Author: Kellet, Alexander
Biography:
KELLET, Alexander (d 1788: findmypast.com)
No certain information about him has come to light antedating the publication of his odd miscellany in Bath in 1778 (reissued under a different title in 1783 in London), but since he identifies himself as "Esq." rather than by a degree, it seems likely that he did not attend university. The Monthly Review described the poetical part of it as "second-rate." At least one of his tall tales about the American Indians was widely circulated and is repeated in the GM obituary. Someone who knew him described him as "a man of abilities" fond of humbugging the public, and bears witness to his having "gravely" retailed this particular anecdote at a coffee-house (Morning Advertiser). It is possible that he was the Alexander Kellet, son of Mary and Alexander Kellet, born in London in 1713, who was appointed Provost Marshall to the US state of Georgia in 1754. That would support his insider knowledge of native American tribes. He died in lodgings in Bath and was buried at St. Swithin, Walcot, on 21 Jun. 1788. (findmypast.com 2 Apr. 2021, 28 Oct. 2025; Monthly Review 60 [1779] 317; Morning Advertiser 14 Sept. 1832; GM 58:6 [June 1788], 562; Leeds Intelligencer 20 Aug. 1754) HJ