Author: Rhodes, William Barnes
Biography:
RHODES, William Barnes (1772-1826: ODNB)
pseudonym Cornelius Crambo
The son of Richard Rhodes and his wife Mercy Hackshaw, he was born in Leeds on 25 Dec. 1772 and baptised on 15 Jan. 1773. ODNB states that he began his working life as a clerk in an attorney’s office but records show that he was apprenticed in London on 3 July 1786 to Richard Chappiell, a hairdresser. He later went to work for the Bank of England and became Chief Teller in 1823. His burlesque, Bombastes Furioso, was very popular and he amassed a large collection of dramatic literature including some very rare items. Sothebys began selling his library on 18 Mar. 1825, just before his marriage to Emma Millington at St. Pancras on 24 Mar. 1825. He died on 1 Nov. 1826 at home on Bedford St., London; his daughter, Emma Barnes Rhodes, was born days later on 17 Nov. 1826. (ODNB 12 Sept. 2021; ancestry.co.uk 12 Sept. 2021)
Other Names:
- W. B. Rhodes