poniedziałek, 14 maja 2018

"Dantzic" mentioned in the London documents
(1794, 1813)

I would like to remind you one document which was already described on my blog and another one which I found out two weeks ago. Both documents come from the London archives and tell about the parents of Daniel Gottlieb Tolkien (1746–1813) and John Benjamin Tolkien (1752–1819) who lived in Gdańsk, until the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1790s.

(1) The first document which came to me thanks to my American friend, Jerry Aurand, is The Act of Naturalization of Daniel Tolkien (1794) which should be read together with Daniel Tolkien's obituary from The Methodist Magazine (1813):

Source: The National Archives (Kew), Private Act, 34 George III,
c.17-ref. HL/PO/PB/1/1794/34G3n49 date:1794
(found by Jerry Aurand; photo by J. Aurand) 


Daniel Tolkien, son of Christian Tolkien by Euphrisina his Wife 
born at Dantzig 
Document with original signature of Daniel Tolkien
"Your Petitioner was born our of your Majesty Alliegian but hath constantly professed the true Protestant Religion and given Testimony of his Loyalty and Fidelity to his Majesty and the good of this Kingdom" 
(2) Another document comes from 1813 and is connected with Daniel's younger brother, John Benjamin Tolkien (1752–1819). It is a petition of John Benjamin Tolkien (1788–1859), John's son who wanted to receive the addmision to the freedom of the City of London:

Source: London Metropolitan Archive; Reference Number: COL/CHD/FR/02/1380-1386

We find here John Benjamin Tolkien as a "native of Dantzic who came to England about the year 1752 [sic!] when he married a Native of this Country and has resided here ever since and where you Petitioner [J. B. Tolkien, the younger] was born". The Tolkien Junior made a mistake - his father was born in 1752 in Danzig (Gdańsk), he came to England about 1772 and married a native of England (Mary Warner) in 1777!

What is important, John Benjamin Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien's great-great-grandfather was described as a "Foreigner". In fact he was a foreigner in London until his death in 1819.

Grave of a foreigner in England, of John Benjamin Tolkien born in Gdańsk,
J. R. R. T.'s g-g-grandfather

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