Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Coram, Thomas

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CORAM, THOMAS (1668?–1751), philanthropist, was born at Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire, in 1667 or 1668. His father is supposed to have been captain of a ship. In 1694 he was settled at Taunton, Massachusetts. By a deed dated 8 Dec. 1703 he gave fifty-nine acres of land at Taunton to be used for a schoolhouse, whenever the people should desire the establishment of the church of England. In the deed he is described as ‘of Boston, sometimes residing in Taunton,’ and he seems to have been a shipwright. He gave some books to the library at Taunton, one of which, a Book of Common Prayer, given to him by Speaker Onslow, is (or was in 1844) preserved in St. Thomas's Church, Taunton. In 1704 Coram helped to obtain an act of parliament giving a bounty on the importation of tar from the colonies. In 1719 he was stranded off Cuxhaven, when sailing for Hamburg in the Sea Flower, and the ship was plundered by the neighbouring inhabitants. He then settled in London, where he carried on business for some time. He became known for his public spirit. Old Horace Walpole (afterwards Lord Walpole) called him (18 April 1735) ‘the honestest, most disinterested, most knowing person about the plantations he had ever talked with’ (Cox, Walpole, iii. 243). He obtained an act of parliament taking off the prohibition upon deal from Germany and the Netherlands. In 1732 he was appointed one of the trustees for Georgia, then founded through Oglethorpe's exertions. In 1735 he brought forward a scheme for settling unemployed English artisans in Nova Scotia. The plan was approved by the board of trade, and after being dropped for a time was carried out before Coram's death. Brocklesby also states that on some occasion he obtained a change in the colonial regulations in the interest of English hatters, and refused to take any reward from his clients except a hat. Meanwhile he had become interested in another object. Going into the city upon business he had been frequently shocked by the sight of infants exposed in the streets, often in a dying state. He began to agitate for the foundation of a foundling hospital. He laboured for seventeen years, and induced many ladies of rank to sign a memorial (given in ‘Account of Foundling Hospital,’ 1826). A charter was at last obtained, considerable sums subscribed, and the first meeting of the guardians was held at Somerset House 20 Nov. 1739. At a later court a vote of thanks was presented to Coram, who requested that thanks should also be given to the ladies interested. Some houses were first taken in Hatton Garden, where children were first admitted in 1741. A piece of land was bought for 7,000l. Lord Salisbury, the owner, insisted that the whole of his ground ‘as far as Gray's Inn Lane’ should be taken; but he subscribed 500l. himself. The foundation was laid 16 Sept. 1742. The west wing was finished, and the children removed from Hatton Garden in October 1745. Great interest was excited in the undertaking, especially by Hogarth, who in May 1740 presented his fine portrait of Coram to the hospital. Hogarth also presented a picture of Moses with Pharaoh's daughter, and gave tickets in the lottery for the ‘March to Finchley,’ one of which won the prize. He also introduced a portrait of Coram into an engraved power of attorney for receiving subscriptions to the hospital. Handel gave performances at the hospital in 1749 and 1750. Coram continued to be interested in the hospital. In his later years he advocated a scheme for the education of Indian girls in America. After the loss of his wife he neglected his private affairs, and fell into difficulties. A subscription was raised for him. He told Brocklesby that as he had never wasted his money in self-indulgence, he was not ashamed to confess that he was poor (Hawkins, Johnson, p. 573). On 20 March 1749 an annuity of 161l. was assigned to him, the Prince of Wales subscribing 21l. annually, and, it is added, paying as regularly as the merchants who were the principal contributors. The pension was transferred on Coram's death to Leveridge, a worn-out singer. Coram died 29 March 1751, aged 83, and was buried 3 April following in the chapel of the Foundling Hospital. An inscription is placed there, and a statue of him by W. Calder Marshall was erected in front of the building a hundred years afterwards. Brocklesby describes him as a rather hot-tempered, downright sailorlike man, of unmistakable honesty and sterling goodness of heart. His portraits by Hogarth and by R. Nebot have been engraved.

[Memoranda, or Chronicles of the Foundling Hospital (1847), and History of the Foundling Hospital (1858), by John Brownlow, where Brocklesby's account of Coram and other documents are given; History of St. Thomas's Church, Taunton, Mass., by N. T. Brent, rector; Accounts of the Foundling Hospital (1798 and 1826); London Mag. viii. 627, xx. 188; Gent. Mag. xii. 497, xix. 235, xxi. 141; Hutchins's Dorsetshire, i. 409.]