John Crowder (1756 – 2 December 1830) was an English

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of the

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Farringdon Within Farringdon Within is one of the 25 wards of the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It was formed in the 14th century from the sub-division of the pre-existing Farringdon Ward into ''Farringdon Within'' (inside the line ...

, and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

Biography

Grave of John Crowder in the Lebanon Circle in Highgate Cemetery

John Crowder was born in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

in 1756. He served his

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

to a printer, and at the expiration of his time, went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and obtained a situation in his majesty's printing office, then under the control of William Strahan. About 1780, he obtained an engagement in the printing office of Francis Blyth, printer and part proprietor of the ''Public Ledger'', a daily morning paper, and the ''London Packet'', an evening paper, published three times a week. Both these papers had been for some years supported by the productions of Goldsmith, Kelly, and others. This engagement, in which Crowder took a very active part, continued until 1787, the time of Blyth's death, when Crowder, who the year before had married Blyth's niece, Mary Ann James (died November 1823), succeeded to the management of the whole concern. This he carried on for upwards of thirty years; and, during this period, was frequently employed in printing valuable works for the booksellers. He finally left the business in 1820, when he had amassed a considerable fortune by some successful speculations. Residing, as he had during almost the whole of his life, in the ward of Farringdon Within, he was, in 1800, elected one of their representatives in the common council, afterwards became one of their deputies, (this ward had two) and on the death of Thomas Smith, esq. was elected alderman on 1 May 1823. In 1825 he was elected sheriff by the livery at large. On his retirement from the

shrievalty A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

, he continued to perform the duties of alderman. On 9 November 1829 he entered on his mayoralty, and in the same year, served as Master of the Company of Stationers. In mid-September 1830 his health became slowly but seriously affected. On 9 November 1830 he was removed in a very feeble state to his house at

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, where he lingered till 2 December, when he died, aged seventy-four years. His remains were interred in the parish church of Christchurch, Newgate-street. His brother, James Pecholier Crowder, died at Stockwell Common two days before the Alderman. In 1865 his daughter, Rosetta Waddell (nee Crowder), had his remains reinterred in a family vault in the Lebanon Circle on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowder, John 1756 births 1830 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery 19th-century lord mayors of London 19th-century English politicians People from Buckinghamshire (before 1965) Sheriffs of the City of London