Nathanael Salmon
Nathanael Salmon (22 March 1675 – 2 April 1742) was an English antiquary who wrote books on Roman and other antiquities in the southeast of England. He was not well respected for either his writing or his morals, but was well travelled and recorded many local customs and much folklore.
Life
Salmon was the eldest son of Thomas Salmon, the rector of Meppershall, Bedfordshire, and his wife Katherine Bradshaw. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He was ordained as a priest in 1699 but refused to swear allegiance to Queen Anne in 1702 as he did not agree to reject allegiance to the son of King James II. He resigned his post as a curate and worked for a while as a doctor of medicine. He rejected the offer to become a vicar in Suffolk, the post carrying a salary of £140 per annum.[1]
He wrote a number of books about local history, collecting folklore and details of local customs, and "could turn a pungent phrase".[1] He travelled extensively about England, carefully observing landscape and recording what he was told of folklore as well as current life and conditions. His histories are considered inaccurate but he usefully published much manuscript material.[1]
Works
- 1728: The History of Hertfordshire[2]
- 1728–1729: A New Survey of England, wherein the Defects of Camden are Supplied
- 1731-1733: Lives of the English Bishops from the Restauration to the Revolution
- 1740: The History and Antiquities of Essex
References
- 1 2 3 Powell, W. Raymond (2004). Salmon, Nathanael (1675-1742). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press). doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24555.
- ↑ Salmon, Nathanael (1728). The History of Hertfordshire describing the County and its Ancient Monuments, particularly the Roman.