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Author: Taprell, Richard

Biography:

TAPRELL, Richard (1754-1816: ancestry.co.uk)

He was baptised on 24 Feb. 1754 at Salem Independent, Newton Abbot, Devon, the son of Richard Taprell and his wife Mary Stowe[s], who had married at Holy Trinity, Exeter, on 3 Oct. 1746. He probably went to a dissenting academy and seems to have been at the Western Academy, Taunton, in the 1780s, possibly as a tutor. He married Margaret Chandler (formerly Lucas), widow, on 18 Jul. 1785 at Millborne Port, Somerset, where he was minister. In his will he described her as “handsomely provided for in her own right” and left most of his own assets to his brothers and friends. He moved to South Molton and was then briefly minister at Beaminster 1794-6 before returning to South Molton. He was minister at Barnstaple 1799-1804 and from there went to Braunton. He died on 15 Oct. 1816 at Appledore, near Bideford, Devon, and was buried on 20 Oct. at Northam. He was better known in his lifetime for his theological works, the best known of which was Lectures on the Lord’s Prayer (Taunton 1792). He also wrote religious conduct works: Serious Advice to Young People with Suitable Prayers (South Molton 1789) and Meditations for Pregnant Women (1789), the last of which was announced as published, reviewed without quotation, and  given in variant title by Polwhele, Rivers, Watkins, and later sources. No copy has ever been located which raises the question whether it was in fact published. (ancestry.co.uk 31 Jan. 2022; findmypast.co.uk 31 Jan. 2022; Richard Polwhele, The Language, Literature, and Literary Characters of Cornwall [1806], 191; Rivers 2: 293-4; Watkins 338; J. R. Chanter, Sketches of the Literary History of Barnstaple [1866], 40-42; GM Nov. 1816, 468; Reading Mercury 1 Aug. 1785; Bristol Mirror 13 June 1818) AA

 

Books written (1):

Barnstaple: [no publisher: printed and sold by W. Syle], 1806