Joseph Palmer (writer)

Joseph Palmer
Born	1756
Died	4 September 1815 Eastbourne, Sussex
Nationality	English
Occupation	Writer

Joseph Palmer, formerly Joseph Budworth, (1756 – 4 September 1815) was an English writer.

Biography

Palmer born in 1756, nephew of the Rev. William Budworth master of Brewood school, Staffordshire, was son of Joseph Budworth, originally of Coventry. At an early age he joined the 72nd regiment, or royal Manchester volunteers. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and proceeded with the regiment to Gibraltar. In the course of the siege of that fortress by the combined forces of France and Spain, he was severely wounded. He returned home with his regiment in 1783, and accepted a cadetship in the Bengal artillery, though he did not long remain in India. Subsequently, he retired from the service; but in the war occasioned by the French revolution, he volunteered as a captain in the North Hampshire militia. Shortly after leaving the army he married Elizabeth, sister of Roger Palmer, esq., of Rush, near Dublin, and of Palmerstown, co. Mayo, and succeeded, in her right, on the decease of her brother in 1811, to the estates and name of Palmer. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on 4 June 1795 (Gough, Chronological List, p. 58). He died at Eastbourne, Sussex, on 4 September 1815, and was buried on the 14th in the churchyard of West Moulsey, Surrey, to which parish he had been a liberal benefactor.

His only daughter and sole heiress, Emma Mary, became the wife of W. A. Mackinnon, of Newtown Park, M.P. for Lymington. She died on 15 November 1835, aged 43 (Gent. Mag. 1835, pt. ii. p. 663).

Palmer wrote much in the ‘Gentleman's Magazine,’ under the signature ‘Rambler.’ His works are:

• ‘A Fortnight's Ramble to the Lakes in Westmoreland, Lancashire, and Cumberland. By a Rambler,’ London, 1792, 8vo; 2nd edit. 1795; 3rd edit. 1810; dedicated to William Noble, banker. To the latter edition were added ‘A Re-visit to Buttermere, January 1795,’ and ‘Half-pay.’ Many interesting anecdotes of the siege of Gibraltar, including particulars of his own military services, occur in pp. 358–82.
• ‘Half-pay [a poem]. Written at Gibraltar on a very stormy evening, with the melancholy prospect of going upon Half-pay,’ 1794; dedicated to Colonel Hans Sloane, M.P.
• ‘The Lancashire Collier-Girl. A true Story,’ in ‘Gentleman's Magazine,’ 1795, pt. i. p. 197. This tale was widely disseminated by the Society for Circulating Serious Tracts among the Poor, but with some alterations not approved by the author.
• ‘The Siege of Gibraltar: a Poem,’ London, 1795, 4to.
• ‘A View of the Village of Hampton from Moulsey Hurst. With the original “Lancashire Collier-Girl,”’ London, 1797, 12mo.
• ‘Windermere: a Poem,’ London, 1798, 8vo.
• A memoir of his father, the Rev. William Budworth, and an account of an interesting conversation between Bishop Hurd and himself, are in John Nichols's ‘Literary Anecdotes,’ vol. iii.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cooper, Thompson (1895). "Palmer, Joseph". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 43. London: Smith, Elder & Co.