Author: Kendall, William
Biography:
KENDALL, William (1767-1832: findmypast.com)
The contents and presentation of his two collections of poems display his skills as a classically educated, well-to-do gentleman of Exeter. He uses Latin and Italian freely--in the second, longer volume there is a section devoted to imitations of Catullus along with the Latin originals--and alludes to respectable pastimes such as concerts and chess. Mostly he treats of the joys and woes of young love, celebrating Laura, Delia, Julia, and Maria while lamenting the passing of his own youth. He was one of the four children of Edward Kendall (d 1796), a sculptor and architect, and his wife Mary Rennell (or Rennel). Educated at the local grammar school, he qualified as a lawyer but was more attracted to literature. He published a translation from Italian of The Science of Legislation (1792) and was a generous supporter of the arts, especially of the Devon and Exeter Institution, which opened in 1813 and to which he made gifts of books and paintings. He never married. His younger brother John died in 1829 and his mother in 1831. He was found drowned in shallow water in the River Bovey, in what was ruled an accidental death, and was buried at St. Lawrence, Exeter, on 31 Mar. 1832. (findmypast.com 6 Apr. 2021; Watkins; "Biographies of Exonians no. 24," Exeter Flying Post 31 May 1849; "Kendall, John," ODNB 29 Jul. 2021; contributions by AA)