Person record for Holcroft, Thomas

Thomas Holcroft was one of Godwin's closest friends for many years. He was a sigificant collaborator in Godwin's writings, notably Political Justice as well as being an important dramatist and novelist in his own right. Holcroft left for Germany in 1799, partly due to the notoriety he had gained as an 'acquitted felon' of the 1794 Treason Trials. He returned to England in 1802 and had further success on the stage. Godwin and he fell out over a character in Godwin's Fleetwood which Holcroft felt was based on him. They were reconciled on Holcroft's deathbed.

Godwin’s first mention of Holcroft is in 1788, which is used consistently until the first instance of abbreviation of ‘Ht’ in 1792. Other variations have included ‘H’ (where context has determined that the initial refers to Holcroft) and Holct. 1795 is the last mention of Holcroft’s full name, and thereafter Godwin uses Ht consistently. Where possible, when Godwin refers to Holcrofts plural, we have established his partner based on chronology, as he married several times. Holcroft married in 1765 and has a daughter Ann. His wife died prematurely but no further details are known. In 1774 he married Matilda Tipler, wiith whom he had his son William and daughter Sophy, this wife dying c 1775. He married his third wife, Dinah Robinson, in 1778, with whom he had a daughter Fanny. The diary notes the separation of Holcroft from his third wife on 6 January 1790, and notes her death on 31 October 1790. Godwin seems to have had no independent relationship with Holcroft's third wife (hence, left uncoded). He married his fourth wife, Louisa Mercier on 4 March 1799. The DNB makes no mention of issue from Hocroft's fourth marriage, but Godwin refers to L Ht and sons in the diary from 1803. Also, the account of Holcroft's death in his Life refers to an incident where Holcroft asks his wife if it is her children making a noise on the stair (p. 310). The Morning Chronicle (25 March 1809) reporting Holcroft's death refers to him having left an amiable wife and six children under the age of nine and two daughters from a previous marriage!

There is a reference to a 'Ht' on 4 Jan 1802 which has been left uncoded as Holcroft is still abroad. '2 Hts' and '3 Holcrofts' entries which appear 1802-5 have been coded for Thomas and Louisa. After Holcroft marries Louisa, all instances of 'Hts' have been coded for her as well. Similarly to other entries, she has also been included in any meals Godwin takes at 'Ht's' and for 'Call on Hts' but NOT for any 'call on Ht' or 'Call at Ht's'. N.B. This is despite evidence of Godwin's inconsistent use of the possessive apostrophe ie 'Dine with Nicholsons, Smiths, Ht's, etc' Note also on 9 Aug 1804, Godwin refers to 'L and T Ht' this has been coded as Thomas and Louisa, despite the unusual nature of the reference.

There is a range of references to Holcroft's activities that can be traced through the entries, although the meaning of many of them remains obscure. For example, 17 September 1788 'Explain to Holcroft' and 29 September 1788 'Holcroft explains to Robinson'. In November 1789 a series of entries from 8 November 1789 to 17 November 1789 provides a narrative of the running away of Holcroft's son, their pursuit to Gravesend and then Deal; the suicide of his son, and then his funeral. This is followed in 6 January 1790 by 'Separation of H and sa femme' . Holcroft's third wife (Diana Robinson) dies on 31 October 1790 and an inquest and funeral follow on 2-3 November 1790. Unsurprisingly, Holcroft also features largely in references to quarrels or 'demêlé'.

The diary also refers to Harwood Holcroft, probably one of his sons, named in gratitude after Col. Harwood who was a close friend to Holcroft as well as being his son-in-law (with Ann).

MS. Abinger c. 41, fols. 13-14: not dated
MS. Abinger c. 31, fol. 14: not dated
MS. Abinger c. 31, fol. 19: not dated
MS. Abinger c. 8, fol. 74v: not dated
MS. Abinger c. 31, fol. 67: not dated
MS. Abinger c. 15, fol. 12: 15 September
MS. Abinger c. 1, fols. 79-80: 24 July 1788
MS. Abinger c. 1, fol. 81: 4 August 1788
MS. Abinger c. 1, fol. 83: 5 August 1788
MS. Abinger c. 1, fol. 82: [5] [August] [1788]
MS. Abinger c. 1, fol. 84-5: 6 September 1788
MS. Abinger c. 31, fols. 2-6: c. 1790
MS. Abinger c. 31, fol. 7: c. 1790
MS. Abinger c. 1, fol. 100: [1791]
MS. Abinger c. 52, fol. 5: c. 1791
MS. Abinger c. 17, fol. 31: c. 1792
MS. Abinger c. 31, fols. 8-10: [1794]
MS. Abinger c. 2, fols. 45-6: 7 July 1794
MS. Abinger c. 2, fols. 48 & 49v: 9 October 1794
MS. Abinger c. 2, fol. 50: 10 October 1794
MS. Abinger c. 2, fols. 101-2: 22 July 1795
MS. Abinger c. 3, fols. 57-8: 6 April 1797
MS. Abinger c. 3, fols. 70-1: 26 July 1797
MS. Abinger c. 3, fols. 75-6: 10 September [1797]
MS. Abinger c. 54, fol. 43: 10 September 1797
MS. Abinger c. 55, fols. 5-8: [1797-9]
MS. Abinger c. 21, fols. 59-60: [1797-9]
MS. Abinger c. 22, fols. 185-7: [1797-9]
MS. Abinger c. 31, fols. 11-13: c. 1798-9
MS. Abinger c. 31, fol. 14: c. 1798-1800
MS. Abinger c. 31, fols. 15-18: c. 1798-1800
MS. Abinger c. 4, fols. 53-4: 1 November 1798
MS. Abinger c. 4, fols. 64-5: 24 December 1798
MS. Abinger c. 44, fols. 44-7: c. 1799-1800
MS. Abinger c. 4, fols. 125-6: 19 July 1799
MS. Abinger c. 4, fols. 137-8: 19 September 1799
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 18-19: 22 November 1799
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 37-8: 10 December 1799
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 39-40: 13 December 1799
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 52-3: 31 December 1799
MS. Abinger c. 22. fols. 138-40: [2 May 1800]
MS. Abinger c. 54, fols. 50-4: [2 May 1800]
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 132-3: 20 May 1800
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 71-2: 24 January 1800
MS. Abinger c. 44, fol.18: 28 January 1800
MS. Abinger c. 44, fol. 19: 7 Febuary 1800
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 85-6: 11 Febuary 1800
MS. Abinger c. 7, fols. 15-16: 6 March 1801
MS. Abinger c. 7, fols. 101-2: 20 March 1802
MS. Abinger c. 44, fol. 20: 21 March 1800
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 100-1: 1 April 1800
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 104-5: 18 April 1800
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 106-7: 22 April 1800
MS. Abinger c. 5, fol. 119: 29 April 1800
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 122-3: 9 May 1800
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 126-7: 13 May 1800
MS. Abinger c. 5, fols. 134-5: 27 May 1800
MS. Abinger c. 6, fol. 3: 3 June [1800]
MS. Abinger c. 6, fols. 9-10: 13 June 1800
MS. Abinger c. 6, fols. 13-14: 20 June 1800
MS. Abinger c. 6, fols. 30-1: 15 August 1800
MS. Abinger c. 6, fol. 40: 2 September 1800
MS. Abinger c. 6, fols. 45-6: 9 September 1800
MS. Abinger c. 6, fols. 60-1: 24 October 1800
MS. Abinger c. 6, fols. 78-9: 24 November 1800
MS. Abinger c. 6, fols. 86-7: 28 November 1800
MS. Abinger c. 6, fols. 104-5: 26 December 1800
MS. Abinger c. 7, fols. 80-1: 1 January 1802
MS. Abinger c. 7, fols. 89-90: 2 February 1802
MS. Abinger c. 7, fols. 91-2: 17 February 1802
MS. Abinger c. 7, fols. 95-6: 1 March 1802
MS. Abinger c. 7, fols. 105-6: 6 April 1802
MS. Abinger c. 7, fols. 123-4: 2 May 1802
MS. Abinger c. 7, fols. 126-7: 27 May 1802
MS. Abinger c. 18, fol. 30: 1803
MS. Abinger c. 18, fol. 25: 2 September 1803
MS. Abinger c. 8, fols. 36-7: 3 September 1803
MS. Abinger c. 18, fol. 26: 9 September 1803
MS. Abinger c. 18, fol. 27: 11 September 1803
MS. Abinger c. 8, fols. 46-7: 16 October 1803
MS. Abinger c. 22, fol. 173: [16 November 1803]
MS. Abinger c. 22, fol. 174: [16 November 1803]
MS. Abinger c. 22, fols. 175-7: 16 November 1803
MS. Abinger c. 42, fols. 6-7: 24 November [1803]
MS. Abinger c. 8, fol. 69: 20 April 1804
MS. Abinger c. 8, fols. 70-1: 21 June 1804
MS. Abinger c. 8, fol. 74r: 23 September 1804
MS. Abinger c. 8, fol. 75: 25 September 1804
MS. Abinger c. 8, fol. 78: 27 September 1804
MS. Abinger c. 8, fols. 79-80: 1 October 1804
MS. Abinger c. 8, fols: 81-2: 3 October 1804
MS. Abinger c. 18, fol. 35: 3 October 1804
MS. Abinger c. 18, fol. 39: 4 December 1804
MS. Abinger c. 8, fols. 94-5: 1 January 1805
MS. Abinger c. 8, fols. 96-7: 2 January 1805
MS. Abinger c. 8, fol. 103: 28 Febuary [1805]
MS. Abinger c. 18, fol. 44: 3 March 1805
MS. Abinger c. 18, fols. 45-6: 3 March 1805
MS. Abinger c. 18, fol. 42: 1-2 January 1805
Morning Chronicle, 25 March 1809
DNB
Thomas Holcroft, The life of Thomas Holcroft, continued by William Hazlitt, ed. by Elbridge Colby, 2 vols (London: Constable & Co., 1925)

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.

Name	Number of Meetings
Holcroft, Louisa (née Mercier)	85
Nicholson, William	59
Fenwick, John	45
Godwin, Mary Jane (Clairmont) (née de Vial)	41
Foulkes, John	35
Thelwall, John	30
Reveley, Maria (Gisborne) (née James)	28
Tuthill, Sir George Leman	25
Perry, James (Pirie)	25
Stoddart, John	23
Shield, William	22
Fenwick, Elizabeth (Eliza) (née Jaco, pseudonym Reverend David Blair)	22
Barry, Major Henry	22
Alderson, Amelia (Opie)	20
Cole,	20
Robinson, George	20
Harwood, Colonel William	19
Dyson, George	19
Jennings, Joseph Clayton (Jennyns)	19
Porson, Richard	18
Cooper, Thomas (Abthorpe)	18
Jennings, Mrs (Jennyns)	18
Jardine, Major Alexander	16
Marshall, James	15
Reveley, Willey	15
Merry, Robert	15
Parry,	15
Wollstonecraft, Mary (Godwin)	13
Opie, John	12
Wolcot, Dr John (pseudonym Peter Pindar)	12
Barry, James	11
Crosdill, John	10
Tobin, James Webbe	10
Debrett, John	9
King, John (Jacob Rey)	9
Mercier, Charles André	9
Clementi, Muzio	9
Barlow, Joel	8
Mackintosh, Sir James (of Kyllachy)	8
Montagu, Basil	8
Hamilton, Archibald	8
Taylor, John	8
Batty, Robert	8
Stewart, John (Walking Stewart)	8
Hazlitt, William	7
Cooper, Elizabeth Priscilla	7
Parr, Samuel	7
Godwin, Hannah	7
Hazlitt, John	6
Dyer, George	6
Gerrald, Joseph	6
White,	6
Williams, Helen Maria	6
Richter, Henry James	6
Horne Tooke, John	6
Holcroft, Sophia (Cole)	6
Northcote, James	5
Sinclair, Charles	5
Rowan, Archibald Hamilton	5
Bannister, John	5
Inchbald, Elizabeth	5
Weld,	5
Banks, Thomas	5
Chalmers, Alexander	5
Aickin, James	5
Tobin, John	5
Powell, James	4
Northmore, Thomas	4
Kippis, Andrew	4
Frend, William	4
Richter, John	4
Bosville, William	4
Maxwell, William	4
White, Luke	4
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor	4
Davis,	4
Parry, Dr Caleb Hillier	4
Parry, Charles Henry	4
Sharp, William	4
Fawcett, Joseph	4
Curran, John Philpot	4
Phillips, Sir Richard (Philip Richards)	4
Dealtry, Peregrine (Perry)	4
Carlisle, Sir Anthony	4
Kentish, John	4
Hays, Mary	4
Reynolds, Elizabeth (née Mansel)	4
Tarleton, Sir Banastre (baronet)	4
Imlay, Fanny (Godwin)	3
Adair, Robert	3
Parr, Sarah Anne (Wynne)	3
Moore, Sir Graham	3
Mergez, Georges Nicholas	3
Maitland, James (eighth earl of Lauderdale)	3
Davy, Sir Humphry	3
Este, Reverend Charles	3
Webb,	3
O'Connor, Arthur (Conner) (Condorcet-O'Connor)	3
Smith,	3
Fergusson, Robert Cutlar	3
Buchan, Dr Alexander Peter	3
Johnson, Joseph	3
Godwin, John	3
Rowan, Sarah Jane (née Dawson)	3
Ritson, Joseph	3
Gillies, John	3
Lawrence, Sir Thomas	3
Hollis, Thomas Brand	3
Frost, John	3
Joyce, Jeremiah	3
Hoare, Prince	3
Courtenay, John (Courtney)	2
Grattan, Hon Mrs	2
	2
Tierney, George	2
Underwood, Thomas Richard	2
Woodfall, Henry Sampson	2
Robinson, Pollingrove	2
Parr, Catherine Jane	2
Dibbin, Henry	2
Lofft, Capel	2
Lofft, Sarah (neé Watson)	2
Knight, Robert	2
Symonds, Henry Delahoy	2
Hanger, George (Baron Coleraine)	2
Paine, Thomas	2
Salomon, Johann Peter	2
Plumptre, Annabella (Bell)	2
Smith, Charlotte (née Turner)	2
Noel, Francois Joseph Michel	2
Pinkerton, John (pseudonym Robert Heron) (pseudonym H. Bennet)	2
Boaden, James	2
Heywood, Samuel	2
Holcroft, Ann (Harwood)	2
Manning,	2
Fell, Ralph	2
Disney, John	2
Cooper, Grace Mary Rae	2
Burdett, Sir Francis (fifth baronet)	2
V, P	2
Lamb, Charles	2
Knight, Thomas	2
Wollstonecraft, James	2
Kearsley, Thomas	2
Higgins, Godfrey	2
Smith, George	2
Plumptre, Anne	2
Cooke, George Frederick	1
Knapp, Leonora	1
Blake, Arthur	1
Hayward, Richard	1
Hill, (Thomas)	1
Taylor, Richard	1
Tobin, Captain George	1
Morton, Thomas	1
Lamb, Mary Anne	1
Surr, Thomas Skinner	1
Fell, Sarah	1
Smart,	1
Mercier, Charles	1
Scott, Thomas Hobbes	1
Banks, John Cleaver	1
Combe, William (Combes)	1
Fawcett, Charlotte (née French)	1
Fenwick, Eliza Anne	1
	1
	1
Cavendish, Georgiana (Duchess of Devonshire, née Spencer)	1
Mercier, Louis	1
Otton,	1
Petion, Jerome	1
Knox, Vicesimus	1
Kemble, Maria Theresa (née De Camp)	1
Hollis, John	1
Dyson, Abraham	1
Kemble, John Philip	1
Yaniewicz, Felix (Feliks Janiewicz)	1
Siddons, Sarah (née Kemble)	1
	1
Baddeley, Robert	1
Clairmont, Clara Mary Jane (Claire)	1
Turner, Thomas	1
Chandler, John Westbrooke	1
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (née Godwin)	1
Dawe, George	1
Bourgeois, Peter Francis	1
d'Ohsson, Chevalier Ignatius (Mouradgea)	1
Parkinson, James	1
	1
Desenfans, Noel Joseph	1
	1
	1
	1
Busby, Thomas	1
Aikin, John	1
Wordsworth, William	1
Taylor, 'Opera'	1
Kinnaird, Lord George	1
Palmer, Thomas Fyshe	1
Lewis,	1
Quick, John	1
Carey, Captain Charles John (Cary) (ninth Viscount Falkland)	1
Moore, John	1
Woodforde, Samuel	1
Edgeworth, Maria	1
Smirke,	1
Dignum, Charles	1
Richter, George	1
Raine, Jonathan	1
Tweddell, John	1
Calonne, Vicomte Charles Alexander	1
	1
Ridgeway, James	1
Kyd, Stewart	1
Wakefield, Gilbert	1
Jardine, Juana	1
Moore, C[harles]?	1
Gawler, Captain John Bellenden (Ker)	1
Williams, Edward (Iolo Morganwg)	1
Iliff, Edward Henry	1
Lee, Richard ('Citizen')	1
Carey, Henry Thomas (eighth Viscount Falkland)	1
Losh, James	1
Pigott, Charles	1
Wedgwood, Thomas	1
Cowley, Hannah (née Parkhouse)	1
Beaufoy, Henry Hanbury	1
Ballantyne, James	1
Rous, George	1
Allen, Robert	1
Gregory, George	1
Wedgwood, Josiah (jr.)	1
Fitzpatrick, Richard	1
Pinkerton, Ann (Nancy)	1
Jones, Margaret	1
Perry, Anne (née Hull)	1
Jones, Louisa	1
	1
Arnot, John	1
Lawrence,	1
Twiss, Francis	1
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley	1
Priestley, Joseph	1
Macleod, Norman	1
Fordyce, James	1
	1
Mendoza,	1
Maurice, Thomas	1
Scarlett, James (first Baron Abinger)	1
Grey, Charles	1
Hare, James	1
Stanley, Earl of Derby Edward	1
Miller,	1
Dermody, Thomas	1
Williams, David	1

Holcroft, Thomas

1788

1789

1790

1791

1792

1793

1794

1795

1796

1797

1798

1799

1800

1801

1802

1803

1804

1805

1806

1809