Author: Stirling, James
Biography:
STIRLING, James (fl 1822-27)
James Stirling ought to be easy to identify since he published several volumes of verse and can be firmly located in Newcastle-upon-Tyne; but he is not. His first known work is a poem of only eight pages, The Benighted Wanderer (1822); the last, his Minor Poems (1827). There is some repetition of contents among the volumes but for the most part they include the latest occasional compositions of a dilettantish author. They seem not to have attracted reviews. One of the poems in Familiar Epistles (1825) gives an account of a typical day in his life. Apart from one passing reference to “business” it describes a gentleman of leisure who gets up late and spends most of his time either with books or with friends. There are a few references to children but no sign that they are his own. He more than once indicates that his aim in publishing is to leave a memento for his friends. Public records are unrewarding. (ancestry.com 5 Dec. 2024; findmypast.com 5 Dec. 2024)