Author: Jephson, Robert
Biography:
JEPHSON, Robert (1737-1803: DIB)
He was the son of John Jephson, archdeacon of Cloyne, and his wife Elizabeth Crosse. He studied at the Rev. Roger Ford’s school in Molesworth Street, Dublin, and with a relative, the Rev. William Reader, archdeacon of Cork, before entering Trinity College Dublin in 1751. He did not take a degree but instead left the university to join the army, becoming captain of the 73rd Regiment of Foot. He served at the battle of Belleisle in 1761 and then retired, going first to Ireland and then to London where, through his friends Sir Edward Barry and William Gerard Hamilton, he quickly became a member of a circle of eminent politicians and writers. In 1766 he married Barry’s daughter, Jane, and was appointed Master of the Horse to the Lord Lieutenant for Ireland, George Townsend. They moved to Ireland and settled in Blackrock, County Dublin. His satires on Gorges Edmond Howard (q.v.) and George Faulkner, bookseller and editor of Jonathan Swift's works, appeared in 1771-72 and went to many editions. Jephson contributed satirical pieces to Dublin periodicals, and some were published in Essays from The Bachelor (1773). His loyalty to Townsend led to an annual pension—helping to resolve earlier financial difficulties—and the seat for Johnstown, County Longford, in the Irish parliament. He later represented Old Leighlin, County Carlow, and Granard, County Longford; his speeches were considered witty but lacking in substance. With Braganza (1775), he began developing a career as a dramatist whose plays were popular in both Dublin and London; among others, Horace Walpole was a great admirer. In Dublin he and his wife also acted in amateur theatricals. His prose satire, Confessions of James Baptiste Couteau, was published in 1794. His wife died in 1797 and he suffered increasingly poor health before his death at his Blackrock home. He and Jane had no children and his estate passed to his nephew, the Rev. John Jephson. (DIB 13 Apr. 2021; ODNB 13 Apr. 2021)