Theaker Wilder
Encyclopedia
Theaker Wilder was the first Regius Professor of Greek and Senior Register at Trinity College, Dublin
and became famous for being Oliver Goldsmith
's 'learned savage' of a tutor.
, Theaker Wilder was the third and youngest son of Mathew Wilder (d.1719), of Castle Wilder, High Sheriff of Longford
, and Ellinor Steuart (d.1729). His mother was a daughter of Captain James Steuart (d.1689), but after his death at the Siege of Londonderry she and her brothers and sisters were brought up by their father's younger brother, General The Rt. Hon. Sir William Steuart and his first wife Katherine FitzGerald, Viscountess Grandison
. Theaker Wilder's uncles included Admiral James Steuart (1678-1757), Admiral of the Fleet
; Charles Steaurt (d.1740) of Bailieborough Castle
, Co. Cavan; and Brigadier-General The Hon. William Steuart (d.1737) M.P., of Ballylane, Co. Waterford, who through his marriage to his uncle's step-daughter, the Hon. Mary FitzGerald-Villiers, came to be the uncle of Prime Minister William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
.
as a pensioner (ordinary student) on July 8, 1734. He was awarded a scholarship in 1736, a B.A.
degree in 1738, became a Fellow in 1744 and was awarded an M.A. degree in 1748. He received a D.Div.
degree in 1753. He was appointed Donegal Lecturer in 1759 and the first Regius Professor of Greek in 1761. He was succeeded in this post by John Stokes in 1764.
Academics at Trinty College led an affluent life. According to Thomas D'Arcy McGee in his book A Popular History of Ireland: from the Earliest Period to the Emancipation of the Catholics:
Wilder was fairly eccentric, as described in Ireland 120 Years Ago (1851) by John Edward Walsh:
in 1744. Because both men were from the same locality, it was thought that Wilder would provide wise counsel to Goldsmith. However, according to Irving and others, the relationship was tempestuous. There were several incidents where Goldsmith was disciplined by Wilder for infractions of the college rules culminating in his running away to Cork (en route to the Colonies). When he had spent all his money wiser heads prevailed and, with Goldsmith's brother Henry acting as peacemaker, he was able to return to his academic studies. He was awarded a B.A. degree in February 1749, two years later than normal.
Some extracts from Goldsmith's biographies:
, Co. Donegal. Three of their children (Henry, Oliver and Nancy) died unmarried, but they were survived by two sons: (1) Mathew Wilder (d.1792) inherited Castle Wilder from his uncle Steuart Wilder, and served as High Sheriff of Co. Longford. In 1772, he married Eleanor, daughter of Hugh Carmichael (1720-1776) of Dublin and sister of Lt.-Gen. Sir Hugh Lyle Carmichael (1764-1813), Lieutenant-Governor of Demerara
. After the death of their son, Mathew Carlisle Wilder (1775-1809), Castle Wilder passed to their son-in-law Captain Hugh Pollock (2) James Wilder (1764-1788), married Sarah Drought (1764-1788), the eldest daughter of his first cousin Rev. James Drought (1738-1820), Senior Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin
. James Drought's mother, Sarah (Wilder) Drought, was Theaker's sister. Theaker's grand-daughter was Letitia Denniston (otherwise Coll) of Cocksheath, Carrigart, Co. Donegal.
at that time.
His death was reported in the first issue of the Dublin Evening Journal and a few days later in The Londonderry Journal. According to one account - "It is interesting to know that Mr. Theaker Wilder was killed in a drunken riot, just at the time when Goldsmith's social success was at its height" - but this cannot be true since Goldsmith had already been dead for almost four years by the time Wilder died. Another source ascribes his death to an accident sustained when arriving home late from a local hostelry. In any event, his widow took steps to secure his assets. Advertisements to this effect appeared in the Londonderry Journal for several weeks after his death.
The notice of his death in the Dublin Evening Journal of Feb 3rd, 1778, reads:
The notices in the Londonderry Journal read:
and
The Library of Congress citation reads:
The publication is also mentioned in Allibone. In addition to Newton's first edition, there were several other editions of this book - Latin editions of 1722, 1732, 1761 and Ralphson's English editions of 1720 and 1728 before Wilder and Maguire's contributions.
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
and became famous for being Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
's 'learned savage' of a tutor.
Family
Born c.1717 at Castle Wilder, AbbeyshruleAbbeyshrule
Abbeyshrule is located in south-east County Longford, Ireland, on the Royal Canal. There is an airfield near the village, is also located beside the Royal Canal.The Abbeyshrule Aerodrome is located just outside the village alongside the Royal Canal....
, Theaker Wilder was the third and youngest son of Mathew Wilder (d.1719), of Castle Wilder, High Sheriff of Longford
High Sheriff of Longford
The High Sheriff of Longford was the British Crown’s judicial representative in County Longford, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Longford County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and...
, and Ellinor Steuart (d.1729). His mother was a daughter of Captain James Steuart (d.1689), but after his death at the Siege of Londonderry she and her brothers and sisters were brought up by their father's younger brother, General The Rt. Hon. Sir William Steuart and his first wife Katherine FitzGerald, Viscountess Grandison
Katherine FitzGerald, Viscountess Grandison
Katherine FitzGerald, suo jure Viscountess Grandison , was a wealthy Irish heiress, being the only child of Sir John FitzGerald of Dromana, County Waterford. She inherited the Dromana estate in 1664 upon the death of her father. She was married three times; firstly to John Le Poer, 2nd Earl of...
. Theaker Wilder's uncles included Admiral James Steuart (1678-1757), Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet
An admiral of the fleet is a military naval officer of the highest rank. In many nations the rank is reserved for wartime or ceremonial appointments...
; Charles Steaurt (d.1740) of Bailieborough Castle
Bailieborough Castle
Bailieborough Castle, located in Bailieborough, County Cavan, Ireland, was built by William Bailie a Scottish "undertaker" or Planter, who was granted the lands of Tonergie in East Breffnie by James I. He built the castle and enclosed the demesne by 1629...
, Co. Cavan; and Brigadier-General The Hon. William Steuart (d.1737) M.P., of Ballylane, Co. Waterford, who through his marriage to his uncle's step-daughter, the Hon. Mary FitzGerald-Villiers, came to be the uncle of Prime Minister William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
.
Education
Wilder was tutored at home by Dr. Elwood before entering Trinity College, DublinTrinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
as a pensioner (ordinary student) on July 8, 1734. He was awarded a scholarship in 1736, a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1738, became a Fellow in 1744 and was awarded an M.A. degree in 1748. He received a D.Div.
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
degree in 1753. He was appointed Donegal Lecturer in 1759 and the first Regius Professor of Greek in 1761. He was succeeded in this post by John Stokes in 1764.
Academics at Trinty College led an affluent life. According to Thomas D'Arcy McGee in his book A Popular History of Ireland: from the Earliest Period to the Emancipation of the Catholics:
The Established Church continued, of course, to monopolize University honours, and to enjoy its princely revenues and all political advantages. Trinity College continued annually to farm its 200,000 acres at a rental averaging 100,000 pounds sterling. Its wealth, and the uses to which it is put, are thus described by a recent writer:
"Some of Trinity's senior fellows enjoy higher incomes than Cabinet ministers; many of her tutors have revenues above those of cardinals; and junior fellows, of a few days' standing, frequently decline some of her thirty-one church livings with benefices which would shame the poverty of scores of continental, not to say Irish, Catholic archbishops. Even eminent judges hold her professorships; some of her chairs are vacated for the
Episcopal bench only; and majors and field officers would acquire increased pay by being promoted to the rank of head porter, first menial, in Trinity College. Apart from her princely fellowships and professorships, her seventy Foundation, and sixteen non-Foundation Scholarships, her
thirty Sizarships, and her fourteen valuable Studentships, she has at her disposal an aggregate, by bequests, benefactions, and various endowments, of 117 permanent exhibitions, amounting to upwards of 2,000 pounds per annum".
Wilder was fairly eccentric, as described in Ireland 120 Years Ago (1851) by John Edward Walsh:
The gownsmen were then a formidable body, and, from a strong esprit de corps, were ready, on short notice, to issue forth in a mass to avenge any insult offered to an individual of their party who complained of it. They converted the keys of their rooms into formidable weapons. They procured them as large and heavy as possible, and slinging them in the sleeves or tails of their gowns, or pocket-handkerchiefs, gave with them mortal blows. Even the fellows participated in this esprit de corps. The interior of the college was considered a sanctuary for debtors; and woe to the unfortunate bailiff who violated its precincts. There stood, at that time, a wooden pump in the centre of the front court to which delinquents in this way were dragged the moment they were detected, and all but smothered. One of the then fellows, Dr. Wilder, [Rev. Theaker Wilder, a good mathematical scholar was tutor to Oliver Goldsmith. He was elected Fellow in 1744; and died in 1777] was a man of very eccentric habits, and possessed little of the gravity and decorum that distinguish the exemplary fellows of Trinity at the present day. He once met a young lady in one of the crossings, where she could not pass him without walking in the mud He stopped opposite her; and, gazing for a moment on her face he laid his hands on each side and kissed her. He then nodded familiarly at the astonished and offended girl and saying, "Take that, miss, for being so handsome" stepped out of the way and let her pass. He was going through the college courts on one occasion when a bailiff was under discipline; he pretended to interfere for the man and called out - "Gentlemen, gentlemen, for the love of God, don't be so cruel as to nail his ears to the pump." The hint was immediately taken; a hammer and nail were sent for, and an ear was fastened with a tenpenny nail; the lads dispersed, and the wretched man remained for a considerable time bleeding, and shrieking with pain, before he was released.
Tutor to Goldsmith
Wilder was appointed tutor to the young Oliver Goldsmith when Goldsmith entered Trinity College as a SizarSizar
At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is a student who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined job....
in 1744. Because both men were from the same locality, it was thought that Wilder would provide wise counsel to Goldsmith. However, according to Irving and others, the relationship was tempestuous. There were several incidents where Goldsmith was disciplined by Wilder for infractions of the college rules culminating in his running away to Cork (en route to the Colonies). When he had spent all his money wiser heads prevailed and, with Goldsmith's brother Henry acting as peacemaker, he was able to return to his academic studies. He was awarded a B.A. degree in February 1749, two years later than normal.
Some extracts from Goldsmith's biographies:
From Dromore Manuscript of Memoirs of Goldsmith - Wilder... Was equally remarkable for strength, agility and ferocity. He was once seen to have jumped on the box of a Hackney coach, as it passed rapidly through one of the streets in Dublin, and knock the driver from the seat, because in flourishing his whip the unfortunate man had happened to strike Wilder's face. He sometimes, it was said, when he was senior lecturer classed places for entrance not according to merit, but to his own caprice... To Goldsmith he behaved the cruel tyrant rather than the kind instructor, and though he set the example of rioutous and disorderly conduct, was quite savage with the infliction of punishment on his pupil for the slightest offences in the same way
From John Gibson Lockhart -
He was, moreover, unfortunate in having for his tutor a Mr. Wilder, noted for savage temper, who had the ungenerosity to treat students of the subordinate class with peculiar harshness. Wilder might, perhaps, have treated Oliver better, had his turn been for mathematics and the scholastic logic, in which alone he himself excelled and delighted: but Oliver never concealed his dislike of these studies, and for his proficiency, to whatever it may have amounted, in the ancient languages and their elegant literature, the tutor cared little or nothing ... The youthful sizar was a poet, and we need not doubt that his passions at this period fermented with sufficient commotion. His father died before he had been two years in college, and from that time, though he received occasional supplies from his uncle Contarine, according to the statement of a companion, "his poverty was generally squalid." ...
The registers of Trinity furnish evidence of many irregularities; and among the rest Goldsmith figures as aiding and abetting a riot of May, 1747, which began with pumping a bailiff at the college cistern — and ended with the students heading the rabble of the town in an attempt to force Newgate and liberate the prisoners. This frolic was a very serious one — the gaoler fired, and three were killed and several wounded. Five of the gowned ringleaders were expelled, and Goldsmith and four others were ordered to be admonished "Quod seditioni favissent et tumultuantibus opem tulissent."
In the month after this, Oliver, anxious to recover his ground, made a considerable exertion, stood for one of Erasmus Smith's exhibitions, for which, though then producing only thirty shillings a-year, there were numerous competitors, and acquitted himself at the examination so well as to attain his object. Elated with this first and last of his academical distinctions, he invited a party of young people of both sexes to a supper and dance in his chambers. Mr. Wilder, astounded with the noise of the unlawful fiddle, entered the room, expostulated warmly with Goldsmith, and probably receiving an intemperate answer, struck him. Upon his sensitive spirit this unwarrantable violence produced a violent effect. After brooding all night over his disgrace, he sold off his books and quit the university, resolving to embark for America, and never revisit Ireland until he had made a character and fortune for himself in another region. He loitered about Dublin, however, until he had just one shilling left, and then set out for Cork. On this shilling he supported himself, by his own account, for three days, and then, having sold most of his raiment, was reduced to such extremity, that "after fasting twenty-four hours, he thought a handful of grey peas, given him by a girl at a wake, the most comfortable repast he had ever made." Fatigue and famine did what advice would probably have attempted in vain. Reaching the neighbourhood of his brother Henry, he sent him notice of his plight — was kindly received, re-clothed — and at length carried back to college, where his brother effected "a sort of reconciliation" between him and his tutor.
From Alexander Chalmers - The materials for a life of Dr. Goldsmith are very copious, although, not perhaps uniformly authentic ...
In June 1744, when in his fifteenth year, he was sent to Dublin College, and entered as a sizer, under the rev. Mr. Wilder, one of the fellows, but a man of harsh temper and violent passions, and consequently extremely unfit to win the affections and guide the disposition of a youth, simple, ingenuous, thoughtless and unguarded. His pupil, however, made some progress, although slow, in academical studies. In 1747, he was elected one of the exhibitioners on the foundation of Erasmus Smyth; and in 1749, two years after the regular time, he was admitted to the degree of bachelor of arts. His indolence and irregularities may in part account for this tardy advancement to the reputation of a scholar, but much may likewise be attributed to the unfeeling neglect of his tutor, who contended only for the preservation of certain rules of discipline, while he gave himself little trouble with the cultivation of the mind. On one occasion he thought proper to chastise Oliver before a party of young friends of both sexes, whom, with his usual imprudence, he was entertaining with a supper and dance in his rooms. Oliver immediately disposed of his books and clothes, left college, and commenced a wanderer, without any prospect, without friends, and without money. At length, after suffering such extremity of hunger, that a handful of grey peas, which a girl gave him at a wake, appeared a luxurious meal, he contrived to acquaint his brother with his situation, who immediately clothed him and carried him back to college, effecting at the same time a reconciliation between him and his tutor, which it may be supposed was more convenient than cordial on either side.
From Henry Francis Cary - In June, 1744, he was sent a sizer to Trinity College, Dublin, and placed under the tuition of Mr. Wilder, one of the fellows, who is represented to have been of a temper so morose as to excite the strongest disgust in the mind of his pupil. He did not pass through his academical course without distinction. Dr. Kearney (who was afterwards provost), in a note on Boswell's Life of Johnson, informs us, that Goldsmith gained a premium at the Christmas examination, which, according to Mr. Malone, is more honourable than those obtained at the other examinations, inasmuch as it is the only one that determines the successful candidate to be the first in literary merit. This is enough to disprove what Johnson is reported to have said of him, that he was a plant that flowered late; that there appeared nothing remarkable about him when he was young; though, when he had got in fame, one of his friends began to recollect something of his being distinguished at college. Whether he took a degree is not known. On one occasion he narrowly escaped expulsion for having been concerned in the rescue of a student, who, in violation of the supposed privileges of the University, had been arrested for debt within its precincts: but his superiors contented themselves with passing a public censure on him.
From Sir Walter Scott - An uncle by affinity, the Rev. Thomas Contarine, undertook the expense of affording to so promising a youth the advantages of a scholastic education. He was put to school at Edgeworths-town, and, in June 1744, was sent to Dublin College as a sizer; a situation which subjected him to much discouragement and ill usage, especially as he had the misfortune to fall under the charge of a brutal tutor.
On 15th June 1747, Goldsmith obtained his only academical laurel, being an Exhibition on the foundation of Erasmus Smythe, Esq. Some indiscreet frolic induced him soon afterwards to quit the University for a period; and he appears thus early to have commenced that sort of idle strolling life, which has often great charms for youths of genius, because it frees them from every species of subjection, and leaves them full masters of their own time, and their own thoughts; a liberty which they do not feel too dearly bought, at the expense of fatigue, of hunger, and of all the other inconveniences incidental to those who travel without money. Those who can recollect journeys of this kind, with all the shifts, necessities, and petty adventures, which attend them, will not wonder at the attractions which they had for such a youth as Goldsmith. Notwithstanding these erratic expeditions, he was admitted Bachelor of Arts in 1749.
From Thomas Campbell - He was admitted a sizer or servitor of Trinity college, Dublin, in his sixteenth year, [11th June, 1745] a circumstance which denoted considerable proficiency; and three years afterwards was elected one of the exhibitioners on the foundation of Erasmus Smith. But though he occasionally distinguished himself by his translations from the classics, his general appearance at the university corresponded neither with the former promises, nor future development of his talents. He was, like Johnson, a lounger at the college-gate. He gained neither premiums nor a scholarship, and was not admitted to the degree of bachelor of arts till two years after the regular time. His backwardness, it would appear, was the effect of despair more than of wilful negligence. He had been placed under a savage tutor, named Theaker Wilder, who used to insult him at public examinations, and to treat his delinquencies with a ferocity that broke his spirit. On one occasion, poor Oliver was so imprudent as to invite a company of young people, of both sexes, to a dance and supper in his rooms; on receiving intelligence of which, Theaker grimly repaired to the place of revelry, belaboured him before his guests, and rudely broke up the assembly. The disgrace of this inhuman treatment drove him for a time from the university. He set out from Dublin, intending to sail from Cork for some other country, he knew not whither; but, after wandering about till he was reduced to such famine, that he thought a handful of gray peas, which a girl gave him at a wake, the sweetest repast he had ever tasted, he returned home, like the prodigal son, and matters were adjusted for his being received again at college.
From William Howitt - Trinity College, Dublin, is a noble structure; and, with its spacious courts and extensive gardens, more fittingly deserving the name of parks, one would think a place where the years of studentship might — especially in the heart of such a city — be very agreeably spent. But Goldsmith entered there under circumstances that were irksome to him, and to add to the matter, he met with a brute in his tutor. The family income did not allow him to occupy a higher rank than that of a sizer, or poor scholar, and this was mortifying to his sensitive mind. The sizer wears a black gown of coarse stuff without sleeves, a plain black cloth cap without a tassel, and dines at the fellows' table after they have retired. It was at that period far worse; they wore red caps to distinguish them, and were compelled to perform derogatory offices; to sweep the courts in the morning, carry up the dishes from the kitchen to the fellows' table, and wait in the hall till they had dined. No wonder that a mind like that of Goldsmith's writhed under the degradation! He has recorded his own feelings and opinions on this custom: "Sure pride itself has dictated to the fellows of our colleges the absurd fashion of being attended at meals, and on other public occasions, by those poor men who, willing to be scholars, come in upon some charitable foundation. It implies a contradiction, for men to be at once learning the liberal arts and at the same time treated as slaves; at once studying freedom and practising servitude." A spirited fellow at length caused the abolition of the practice of the sizers acting as waiters, and that, too, on grand occasions before the public, by flinging the dish he was carrying on Trinity Sunday, at the head of a citizen in the crowd, assembled to witness the scene, who made some jeering remarks on the office he had to perform.
His tutor, a great brute — let his name be known — it was Wilder, proceeded sometimes to actual corporal castigation; and with Oliver's natural tendency to poetry, rather than to dry classical and mathematical studies, like many other poets, including Scott and Byron, he cut no great figure at college; and, like the latter, detested it. Amongst his contemporaries at the college was Edmund Burke, but they appear to have known little of each other. To add to Goldsmith's uncomfortable position, there occurred a riot of the students, who hearing that one of their body had been arrested in Fleet-street, rushed to the rescue, seized the bailiffs, dragged them to the college, and pumped them soundly in the old cistern. They next attempted to break open Newgate, and make a general jail delivery, but failed for want of cannon. In the subsequent inquiry Goldsmith came in, not for any severe punishment, but for a college censure. Feeling his self-respect deeply wounded by his brutal tutor entering his chambers, on one occasion when he had a party of merry comrades there, and in their presence inflicting personal chastisement upon him, he quit college, selling his books, and set off to Cork to embark for some foreign country. But his money failed, he was compelled to sell his clothes from his back, and, brought to the utmost condition of misery and starvation, he thus reached his brother's house., who again clothed him, and brought him back to college, endeavouring to propitiate the brutal tutor. His father dying, he was reduced to the deepest distress. His generous uncle, Contarine, helped him all he could, but, with Oliver's careless habits, he was still often reduced to the utmost straits, He was sometimes compelled to pawn his books, and borrow others to study from. His condition became that of squalid poverty, and, at length, he was driven to the extremity of writing street ballads, which he found a ready sale for at five shillings a copy, at a shop known as the sign of the Reindeer, in Mountrath-street. Eventually obtaining the degree of B.A. he quitthe university, and, as we have seen, retreated to his own native neighbourhood and friends.
From The Cambridge History of English and American Literature At this date, he must have been between fourteen and fifteen; and, whatever his ability, it seems to have been decided that he should follow his elder brother Henry to Trinity college, Dublin, though not with the same advantages. Henry Goldsmith, who was five or six years his brother’s senior, had gone as a pensioner and obtained a scholarship. For Oliver, this was impracticable. His father, a poor man, had, from family pride, further crippled himself by undertaking to portion his second daughter, Catherine, who had clandestinely married the son of a rich neighbour. In these circumstances, nothing was open to Goldsmith but to obtain his university education as a poor scholar, a semi-menial condition which, to one already morbidly sensitive, could not fail to be distasteful. For a long time, he fought doggedly against his fate; but, at length, yielding to the persuasions of a friendly uncle Contarine, who had himself gone through the same ordeal, he was admitted to Trinity college as a sizar on 11 June, 1744, taking up his abode in one of the garrets of what was then the eastern side of Parliament square.
The academic career thus inauspiciously begun was not worshipful. From the outset, he was dispirited and disappointed, and, consequently, without energy or enthusiasm. Moreover, he was unfortunate in his tutor, a clergyman named Theaker Wilder, who, though his bad qualities may have been exaggerated, was certainly harsh and unsympathetic (emphasis added). His forte, too, was mathematics, which Goldsmith, like Swift, like Gray, like Johnson, detested as cordially as he detested the arid logic of “Dutch Burgersdyck” and Polish Smiglesius. According to Stubbs’s History of the University of Dublin, Oliver Goldsmith is recorded on one or two occasions as being remarkably diligent at Morning Lecture; again, as cautioned for bad answering at Morning and Greek Lectures; and finally, as put down into the next class for neglect of his studies.
To this, he added other enormities. He was noted, as was Johnson at Oxford, for much “lounging about the college gate”; and for his skill on that solace to melancholy and laborum dulce lenimen, the German flute, of which, as readily as his own “Man in Black,” he had apparently mastered the “Ambusheer.” He became involved in various scrapes, notably a college riot, including that ducking of a bailiff afterwards referred to in the first version of The Double Transformation, on which occasion he was publicly admonished quod seditioni favisset et tumultuantibus opem tulisset. Recovering a little from the stigma of this disgrace by gaining a small (Smythe) exhibition, he was imprudent enough to celebrate his success by a mixed entertainment, in what only by courtesy could be called his “apartments.” On these festivities, the exasperated Wilder made irruption, knocking down the unfortunate host, who, after forthwith selling his books, ran away, vaguely bound, as on subsequent occasions, for America. But a reconciliation with his tutor was patched up by Oliver’s brother Henry; and he returned to his college to enjoy the half-peace of the half-pardoned. His father was now dead; and he was miserably poor. He managed, however, to take his B.A. degree on 27 February, 1749, and quit the university without regret, leaving behind him a scratched signature on a window pane (still preserved), an old lexicon scored with “promises to pay” and a reputation for supplementing his scanty means by the ballads (unluckily not preserved) which he was accustomed to write and afterwards sell for five shillings a head at the Reindeer in Mountrath court, stealing out at nightfall—so runs the tradition—to “snatch the fearful joy” of hearing them sung. It must have been the memory of these things which, years after, at Sir William Chambers’s, made him fling down his cards, and rush hurriedly into the street to succor a poor ballad-woman, who had apparently, like Rubini, les larmes dans la voix.
Marriage and family
In about 1746, he married Letitia Saunders (about 1724 - ). In 1771, after the death of his brother, Steuart Wilder, he inherited the estate at which he had lived Lisdornan, Co. Meath, but Theaker and his family continued to live at his wife's home, Grovehall, RameltonRamelton
Ramelton is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its population is 1,088 .Ramelton is situated at the mouth of the River Lennon, 11 km north of Letterkenny and 4 km east of Milford, on the western shores of Lough Swilly. The town is named from Ráth Mealtáin, , an early Gaelic chieftain...
, Co. Donegal. Three of their children (Henry, Oliver and Nancy) died unmarried, but they were survived by two sons: (1) Mathew Wilder (d.1792) inherited Castle Wilder from his uncle Steuart Wilder, and served as High Sheriff of Co. Longford. In 1772, he married Eleanor, daughter of Hugh Carmichael (1720-1776) of Dublin and sister of Lt.-Gen. Sir Hugh Lyle Carmichael (1764-1813), Lieutenant-Governor of Demerara
Demerara
Demerara was a region in South America in what is now Guyana that was colonised by the Dutch in 1611. The British invaded and captured the area in 1796...
. After the death of their son, Mathew Carlisle Wilder (1775-1809), Castle Wilder passed to their son-in-law Captain Hugh Pollock (2) James Wilder (1764-1788), married Sarah Drought (1764-1788), the eldest daughter of his first cousin Rev. James Drought (1738-1820), Senior Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
. James Drought's mother, Sarah (Wilder) Drought, was Theaker's sister. Theaker's grand-daughter was Letitia Denniston (otherwise Coll) of Cocksheath, Carrigart, Co. Donegal.
Later life and death
He became rector of Tullyaughnish (Ramelton, Co. Donegal) in 1769 and died in late 1777 or, most likely, January 1778 at his home, Grovehall (a townland between Ramelton and Kilmacrenan - not Castle Grove near Letterkenny). The living of Tullyaughnish was in the gift of Trinity College, DublinTrinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
at that time.
His death was reported in the first issue of the Dublin Evening Journal and a few days later in The Londonderry Journal. According to one account - "It is interesting to know that Mr. Theaker Wilder was killed in a drunken riot, just at the time when Goldsmith's social success was at its height" - but this cannot be true since Goldsmith had already been dead for almost four years by the time Wilder died. Another source ascribes his death to an accident sustained when arriving home late from a local hostelry. In any event, his widow took steps to secure his assets. Advertisements to this effect appeared in the Londonderry Journal for several weeks after his death.
The notice of his death in the Dublin Evening Journal of Feb 3rd, 1778, reads:
Deaths
Near Rathmelton, the Rev. Dr. Wilder, formerly a
fellow of Trinity College, Dublin.
The notices in the Londonderry Journal read:
The Inhabitants of Tully and Aughnish, in the
County of Donegal, who are indebted to the
Heirs of the late Dr. Wilder for Rent, Tythes,
&c. are desired to pay the same immediately
to Mr. John Delap of Rathmelton.
- 16th Feb 1778
Letitia Wilder
and
A Caution
Those who are indebted to the Rev. Dr. Theaker Wilder,
of Grovehall, near Rathmelton, in the County of Donegal,
deceased, by Bond, Note or otherwise, are desired not
to pay any Person but me, his Widow, who purposes
to administer immediately, or to my
Lawful Attorney; and those who can give information
of any of his Effects that may be secreted to Mr.
Smyth, No. 8, William-street, Dublin, or to me at
Mr Robert Nesbet's, Rathmelton, shall be rewarded.
Given under my hand this 1st Day of February, 1778
Letitia Wilder
Publications
Wilder published a translation of Newton's Universal arithmetick to which he contributed notes. The book was published in London in 1769. It was begun by Wilder's colleague in Trinity College, Dublin, James Maguire, but was unfinished at the time of Maguire's death. The enterprise was undertaken by Wilder at the behest of Maguire's family -... John and Bridget, the Brother and Sister
of the Author James Maguire: And to the Use
of his Representatives, the Profits (if any) of this
Work are by Deed conveyed; the Losses, if any,
are to be sustained solely by me.
The Library of Congress citation reads:
LC Control No.: 01003431
Type of Material: Book (Print, Microform, Electronic, etc.)
Personal Name: Newton, Isaac, Sir, 1642-1727.
Main Title: Universal arithmetick: or, A treatise of arithmetical
composition and resolution. Written in Latin by Sir
Isaac Newton. Translated by the late Mr. Ralphson; and
rev. and cor. by Mr. Cunn. To which is added, a treatise
upon the measures of ratios, by James Maguire, A.M. The
whole illustrated and explained, in a series of notes,
by the Rev. Theaker Wilder ...
Published/Created: London, Printed for W. Johnston, 1769.
Related Names: Cunn, Mr. (Samuel), ed.
Raphson (sic), Joseph, d. 1715 or 16, tr.
Wilder, Theaker.
Description: 2 v. in 1. VIII fold. diagr. 21 cm.
Notes: Paged continuously.
"Of the methods by which you may approximate to the roots
of numeral equations", By Colin MacLaurin: p. [505]-536.
Subjects: Algebra--Early works to 1800.
LC Classification: QA35 .N564
Language Code: englat
______________________________
CALL NUMBER: QA35 .N564
Copy 1
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The publication is also mentioned in Allibone. In addition to Newton's first edition, there were several other editions of this book - Latin editions of 1722, 1732, 1761 and Ralphson's English editions of 1720 and 1728 before Wilder and Maguire's contributions.
External links
- Description of Theaker Wilder in Fraser's Magazine, 1838
- Oliver Goldsmith: A Biography by Washington IrvingWashington IrvingWashington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
from Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books... - William Black, Goldsmith(English Men of Letters series) from Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
- The Wilders of Castle Wilder from the Longford Library Archives