawyer, destined for the bar; but he was plagued by ill health and probably made less of a mark in his profession than he might have done otherwise. For the last twelve years of his life he served as Senior Magistrate of the police court in Queen Square, Westminster, London, despite suffering a stroke that left him partially paralysed; he was known to be a "strenuous advocate of the poor and unfortunate" (English Chronicle). The cause of death was said to be "dropsy." He was cared for by his wife but neither her name nor the date of their marriage can be reliably reported. He died on 1 Oct. 1820 and was buried on 9 Oct. at St. Margaret, Westminster. (findmypast.com 27 Jul. 2021; ancestry.com 27 Jul. 2021; "Fielding, Henry," ODNB 27 Jul. 2021; GM Oct. 1820, 373-4; English Chronicle and Whitehall Evening Post 5 Oct. 1820) HJ