Philip Skelton
Philip Skelton (1707–1787) was an Irish Protestant clergyman and writer.
Life
The son of Richard Skelton, a farmer, gunsmith tanner, he was born at Derriaghy, County Antrim, in February 1707. His mother, Arabella Cathcart, was the daughter of a farmer, and the tenancy, under Lord Conway, of the farm at Derriaghy was her marriage portion. Philip, who had five brothers and four sisters, was sent in 1717 to a Latin school at Lisburn. His father died before he was eleven, and it was only by severe economy that his mother could educate her ten children.
In June 1724 he entered
In 1732 he became curate at Monaghan, where the rector paid him £40 a year. He rode up to Dublin, and, appearing before the privy council, obtained the pardon of a condemned man unjustly convicted. He studied physic and prescribed for the poor, argued successfully with profligates and sectaries, persuaded lunatics out of their delusions, fought and trounced a company of profane travelling tinkers, and chastised a military officer who persisted in swearing. He became for a short time in 1742 tutor to James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont, and in 1743 dedicated 'Truth in a Mask' to his pupil. A difference with Mr. Adderley, Lord Charlemont's stepfather, led to his return to his curacy in Monaghan.
In 1750 Skelton was given the living of
In 1759 he was given the living of
In 1780 he came to live in Dublin. He died on 4 May 1787, and was buried near the west door of St. Peter's Church.
Works
Skelton's first publication was an anonymous pamphlet in favour of
In 1744 Skelton published The Candid Reader, a satire on the verse-making of Hill the mathematician, on the Rhapsody of Lord Shaftesbury, and the
Skelton again visited London in 1754, and published Discourses Controversial and Practical on various subjects. In 1759 he published, as a reply to an
The retired Dublin printer, Sarah Cotter was so inspired by An Appeal to Common Sense on the subject of Christianity, she offered and paid for a cheaper edition of the book to allow for a wider circulation of the text. Skelton gave Cotter permission to have a portrait drawn of him on the condition that it not be copied and that she destroy it before her death, which she did three months before she died in March 1792.[2]
References
- ^ "The manuscripts, Letter from Samuel Richardson to Andrew Millar, 31 July, 1750. Andrew Millar Project. University of Edinburgh". www.millar-project.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ Andrews, Helen (2009). "Cotter, Sarah". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
Further reading
FitzGerald, Alexis Some notable observations and connections from the life of an 18th century Irish-naturalist: Rev. Philip Skelton (1707- 1787) Irish Naturalists' Journal. 37: (2) 92 - 96.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Skelton, Philip". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.