Samuel Barker (1686–1759) was an English

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

Life

Barker was the son of Augustin Barker of South Luffenham and Thomasyn Tryst of

Maidford Maidford is a civil and ecclesiastical parish in West Northamptonshire and the diocese of Peterborough situated about north-west of Towcester. The population at the 2011 census was 168. It was a centre of local Northamptonshire lace-making unti ...

, Northants, and inherited the

Lordship of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of Lyndon, Rutland by the bequest of his father's second cousin Sir Thomas Barker, 2nd Bt of Lyndon (1648-1706/7). Sir Thomas was a member of the '

Order of Little Bedlam Order of Little Bedlam aka Bedlam Club was a gentlemen's drinking club, founded in 1684 by John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter of Burghley House, and lapsing on his death in 1700. In 1705 it was reconvened by his son, John Cecil, 6th Earl of Exeter as ...

' or Bedlam Club based at

Burghley House Burghley House () is a grand sixteenth-century English country house near Stamford, Lincolnshire. It is a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, built and still lived in by the Cecil family. The exterior largely retains its Elizabet ...

. Samuel entered Wadham College, University of Oxford in June 1704 and graduated B.A. on 13 February 1707/8. In 1717 Samuel married Sarah, only daughter of William Whiston, in whose memoirs he is mentioned. Their interests coincided closely, 'Wicked' Will Whiston being the translator-editor of Josephus. Whiston in later life resided with Samuel at Lyndon Hall and died there. Samuel was the father of Thomas Barker (1722–1809), called 'The father of meteorology', and was therefore the father-in-law of Ann Barker née White, the sister of Gilbert White of

Selborne Selborne is a village in Hampshire, England, south of Alton, Hampshire, Alton, and just within the northern boundary of the South Downs National Park. The village receives visitors because of its links with the naturalist Revd. Gilbert White, a ...

. Gilbert White maintained correspondence with Samuel Barker junr. (grandson of Samuel), who like his great-grandfather Whiston attended Clare College, University of Cambridge.

Works

He wrote (in Latin) several learned tracts, which were collected and published (1761) in one quarto volume after his death, together with a Hebrew grammar, on which he had long been engaged. John Nichols said of it, 'This was a juvenile production – the produce of the ingenious Author's leisure hours.' It contained: *''Ancient Hebrew Poesy Restored'' *''On the Anacreontic songs'' *''On Greek accents'' *''Ancient Ionic writings'' *''On consonant and vowel letters'' *''On the pronunciation of the Hebrew language'' He was the author of a letter, dated 7 November 1723, to Joseph Wasse, rector of

Aynho Aynho (, formerly spelt ''Aynhoe'') is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, on the edge of the Cherwell valley south-east of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury and southwest of Brackley. Along with its neighbour C ...

, Northamptonshire, concerning a passage in the

Sigeion Sigeion (Ancient Greek: , ''Sigeion''; Latin: ''Sigeum'') was an ancient Greek city in the north-west of the Troad region of Anatolia located at the mouth of the Scamander (the modern Karamenderes River). Sigeion commanded a ridge between the Aeg ...

inscription,Stone stela (6th century B.C.), The British Museum, Accession number
1816,0610.107
(British Museum). which may be found in the ''Biblioteca Literaria'' of Samuel Jebb and William Bowyer, No. 10 (1724).

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Samuel 1686 births 1759 deaths 18th-century English people Christian Hebraists People from South Luffenham 18th-century English non-fiction writers 18th-century English male writers 18th-century English writers English non-fiction writers Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford English male non-fiction writers