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Samuel Whyte

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Samuel Whyte (1733 - 11 October 1811) was an Irish poet and schoolmaster.

Samuel whyte

Samuel Whyte (1733-1811). Courtesy Wide and Convenient Streets.

Life[]

Youth and education[]

Whyte, the son of Captain Solomon Whyte (deputy-governor of the Tower of London), says that he was "born on ship-board approaching the Mersey [and] Liverpool was the first land he ever touched" (Poems on Various Subjects, 3rd edition). His mother died after giving birth to him.[1]

Whyte's cousin, Frances Chamberlain (her mother was sister of Whyte's father), became the wife of Thomas Sheridan. The Sheridans were very kind to Whyte; indeed, he termed Mrs. Sheridan "the friend and parent of my youth."[1]

He was placed as a boarder in Samuel Edwards's academy in Golden Lane, Dublin (Gilbert, Dublin, iii. 200). His father died in 1757, and his estate passed to his nephew (Mrs. Sheridan's elder brother), with Whyte receiving a legacy of £500.[1]

Career[]

On 3 April 1758 Whyte opened a "seminary for the institution of youth" at 75 (now 79) Grafton Street, Dublin. He described himself as "Principal of the English Grammar School."[1] He advocated the education of women, on which he later wrote a treatise; accordingly, he accepted both male and female students.[2]

Mrs. Sheridan persuaded her husband's sisters, Mrs. Sheen and Mrs. Knowles, and other ladies to send their children to be taught, and, "thus favoured, young Whyte had a handsome show of pupils on first opening his school’ (Memoirs of Frances Sheridan, p. 83). Her own 3 children, the eldest not 7, were among them. Charles Francis remained a few weeks only, while Richard Brinsley and his sister Alicia were under Whyte's care as a schoolmaster for upwards of a year.[1] His other students included Thomas Dermody and Thomas Moore.[2]

Whyte was proud of having had the famous Sheridan as a pupil. But in a footnote to page 277 of the 3rd edition of his poems he made a fanciful statement which is the origin of the myth about Sheridan and his brother being styled by him "impenetrable dunces." He repeated the footnote story to Moore in after years, and Moore aided in diffusing it (Memoirs, i. 7). Miss Lefanu has exposed Whyte's inaccuracy (Memoirs of Frances Sheridan, p. 85), while Sheridan's elder sister, writing to Lady Morgan in 1817, charges the schoolmaster of her childhood with wilful misrepresentation (Lady Morgan, Memoirs, ii. 61). On the other hand, Whyte was grateful for the kindness he received from Thomas Sheridan and his wife, and made a substantial return when fortune frowned upon them.[1]

His reputation had led to the offer in 1759 of the professorship of English in the Hibernian Academy; but, thinking that Thomas Sheridan had been unfairly overlooked, he declined it.[3]

His custom was to make his pupils represent a play at the annual examination, and some became actors in consequence. Being blamed for this, he wrote in self-defence a didactic poem, The Theatre, which was published in 1790.[3]

Whyte's son, Edward Athenry, who had become his partner, collected his works in 1792, of which 4 editions were printed. Copies were given as prizes to the pupils who distinguished themselves, while each one who fell short of the required standard received his engraved portrait.[3]

After the 1800 union between Great Britain and Ireland, the attendance at Whyte's school diminished owing to Irish parents sending their children to England for their education.[3]

He died at 75 Grafton Street, Dublin, on 11 October, 1811. His son conducted the school until 1824, when he moved to London and afterwards died there.[3]

Writing[]

Whyte's earliest work was a Treatise on the English Language, which, though printed in 1761, was not published till 1800. He wrote 2 tragedies and put them in the fire after Thomas Sheridan had undertaken to get them represented.[1]

He was a fluent versifier, and some of his verses appeared in 1772 in a quarto entitled The Shamrock; or, Hibernian Cresses, practical proposals for a reform in education being appended (another edit. 1773, 8vo).[3]

Whyte's works, in addition to those named above, included: 1. ‘Miscellanea Nova, with Remarks on Boswell's “Johnson” and a Critique on Bürger's “Leonora,”’ 1801, 8vo. 2. ‘The Beauties of History.’ 3. ‘The Juvenile Encyclopædia.’ 4. An edition of ‘Matho.’ 5. An edition of ‘Holberg's Universal History.’ 6. ‘A Short System of Rhetoric.’ 7. ‘Hints to the Age of Reason.’ 8. ‘Practical Elocution.’[3]

Quotations[]

Whytes-academy-grafton-st

Grafton Street plaque. Courtesy Wide and Convenient Streets.

If thou must write and would’st thy works disperse,
Write novels, sermons, anything but verse.[4]

Recognition[]

Moses Mendez included 5 of Whyte's poems in his Collection of the Most Esteemed Pieces of Poetry: That have appeared for several years.[5]

Publications[]

Poetry[]

  • The Mourners: A didactic essay. 1787.[2]
  • The Theatre: A didactic essay. Dublin: Zachariah Jackson, for John Jones, 1790.
  • A Collection of Poems on Various Subjects. Dublin: Robert Marchbank, for Exshaw / Archer / Jones / et al, 1792.
  • Poems on Various Subjects. 3rd edition, Dublin: Robert Marchbank, for Byrne / Moore / Rice / et al, 1795.

Non-fiction[]

  • Modern education: Respecting young ladies as well as gentlemen. Dublin: privately published, printed by R. Marchbank, 1775
  • An Introductory Essay on the Art of Reading, and Speaking in Public. Dublin: Robert Marchbank, for Edward-Athenry Whyte, 1800.
  • A Miscellany; containing Remarks on Boswell's Johnson' (edited by Edward Atherton Whyte). Dublin: Robert Marchbank, for Edward-Athenry Whyte, 1799
    • also published as Miscellanea Nova (edited by Edward Atherton Whyte). Dublin: Robert Marchbank, for Edward-Athenry Whyte, 1800.
  • Treatise on the English Language. 1800.[2]

Edited[]

  • James Burgh, The Art of Speaking. Dublin: S.W., 1763; London: T. Longman & J. Buckland / E. & C. Dilly / T. Field, 1768.
  • The Shamrock; or, Hibernian cresses. Dublin: privately published, printed by R. Marchbank, 1772.
  • A Collection of Poems; selected from 'The Shamrock'. London: S. Bladon, 1773; London: R. Snagg, 1774.


Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[6]

See also[]

References[]

  •  Rae, William Fraser (1900) "Whyte, Samuel" in Lee, Sidney Dictionary of National Biography 61 London: Smith, Elder, pp. 171-172  . Wikisource, Web, Jan. 10, 2017.

Notes[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Rae, 171.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Samuel Whyte (1733-1811), English Poetry, 1579-1830, Center for Applied Tedhnologies in the Humanities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Web, Jan. 10 2017.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Rae, 172.
  4. ↑ Letter to Henrietta Barber; quoted in Michael Seery, "Samuel Whyte's School on Grafton Street," Wide and Convenient Streets. Wordpress, Web, Mar. 24, 2017.
  5. ↑ Samuel Whyte, Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive. Web, May 17, 2021.
  6. ↑ Search results = au:Samuel Whye, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Jan. 10, 2017.

External links[]

Poems
Books
About

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the Dictionary of National Biography (edited by Leslie Stephen & Sidney Lee). London: Smith, Elder, 1885-1900. Original article is at: Whyte, Samuel

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