The late Lord Mayor was the son of Peter Beckford, Esq; of Jamaica, was born in that island; coming over to England young, he entered as a Commoner in Baliol College, Oxford, from whence he went to Leyden, and studied anatomy under the famous Albinus, and the practice of physic under the great Boerhaave; which studies being finished, he went for two years to Paris, where he closely attended the Hotel des Invalides, and was allowed, by all who knew him, to have made a considerable progress, both in the sciences and in several branches of medicine; but his father dying in 1730, he became possessed of so ample a fortune, as rendered the ordinary practice of a Physician unnecessary.
He was chosen Member of Parliament in 1747, both for London and Petersfield but preferring the former, he gave to the latter 400l. for paving the streets, as an acknowledgement of the honour conferred upon him. In 1753 he, at once, managed matters so, as to get himself elected for the city of London, and his brother Richard Beckford, a Counsellor at Law, to be returned Member for the City of Bristol, notwithstanding a strong opposition, and that Richard was in Jamaica, and could not attend; but he dying in 1756, the Lord Mayor became still more opulent by the increase of his brother’s fortune, which was reckoned to amount to 10,000l. per annum.
In 1756 he married Mrs. March, relict of Francis March, Esq; In 1758, he served the office of Sheriff, and gave such entertainments to the Judges, Serjeants, and Learned in the Law, at the end of every term, as astonished all who partook of them. In 1762 he was elected Lord Mayor of the city of London, notwithstanding his own earnest desire to be excused; and, during his Mayorality, gave four entertainments, perhaps the most magnificent since the time that Henry VIII, Charles V, Emperor of Germany, and Christian II of Denmark, dined at Guildhall. Their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of York and Gloucester honoured him with their presence, on Lord Mayor’s-day. And during his Mayoralty at this time, his routs were elegant beyond description; that in March last cost him, it is said, above 10,000l.
During his residence in Holland, he contracted an intimacy with a beautiful young girl, the daughter of a Shop-keeper at Leyden, by whom he had a son. Upon the death of his father, he brought her over to England, and placed her in apartments suitable to his rank and fortune; and being obliged to go over to Jamaica, to settle his affairs, where he remained two years, upon his return home, with a design to marry his beloved girl, to his great mortification he found her with child by a Molatto boy, not then 16, whom he had left with her as a page. This so affected him, that his friends were afraid it would have cost him his life: He, however, provided handsomely for her, and sent her back to Holland. He had, besides, several other natural children, for all of whom he provided in a handsome manner.
He was great encourager of such as had the care of the education of his children, and gave liberally to the Ushers of the schools where they studied; and contributed also to every Charitable Foundation for the instruction of youth within the Bills of Mortality.
As a Magistrate, he was strict, but not severe; and laid it down as a maxim, never to suffer any person, when brought before him, to sign his confession, declaring, that the practice was barbarous and tyrannical: Of this, the case of Rice, the Broker who was executed April 1763, is a shining and illustrious example.
His immense fortune fixed him in a state of independence, and he was therefore generally in opposition to the Ministers and Secretaries of State. In Parliament his zeal carried him so far, as sometimes to speak upon things with which he was not thoroughly acquainted: However, his views were looked upon to be upright, and his intentions sincere. His conduct, of late, in presenting two Petitions to the Throne, desiring a Dissolution of the present Parliament, seems rather to have flowed from a conviction, that a Chief Magistrate ought to act according to the sense of the inhabitants, than from any opinion of his own that their Presentation would be attended with the desired effect.
In his diet he was exceeding moderate when by himself, notwithstanding the grandeur of his entertainments, to set off which, no manner of expence was spared.
He has left behind him one son by his Lady, a cousin to Lady Cathcart, now at the Court of Russia. The young Gentleman is about ten years of age, and under the tuition of Mr. Drysdale, a North Briton. He very much resembles his father in appearance, and the lineaments of his face. Time only can discover if he will imitate him in his conduct.
