Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 11.djvu/443

 10 s. XL MAY s,

NOTES AND QUERIES.

363

death correctly ; Europ. Mag., 1820, p. 467, dates the death " April 3 " ; Jeremy dates the death " 3 March, 1827."

George Brown (or Browne) Francis Potti- cary, nephew of the above, was the eldest son of Nathaniel Potticary of St. Luke's, London, gentleman. He matriculated at Magdalen Hall, now Hertford College, Oxford, on 19 May, 1819, being then aged 23 (Foster, ' Al. Ox.'). The date, if any, at which he became connected with his uncle's school does not appear ; Aspland does not mention him ; but it is just possible that he acted as usher in the period 1813-17, or some part of it, and may thus have claimed a share in the tuition of young D'Israeli. He graduated B.A. on 9 Dec., 1824 ; M.A. on 24 Nov., 1825. In 1850 he became Rector of Girton, Cambridge, and held the living till 1883 (information from the Rev. H. Jordan Cheeseman). He died on 25 March, 1891, at 25 Westbourne Terrace, London (Guardian, 1 April, 1891). His age is not given, but could not have been less than 94.

V.H.I.L.I.C.I.V.

DR. JOHNSON'S ANCESTORS AND

CONNEXIONS. (See 10 S. viii. 281, 382, 462 ; ix. 43, 144,

302, 423 ; x. 44, 203, 343, 465 ; xi. 103,

223.)

The Rev. Samuel Lea and Newport School. In my book (pp. 247-8) I gave some particulars of the Rev. Samuel Lea, to whom Michael Johnson is said to have made unsuccessful application that his son Samuel should be admitted, " as a scholar and assistant," to Newport Grammar School. From the late H. S. Grazebrook's notes on the pedigree of ' Lea of Clayton,' recorded at the Visitation of Staffordshire in 1664, (Wm. Salt Arch. Soc., 'Staffordshire Col- lections,' vol. v. pt. 2, p. 200), it appears that he was the younger son of Thomas Lea* of Clayton, who married Hannah Butters of Burslem, on 14 May, 1681, and died 3 May, 1729. The elder son, Clayton Lea, died 24 March, 1735/6. The will of Clayton Lea, of Clayton, Staffs, gent., was, I find, dated 19 March, 1735/6, and proved at Lichfield 6 May, 1736. He asks to be buried in Stoke

His father Clayton Lea, of Clayton, aged 36 on the same date, who married Elizabeth, dau. of John Cradock, on 4 Dec., 1647, and died 5 June, 1669, was son of Thomas Lea, of Nantwich, Cheshire, by Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas Clayton, of Nantwich.
 * Thomas Lea was aged 6 on 27 April, 1664.

churchyard, near the chancel door, in the- grave where lie the bodies of his wife, hi& grandfather Butters, and his father Lea. He mentions a mortgage of 750Z. due to " Brother Samuel at Newport." That he was really one of a large family is clear : he mentions his brother John's widow and her two daughters ; his brother Joseph and his three children ; his brother Thomas and his wife ; his brother Jonathan and his children, Hannah, Thomas, and Elizabeth ; his nephew Charles Lea, to whom he leaves his house in Cross Pavement Head at Nant- wich ; and his godson Clayton Lea.* He also mentions his sister Smith and " all her children " ; and his sister-in-law Deborah Midlefell, whom he appoints executrix. He leaves a shilling apiece to his brother Samuel's children.

Michael Johnson's application must have been made in 1725 or 1726. Now, as I showed, the inscription in Newport Church described Lea, at his death on 4 Jan., 1773, aged 84, as having been 47 years master of the school ; while The Gentleman's Magazine put his mastership at only 45 years. Either figure left room for doubt as to whether Lea really was master at the time of Michael Johnson's application. For the settling of this point I applied to Mr. John Eagleton, Clerk of the Haberdashers' Company, who kindly devoted a whole morning to searching for information concerning Lea among the- records of the Company, who are the patrons of the school. He discovered that the Rev. Samuel Lea was appointed head master of Newport Grammar School, by the Court of the Company, on 26 May, 1725, a date which left me full power to believe the tale told to Boswell by Bishop Percy.

Samuel Lea does not appear to have matriculated at Oxford. Mr. R. F. Scott tells me that there was a man of the name who took his B.A. degree at Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1709, and his M.A. in 1725. The dates are very suitable, so that there can be small doubt the Newport school- master was from Jesus College.

In the course of his search Mr. Eagleton discovered a bundle of some eighteen letters written by Lea to the Clerk of the Company. Most of them deal with the question of repairs to Newport School ; but of two I which are of some personal interest Mr. Eagleton kindly allowed me to obtaim


 * It appears likely from one clause of the will

that Clayton Lea was the son of his dead brother

John ; but in another he alludes to his godson,.

the son of his brother Jonathan, so that the-

i point is not quite clear.