Author: WHITE, James
Biography:
WHITE, James (1759-99: ODNB)
A “learned, ingenious, and unhappy Gentleman” (Staffordshire Advertiser), White graduated BA in 1780 from Trinity College Dublin, his father being identified in the register as Daniel White, a merchant. No birth record has been found and his parentage is obscure, but it is presumed that he was Irish by birth and a Protestant by religion. He settled in England and tried to make his living as a writer. He remained unmarried. Though he failed to secure a patron or regular employer, his works in various genres were fairly well received, from translations of Cicero (1787) and Mirabeau (1792) to three potboiling historical novels (Earl Strongbow 1789, The Adventures of John of Gaunt 1790, and The Adventures of Richard Coeur-de-Lion 1791), the poem Conway Castle listed here, and a pamphlet against the slave trade (1788). His last work may have been Letters to Lord Camden, on the state of Ireland: there are references to it in the obituaries but no copy appears to be extant. The last years of his life were shadowed by madness and penury. A noted eccentric, he wandered in Bath in 1797-8, unable to pay for lodging and often going without food. He was also known in Chester, where he contributed anecdotes to the Chester Chronicle in the winter before he died. He evidently suffered from delusions, believing that a certain young woman was attracted to him and that his career had been sabotaged by conspirators. When parish authorities were called in, he refused aid but used a subscription that was raised on his behalf to withdraw to the Carpenter’s Arms at Wick, Gloucestershire, where he was found dead about the beginning of Apr. 1799. No record of his burial has been found. Reports dated from Bath 6 Apr. 1799 announce his death “last week.” (ODNB 19 May 2024; findmypast.com 19 May 2024; Staffordshire Advertiser 13 Apr. 1799; Chester Chronicle 19 Apr. 1799) HJ