Josiah Beckwith (born 1734) was an English antiquary.
Life
Beckwith was born at Rothwell, near Leeds, on 24 August 1734, where his father, Thomas Beckwith, practised as on attorney. He was himself brought up to the same profession, and settled at
Masbrough
Masbrough is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was named as the west of Rotherham by the middle of the Industrial Revolution, namely that part on the left bank of Don. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is i ...
, near
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
. He married in August 1763 the eldest daughter and only surviving child of
George D'Oxon, of
Woodhead, in Cheshire, by whom he had two sons and four daughters, his wife's death taking place in 1788 at the age of 49. He seems to have been possessed of considerable natural powers, which, together with a large share of acquired knowledge, rendered him eminently fitted for antiquarian pursuits, for which he had a great taste. His name is known to the world in connection with the enlarged and improved edition of Blount's ''Fragmenta Antiquitatis, or Ancient Tenures of Land and Jocular Customs of some Manors'', which he published in 1784, the first edition of this work having appeared in 1679. Speaking of Beckwith's edition, the ''
Monthly Review
The ''Monthly Review'', established in 1949, is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. The publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States.
History Establishment
Following ...
'' (lxxiii. 459) remarks: "Few persons were better qualified for this business, and Mr. Beckwith has enriched this edition with many valuable improvements.
He has subjoined many notes and observations, which have been communicated by some of the most respectable antiquaries of the present day". He left materials for a still further enlarged edition, which was published after his death by his son, who had an appointment in the
mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAES g ...
.
[Gentlemen's Magazine I786, lvi. 285][Lowndes's Bibliographer's Manual, 1857, i. 221][British Museum Catalogue][Nichol's Literary Anecdotes, 1813, viii. 329–330.]
References
DNB references
These references are found in the DNB article referred to above.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckwith, Josiah
1734 births
Year of death missing
English antiquarians