Memorial: M2307

Memorial in Dartmouth commemorating Thomas Goldsmith d. 1714, privateer

Location

Dartmouth, Devon, England

Transcript

'Thomas Goldsmith / who died 1714 / He commended the 'Snap Dragon' as privateer / Belonging to this port, in the reign of Queen Anne / In which vessel he turned pirate / And amass'd much riches. / Men that are virtuous serve the Lord, / And the Devil's by his friend's ador'd / And they that merit get a place / Amidst the bless'd or hellish race; / Pray then ye learned clergy show / Where can this brute, Tom Goldsmith go? / Whose life was one continued evil / Striving to cheat God, Man and Devil'

Details

Type: Tomb
Position: Churchyard

Event Category

1701-1714 War of the Spanish Succession

People

Goldsmith, Thomas
Age: Unknown
Date of Death: 1714
Cause of Death: Unknown
Rank / Occupation: Privateer
Organisation: Unknown

Extra

Bibliography: William Andrews 'Curious epitaphs: collected and edited with notes' (London, 1899) p. 66. See 'The Weekly Entertainer', the tomb was apparently sighted by a correspondent in Dec. 18, 1784.

“In one of the angles of Dartmouth churchyard, and at a considerable distance from other graves, is a large tomb, on the stone of which is the following strange inscription.”

However, he does not say in which of Dartmouth's three churchyards the memorial was located.
JSON