John Elliot was born on 11 January 1759 in Hemsley, YKS, ENG.
1,2,3 He and
Isabella Todd were married in 1784.
3 He died in September 1834, at age 75, in Ripon, YKS, ENG.
3 Wrote 'fictional' book on cannabilism based on experiences during voyages. PM
John ELLIOTT was born (by his own account)[1] in ?Hemsley? (Helmsley) in Yorkshire on January 11th 1759 [2] to John Elliott and his wife née WILKINSON [3]. He says of his parents: ?tho they never had more than four children, they began to live beyond their income?, and at age seven he was sent to live with his widowed maternal grandmother, Mrs Martha Wilkinson, in nearby Marton le Moor. A year or two later he was ?sent for and provided for? by his uncle, Martha?s son John Wilkinson, a wealthy London merchant and ship owner with strong connexions to the Admiralty. Young John received a nautical education and first went to sea on one of his uncle?s ships, a stormy voyage to the West Indies, probably in 1769 (he says 1770), followed by another to the Mediterranean. Then, thanks to his uncle?s patronage, he was selected as one of the midshipmen on James Cook?s second voyage, ?quite a great feather in a young Man?s Cap?. On July 13th, 1772, they sailed on the Resolution from Plymouth, Elliott ?not yet 14 years old ... the youngest person on the Ship except Mr. Vancouver.
After his voyage with Cook Elliott sailed on East India Company vessels from 1775 to 1778, then, with England now at war with Spain, France, and America, rejoined the Navy and was made fourth lieutenant on HMS Ajax in 1779 in the West Indies. In 1780 he was promoted to first lieutenant but was badly wounded in the legs at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782.
He married Isabella Todd in 1784, a lady of ?genteel fortune?; they had fourteen children (he named the eldest daughter Sibbella), of whom nine survived to adulthood. He never returned to active service and settled down to the comfortable life of a country gentleman in a handsome house he built in Ripon, living on half-pay and subsidised by his aunt. In 1814 he was superannuated with the rank of Commander for his long service and wounds received. He died in September 1834, remembered by a plaque in Ripon Cathedral.
ROGI. John Elliot was a midshipman with Captain Cook on Resolution in 1772.
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