WILLIAM DAMPIER.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—As a member of the family of the old navigator, Wil- liam Dampier, I was much interested in your able and appre- ciative review of Mr. Clark Russell's sketch of his life. I have since read the book itself, and am surprised that Mr. Russell should have overlooked at least one leading fact in Dampier's life,—e.g., his early marriage. In the last chapter of his book, Mr. Russell remarks : " We may take it that he never married whilst he pursued his sea life;" whereas in Dampier's " Voyage to China" (1687), the following passage occurs (he is speaking of some islands) :—" The northern- most of them where we first landed, I called the Duke of Grafton's Isle as soon as we landed on it, having married my wife out of his Dutchess's family, and leaving her at Arling- ton House at my going abroad." • Here is a most interesting fact totally ignored. Again, from notes in my possession, it appears that Dampier was the son of William Dampier, of East Coker, Somerset, who had married Jane, daughter of John Mudford, farmer, and who died in 1662. There were two other children of the marriage, Elizabeth, of whom I believe nothing further is known, and George, who lived at • Dampier's " Voyages," Vol. I , asp. xv., p. 422.
Poorton, Dorset, and was living in 1715, and at whose hotise it seems probable that Dampier must have met and married his wife.
Dampier himself was married in 1673, his wife's Christian name being Judith, and he died in March, 1715, at "St. Stephen's, London," all of which is ignored in Mr. Russell's book.
I believe that till recent years glass or china used in his vessel, and engraved accordingly, was in existence in the pos- session of our family, but was destroyed in the fire at the Pantechnicon some years ago.
Trusting you may think these facts of sufficient interest_
Previous page
