Thomas Tod Stoddart (1810–1880) was a Scottish angler and poet.

Life

He was born on 14 February 1810 in Argyle Square,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, the eldest son of Frances (née Sprot), daughter of James Sprot, and Captain (later Admiral) Pringle Stoddart RN. At the age of ten he was sent to a

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

school in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

; then returned to attend

Edinburgh High School The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. One of his university teachers was John Wilson, in whose house Stoddart met Thomas De Quincey,

Hartley Coleridge Hartley Coleridge, possibly David Hartley Coleridge (19 September 1796 – 6 January 1849), was an English poet, biographer, essayist, and teacher. He was the eldest son of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. His sister Sara Coleridge was a poet an ...

, James Hogg the Ettrick Shepherd,

William Edmonstoune Aytoun William Edmondstoune Aytoun FRSE (21 June 18134 August 1865) was a Scottish poet, lawyer by training, and professor of rhetoric and belles lettres at the University of Edinburgh. He published poetry, translation, prose fiction, criticism and s ...

, James Frederick Ferrier,

Henry Glassford Bell Henry Glassford Bell (5 November 18037 January 1874) was a Scottish lawyer, poet and historian. Life Born in Glasgow, the son of advocate James Bell, he received his education at the Glasgow High School and at Edinburgh University. As a poet ...

, and other men of letters. In 1833 Stoddart was admitted a member of the Faculty of Advocates, but never practised the law. An early passion for angling became the main business of his life. He investigated the haunts and habits of fish, and was an adept of fly-making. Stoddart campaigned against the pollution of rivers. In the decade leading up to the

Rivers Pollution Prevention Act 1876 A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

he was involved with the Tweed Commissioners, and was involved in the trials and surveys of the fish population of the

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water ( gd, Abhainn Thuaidh, sco, Watter o Tweid, cy, Tuedd), is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the R ...

using smolt. His niece was the New Zealand artist,

Margaret Stoddart Margaret Olrog Stoddart (3 October 1865 – 10 December 1934) was a New Zealand artist. Early life and education Stoddart was born in Diamond Harbour, Canterbury, New Zealand in 1865, one of six children born to Mark Pringle Stoddart (181 ...

, daughter of his brother Mark Pringle Stoddart.http://www.britishmedals.us/collections/JM/Naval/stoddart.html

Bibliography

With expertise in

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...

, Stoddart published books, poems and articles on angling. *''The Death-wake, or, Lunacy: a Necromaunt in Three Chimeras'' (1831), verse. Reprinted in 1895 by John Lane with an introduction by Andrew Lang. *''The Art of Angling as Practised in Scotland'' (1835) *''Angling Reminiscences'' (1837) *''Songs and Poems'' (1839) *''The Angler's Companion to the Rivers and Lochs of Scotland'' (1847, 1853) *''An Angler's Rambles and Angling Songs'' (1866)

Family

In 1836 Stoddart married Bessie Macgregor, daughter of a farmer at Contin in

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...

, whom he met while on a fishing tour, and they settled at Kelso. They had two sons and a daughter Anna Stoddart, who became the biographer of her father and also of John Stuart Blackie.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoddart, Thomas Tod Scottish poets Angling writers British fishers 1810 births 1880 deaths 19th-century poets