Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Scattergood, Antony
SCATTERGOOD, ANTONY (1611–1687), divine, was eldest of the twelve children of John ‘Skatergood,’ gentleman, of Chaddesden, Derbyshire, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Baker, yeoman, of Ellastone, a village in North Staffordshire. The parents were married at Ellastone on 18 Dec. 1608, and Antony was baptised there on 18 Sept. 1611 (parish register). He matriculated from Trinity College, Cambridge, as a sizar on 17 Dec. 1628, graduating B.A. in 1632–3. He contributed Latin verses to the university collections in honour respectively of the Duke of York in 1633, of the Princess Elizabeth in 1635, and of Charles I, on the birth of his fifth child, in 1637. In the last year Greek verses by him were prefixed to J. Duport's ‘Liber Job.’
His friends at Cambridge included William Sancroft, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, and John Pearson, afterwards bishop of Chester. Taking holy orders, he acted as chaplain at Trinity College from 1637 to 1640. On 2 April 1641 he was admitted to the rectory of Winwick, Northamptonshire, on the presentation of John Williams, bishop of Lincoln. This living he held till his death. He received a canonry in Lincoln Cathedral on 6 May 1641, and became chaplain and librarian to the bishop. From an unprinted manuscript in Williams's Library he edited ‘Annotationes in Vetus Testamentum et in Epistolam ad Ephesios,’ Cambridge, 1653 (new edit. Frankfort, 1704). The authorship is uncertain.
Meanwhile he joined with John Pearson, the latter's brother Richard, and Francis Gouldman, in compiling a collection of biblical criticism which was intended to supplement Walton's Polyglot Bible. Their efforts resulted in ‘Critici Sacri sive Doctissimorum Virorum in SS. Biblia Annotationes et Tractatus,’ which was published in nine folio volumes in 1660, with a dedication to Charles II (another edit. Frankfort, 1696; 2nd edit. Amsterdam, 1698). Scattergood corrected nearly the whole work for the press. A copy presented by himself is in Trinity College Library. On 8 March 1662 Scattergood and Dillingham were directed by convocation to see through the press the amended Book of Common Prayer. In the following June he received, at the king's request, the degree of D.D. at Cambridge, in consideration of his great abilities and ‘sufficience in learning’ (Kennett, i. 780). In 1664 Scattergood received the prebend of Sawley in Lichfield Cathedral, to which the treasurership of the cathedral was attached. He contributed 50l. to the restoration of the cathedral, and became chaplain to Bishop John Hacket [q. v.] On 16 Aug. 1666 he received another Lichfield prebend, that of Pipa Minor, and in 1669 the living of Yelvertoft, near Winwick, which he continued to hold with Winwick. On 13 July 1669 he was incorporated D.D. at Oxford at the opening of the Sheldonian Theatre.
In 1666 he prefixed a Greek ode to Duport's Δαβίδης ἔμμετρος, and in 1676 Duport returned the compliment by including a eulogy on him in his ‘Musæ Subsecivæ.’ Scattergood meanwhile was busily engaged in literary work. He edited in 1672 (2nd edit.) ‘XLVII Sermons by Antony Farindon [q. v.]’ He was long occupied in a revision of Schrevelius's Greek lexicon, first published in 1645 (Worthington, Miscellanies, 1704, p. 306), and he prepared a new edition (adding no fewer than five thousand words) of Thomas's Latin dictionary in 1678. He is further credited with having brought up to a total of 33,145 the number of references to parallel passages in a folio edition of the Bible issued at Cambridge in 1678 by the university printer, J. Hayes. This number exceeds by 7,250 the references found in Hayes's edition of the Bible of 1677. Unfortunately no copy of the 1678 edition is known to be extant (Cotton, Editions of the Bible, p. 35; Lewis, History of the English Translations, 1739, p. 344; Horne, Introduction, i. 328). But a quarto edition printed by Hayes appeared in 1683, and repeats Scattergood's generous embellishments.
In 1682 he resigned his prebend of Lichfield and that of Lincoln. In both benefices he was succeeded by his son. He died on 30 July 1687, and was buried in the chancel of Yelvertoft church. Kennett, while bishop of Peterborough, purchased in 1724–5 Scattergood's ‘choice collection of books’ from Mr. Smith, bookseller, of Daventry.
Scattergood married Martha, daughter of Thomas Wharton, merchant of London. She died in December 1654, being buried at Winwick. By her Scattergood had two sons—Samuel (see below) and John—and one daughter, Elizabeth.
The elder son, Samuel Scattergood (1646–1696), baptised at Winwick on 16 April 1646, was entered at Trinity College, Cambridge, on 20 May 1662, and was admitted a scholar on 29 April 1664, at the same time as Sir Isaac Newton (Trin. Coll. Registers). He graduated B.A. in 1665, M.A. in 1669, and in the same year was elected a fellow of his college. In 1669, like his father, he was incorporated at Oxford on the opening of the Sheldonian Theatre. In the same year a Greek poem by him on the death of Queen Henrietta Maria was printed in ‘Threni Cantabrigienses,’ Cambridge, 1669 (British Museum). He took holy orders, and preached at Newmarket on 2 April 1676. The sermon was published ‘by his Majestie's special command.’ It is not reprinted in his ‘Collected Sermons.’ From 1678 to 1681 he was vicar of St. Mary's, Lichfield (St. Mary's parish register), and on 23 July 1681 he was presented to the vicarage of Ware, in the gift of his college. This living he resigned within four months, and was collated to the vicarage of Blockley in Worcestershire (Soden, Hist. of Blockley, 1875). On the 12th of the previous September he had married at Tettenhall in Staffordshire Elizabeth Gilbert of Lichfield (Tettenhall parish register), and resigned his fellowship. He became prebendary of Lichfield on 5 June 1682 (Harwood, Hist. of Lichfield, p. 241; Browne Willis, Survey of Cathedrals, p. 455), and in 1683 he was installed prebendary of Lincoln (Harleian MS. 7048, f. 434; Browne Willis, p. 226); in both preferments he succeeded his father. He died at Blockley, at the age of fifty, and was buried there on 10 Dec. 1696 (Blockley parish register). He left a widow and two daughters, one of whom, Martha (1685–1754), left 100l. to the poor of Blockley (a charity that is still administered) and 100l. to the poor of Yelvertoft in Northamptonshire.
In 1700 there was published: ‘Twelve Sermons upon several occasions, by Samuel Scattergood,’ with a preface signed ‘J. S.,’ i.e. John, Samuel's younger brother, who presented a copy to the library of Trinity College, Cambridge.
In 1723 there appeared: ‘Fifty-two Sermons upon several occasions by Samuel Scattergood,’ 2 vols. London, 1723 (new edition, Oxford, 1810). It contains the twelve sermons published in 1700, but neither of two which were separately published in Scattergood's lifetime. In S. Clapham's ‘Sermons, selected and abridged, chiefly from Minor Authors,’ London, 1813, four of Samuel Scattergood's sermons are included. Clapham (vol. iii. p. lxxvi) says ‘Scattergood's sermons have long been scarce and highly valued.’
[Information kindly given by Dr. Aldis Wright; Cole's MSS. in Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 5880; Le Neve's Fasti; Winwick Parish Register; authorities cited.]