Jonathan Swift DST (1667 - 1745)

Born 30 Nov 1667 in Dublin, Ireland

Ancestors

Died 19 Oct 1745 at age 77 in Dublin, Ireland

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Biography

Church of Ireland Clergy

Jonathan Swift DST is Notable.

Family and Education

Jonathan was born 30 November 1667 in the parish of St Werburgh's, Dublin, the second child and only son of Jonathan Swift and Abigail Erick.^[1][2] His father had immigrated to Ireland from England and been appointed as steward of the King's Inns (the hall of the Irish lawyers' corporation) 25 January 1666.^[2][3] His mother had been born in Dublin after her father, a vicar at Leicestershire, England, was prosecuted for holding an unlawful nonconformist conventicle and forced to relocate there with his family.^[2] Jonathan was born about seven months after his father's death and his mother left him in the sole care of a wet nurse, eventually returning with Jonathan's older sister to her family's home in Leicestershire when her financial situation became precarious, and leaving her son to be brought up by his father's older brother, Godwin Swift, the attorney-general for Ormond's palatinate in Tipperary.^[2][3]

At six years of age, Jonathan was sent to Kilkenny School, one of the best preparatory schools in Ireland at that time.^[1] At fourteen he entered Trinity College as a paying student, receiving his B.A. in 1686 'ex speciali gratia' (by 'special grace' or a 'condoned pass').^[4] He left Trinity in 1689 just two months short of completing the requirements for his M.A., but in 1692 received that degree from Hart Hall, Oxford (later known as Hertford College).^[1][2]

Swift's studies at Trinity may have been adversely affected by the first symptoms of Ménière's Syndrome, a disease of the inner ear which causes vertigo, deafness, and fatigue and in a severe form can be extremely debilitating.^[2] Swift suffered from this condition for the rest of his life.

Early Career

Through family connections Swift obtained a position as secretary to Sir William Temple, one of England's most influential political diplomats, who had retired in Surrey but was still consulted by many leading politicians and occasionally even by the king.^[2] During this time he helped Temple with his correspondence, organized the contents of his library, and wrote some of his own earliest poetry.^[1] He also met many individuals who later became important influences in his life, including a young girl named Esther Johnson.^[5]

In 1694 Swift left his position with Temple, returning to Dublin and entering the Church of Ireland.^[1] He was given the prebend of Kilroot in County Antrim, ten miles north of Belfast, an area that was predominantly Scots presbyterian.^[2][6] The congregation was a very small one, and his distrust of many of the protestants there led him to begin writing his first major political satire Tale of a Tub.^[1] During this time he courted a young woman named Jane Waring (whom he nicknamed "Varina"), but she rejected his proposal of marriage because he was not "financially secure enough."^[1] At the end of a year Swift, disillusioned, once again left Ireland, returning to Surrey where he resumed the office of secretary to William Temple, eventually resigning from his prebend.^[3]

Political Activities

Back in Surrey he assumed more senior responsibilities, being placed in charge of editing all of Temple's letters and memoirs for future publication and occasionally meeting with politicians (even once or twice with the king) as Temple's representative.^[2][3] Sir William Temple died in January 1698/9 and Swift spent the following nine years editing and publishing Temple's papers posthumously, his renumeration for doing so having been provided for in Temple's Will.^[3] In 1707 he undertook, at the request of the archbishop of Dublin, to petition whig party officials in London to revoke certain taxes which had been levied on the church by the crown.^[1] Although his efforts were not successful, he enjoyed this foray into politics and when the tories gained the majority in 1710 he became their chief propagandist. He promoted their causes in a weekly newspaper column and by writing a number of pamphlets, and was courted by numerous politicians due to the influence his writings gained him.^[1]

Clerical Appointments

After Temple's death, Swift obtained the position of private chaplain to Charles, 2nd earl of Berkeley and Lord Justice of Ireland, and accompanied him back to Ireland.^[1] The following year (1700) he was appointed to the vicarage of Laracor and Rathbeggan, in the diocese of Meath, which included the prebend of Dunlavin in St Patrick's Cathedral.^[7] In the spring of 1713, Jonathan Swift was named Dean of St Patrick's, much to his own dismay.^[2][7] He had hoped to live permanently in England and had lobbied for both the deanery of Wells and the prebendary of the royal free chapel of Windsor, but these ambitions were thwarted by the queen, whose enmity he had earned by lampooning one of her ladies in waiting (the whig duchess of Somerset).^[2]

Stella and Vanessa

"Stella" was Swift's nickname for Esther Johnson, daughter of Edward Johnson and his wife Bridget (a waiting woman to Sir William Temple's sister, Lady Giffard).^[5] Her father died when she was quite young, and Stella and her widowed mother lived in Temple's household. She was eight years old when Jonathan Swift (then aged twenty-two), acting as Temple's secretary, became her tutor.^[5][8] Their relationship remained both very close and very private for the remainder of their lives.^[5] At the age of seventeen when she was staying in town with Lady Giffard, Swift described her as "one of the most beautiful, graceful, and agreeable young women in London, only a little too fat."^[9] On his death, Temple bequeathed Stella a substantial independence and Swift helped oversee its investment, arranging for Stella and a female companion to move to Ireland "where living was much cheaper" and where it would be more convenient for him to visit.^[5][10]

In 1703 the Rev. Wiliam Tisdale, younger, wealthier, and more established in the church hierarchy than Swift, asked Swift to present him to Stella's mother as a suitor for Stella's hand in marriage.^[10] Swift's response was satirical and sharply critical, discouraging any such marriage, but then admitting that he too would choose Stella above all others if only his own financial position were stronger.^[11] Stella spent the rest of her life in Ireland living with her companion, staying primarily in the deanery during the long periods of time that Swift spent in England and, whenever he returned to Ireland, renting rooms close by.^[12] She and Swift maintained an intimate correspondence/friendship until her death in 1728, and he referred to her as "the fairest Soul in the World."^[13] There has been considerable debate over whether Swift and Stella were secretly married in 1716 [for more on this, see Research Notes below].

"Vanessa' was Swift's nickname for Esther Van Homrigh, the daughter of an influential Irish businessman, Bartholomew Van Homrigh, and his wife Esther Stone.^[14] While Stella was tucked away at the deanery in Dublin, Swift was such a frequent visitor to the Van Homrigh residence in London that they set aside a room there for his use.^[14] In his letters to Stella he described this room as nothing more than a "closet," but in messages exchanged with Vanessa he referred to it as "their private space" which he called the "...Sluttery, which [I have] so often found to be the most agreeable Chamber in the World."^[15] Vanessa was seven years younger than Stella and completely infatuated with Swift, who enjoyed her company but was anxious to avoid any appearance of impropriety.^[14] Independently wealthy, when Swift returned to Ireland she followed him there, taking up residence in a house not far from Dublin despite Swift's warning that he could not see her often because of the risk to both their reputations.^[14] In 1723 Vanessa became aware there was another woman in Swift's life and demanded he choose between them. She wrote a letter to Stella asking if it was true that she and Swift were married and Swift, when he found out about this, was so furious that he ended the relationship with Vanessa. ^[16] She died shortly after this incident (likely from tuberculosis caught while nursing her sister) but not before writing Swift out of her Will.^[14]

Writings

Separate from Swift's political opinion pieces and pamphlets, all of his major satirical writings were published anonymously or under a pseudonym. He wrote prolifically and his published works include prose, essays and pamphlets, poetry, correspondence, and sermons/prayers. A few of his major works were:

• A Tale of a Tub' written for the Universal Improvement of Mankind.(1704)
• An Argument against abolishing Christianity. (1708)
• The Drapier's Letters. (1724)
• Gulliver's Travels by Lemuel Gulliver. (1726)
• A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland Being a Burden on their Parents or Country... (1729)

A complete bibliography of the works of Jonathan Swift can be found here.

Death

Jonathan's Swift's last years were marred by declining health and depression. He suffered a series of strokes which left him with an impaired memory, experienced weight loss and the inability to sleep at night, had excruciating pain in one of his eyes, and eventually suffered from aphasia and was unable to speak.^[2][3] In May, 1742 a committee of guardians (composed mostly of fellow clerics) was appointed by the court of chancery to oversee his affairs.^[1] He died on 19 October 1745 and was buried (by his own direction) in the south side of the middle aisle of St Patrick's, beside Stella.^[1][3]

Swift's parting gift was a bequest of £12,000 to establish and maintain St Patrick's Hospital for the Mentally Ill in Ireland, which officially opened one year after his death.^[1]

Research Notes

A number of Swift's biographers, including John Boyle,^[17] Patrick Delany,^[18] Deane Swift,^[19] and Thomas Sheridan,^[20] have endorsed what appears to have been a popularly circulated story that Swift and Stella were married in secret sometime after the end of July, 1716 and before 4 October 1716 by Swift's old tutor, St George Ashe, at either Clogher or Dublin.^[2] This same story also suggested the marriage was never consummated because Stella was actually a natural daughter of her mother and Sir William Temple, and Swift a natural son of Sir John Temple (and therefore the natural half-brother of Sir William Temple), giving them a close degree of consanguinity. Neither of these theories is supported by any evidence whatsoever.

What is known beyond any doubt is that: 1) no record of a marriage between Swift and Stella has ever been found; 2) they never lived together as man and wife; 3) Swift's physician, Dr John Lyon, and his housekeeper at the Deanery, Mrs Brent, both disbelieved any such marriage had ever taken place;^[3] 4) Stella's lifelong companion, Rebecca Dingley, laughed at the very idea;^[3]; and on 30 December 1727 Stella signed her own Will as "Esther Johnson, Spinster." Accordingly, the profile of Esther Johnson which was originally attached to this profile as Jonathan's wife has been removed until any reliable sources can be found to substantiate their relationship. Stevens-17832 19:20, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12} McMinn, Joseph. Swift, Jonathan. Dictionary of Irish Biography online edition (Oct 2009).
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12} Probst, Clive. Swift, Jonathan. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8} Stephen, Leslie. Swift, Jonathan. Dictionary of National Biography archive edition (vol. 55).
4. ↑ Burtchaell, George Dames, and Thomas Ulick Sadleir.Alumni Dublinenses: A Register of the Students, Graduates, Professors and Provosts of Trinity College in the University of Dublin (1593-1860).Alex. Thom & Co., Ltd., issued 1935, vol S, pp. 795-796. "Swift, Jonathan, Pen. (Mr Ryder), 24 Apr 1682, aged 14; s. of Jonathan; b. Co. Dublin. B.A. (speciali gratis) Vern. 1686; B.D. and D.D. Vern 1702
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4} Probst, Clive. Johnson, Esther [Stella]. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription.
6. ↑ Cotton, Henry. Fasti Ecclesiæ Hibernicæ. Dublin: Hodges and Smith (1849), vol. 3 (Ulster), p. 266.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Cotton, Henry. Fasti Ecclesiæ Hibernicæ. Dublin: Hodges and Smith (1848), vol. 2 (Leinster), pp. 105-106.
8. ↑ Wiseman, Nellie G. Rationale for the Marriage of Jonathan Swift and Stella. Master's Thesis, Eastern Illinois University (1965), plan B papers, #360, p. 2.
9. ↑ Prose Writings of Jonathan Swift, 5.227, cited in Probst, Clive. Swift, Jonathan. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Wiseman, Nellie G. Rationale for the Marriage of Jonathan Swift and Stella. Master's Thesis, Eastern Illinois University (1965), plan B papers, #360, pp. 3-4.
11. ↑ 20 April 1704, Correspondence of Jonathan Swift, 1, no. 25, cited in Probst, Clive. Swift, Jonathan. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription.
12. ↑ Wiseman, Nellie G. Rationale for the Marriage of Jonathan Swift and Stella. Master's Thesis, Eastern Illinois University (1965), plan B papers, #360, p. 8.
13. ↑ 27 July 1726, Correspondence, ed. Woolley, 3.702, cited in Probst, Clive. Swift, Jonathan. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4} Probst, Clive. Homrigh, Esther Van [known as Vanessa]. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription.
15. ↑ 18 Dec 1711, Correspondence of Jonathan Swift, 1, no. 149, cited in Probst, Clive. Homrigh, Esther Van [known as Vanessa]. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription.
16. ↑ Wiseman, Nellie G. Rationale for the Marriage of Jonathan Swift and Stella. Master's Thesis, Eastern Illinois University (1965), plan B papers, #360, pp. 6-7.
17. ↑ Boyle, John (earl of Orrery). Remarks on the Life and Writing of Dr Jonathan Swift. London: A. Millar (1752), p. 81.
18. ↑ Delany, Patrick. Observations Upon Lord Orrery's Remarks on the Life and Writing of Dr Jonathan Swift. London: W. Reeve (1754), pp. 52-53.
19. ↑ An Essay Upon the Life, Writings, and Character of Dr Jonathan Swift. London: C. Bathurst (1755), p. 92.
20. ↑ Sheridan, Thomas. The Life of the Rev Dr Jonathan Swift, Dean of St Patrick's, Dublin. London: J.F. and C.Rivington, et al. (1787), p. 285.

See Also:

• Bibliography of the works of Jonathon Swift.

• Johnston, Denis. In Search of Swift. Dublin: Hodges Figgis (1959), available here, pp. 154-173 (Stella).

• Jonathan Swift. The Biography.com website (2 Apr 2014), rev. 13 Apr 2021.

• Sampson, George (ed). Swift. The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature. London: Cambridge University Press (2nd ed) (1961), pp. 465-471.

• Wikipedia: Jonathan Swift

• 'Virginia Woolf' a biography by her nephew Quentin Bell, published by The Hogarth Press, Pimlico, London in 1996. ISBN 0 7126 7450 0, includes extensive family trees. Hundreds of friends, professional connections and people in the 'Bloomsbury set' are also mentioned in the text.'Virginia Woolf' a biography by her nephew Quentin Bell