SWINTON (John), a very celebrated English antiquary, was a native of the county of Chester, the son of John Swinton of Bexton in that county, gent. He was born in 1703. The circumstances of his parents were probably not affluent, as he was entered at Oxford in the rank of a servitor at Wadham college. This was in October 1719. It may be presumed, that he recommended himself in that society by his talents and behaviour, as on June 30. 1723, he was elected a scholar on a Cheshire foundation in the college. In the December following, he took his first degree in arts. Before he became master of arts (which was on December 1. 1726), he had chosen the church for his profession, and was ordained deacon by the bishop of Oxford, May 30. 1725; and was afterwards admitted to priest's orders on May 28. 1727. He was not long without some preferment, being admitted to the rectory of St Peter le Bailey in Oxford (a living in the gift of the crown), under a sequestration, and instituted to it in February 1728. In June, the same year, he was elected a fellow of his college; but, desirous probably to take a wider view of the world, he accepted, not long after, the appointment of chaplain to the English factory at Leghorn, to which he had been chosen. In this situation he did not long enjoy his health; and leaving it on that account, he was at Florence in April 1733, where he attended Mr Coleman, the English envoy, in his last moments. Mr Swinton returned thro' Venice and Vienna; and, in company with some English gentlemen of fortune, visited Presburgh in Hungary, and was present at one of their assemblies.
It is possible that he had not quitted England in the summer of 1730, for he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June that year, and admitted about three months later. It was probably while he was abroad that he was admitted into some foreign societies; namely, the academy degli Apatisti at Florence, and the Etruscan Academy of Cortona. On his return, he seems to have taken up his abode at Oxford, where he resided all the latter part of his life, and was for many years chaplain to the gaol in that city. It may be presumed that he married in 1743; it was then, at least, that he gave up his fellowship. In 1759 he became bachelor
of divinity: in 1767, he was elected Custos Archivorum, Swinton, or keeper of the university records; and, on April 4. 1777, he died; leaving no children. His wife survived till 1784, and both were buried, with a very short and plain inscription, in the chapel of Wadham college.
It remains to take notice of the most important monuments of a literary man's life, his publications. These were numerous and learned, but not of great magnitude. He published, 1. "De Linguae Etrusce Regalis vernacula Dissertatio," 4to, 19 pages, Oxon, 1738. 2. "A critical essay concerning the words Antiqua and Antiquum, occasioned by two late inquiries into the meaning of the demoniacs in the New Testament," 8vo, London, 1739. 3. "De priscis Romanorum literis dissertatio," 4to, 20 pages, Oxon, 1746. 4. "De Primogenio Etruscorum Alphabeto, dissertatio," Oxon, 1746. 5. "Inscriptiones Citerae: five in binas Inscriptiones Phœnicias, inter rudera Citi nuper repertas, conjecturæ. Accedit de nummis quibusdam Samaritanis et Phœniciis, vel insolitam præ se literarum ferentibus, vel in lucem hactenus non editis, dissertatio," 4to, 87 pages, Oxon, 1750. 6. "Inscriptiones Citerae: five in binas alias Inscriptiones Phœnicias, inter rudera Citi nuper repertas, conjecturæ," 4to, 19 pages. 7. "De nummis quibusdam Samaritanis et Phœniciis, vel insolitam præ se literarum ferentibus, vel in lucem hactenus non editis, dissertatio secunda," 4to, 36 pages. 8. "Metilia: five de quinario Gentis Metiliæ, c. nummis vetustis cæteroquin minimum notæ, dissertatio," 4to, 22 pages, Oxon, 1750. 9. Several dissertations published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. As, "A dissertation upon a Parthian Coin; with characters on the reverse resembling those of the Palmyrenes," vol. xlix. p. 393. "Some remarks on a Parthian Coin, with a Greek and Parthian legend, never before published," vol. l. p. 16. "A dissertation upon the Phœnician numeral characters anciently used at Sidon," vol. l. p. 791. "In nummum Parthicum hactenus ineditum conjecturæ," vol. li. p. 683. "A dissertation upon a Samnite Denarius, never before published," vol. lii. p. 28. "An account of a suberated Denarius of the Pictorian family, adorned with an Etruscan inscription on the reverse, never before published or explained," vol. lxii. p. 60. "Observations upon five ancient Persian Coins, struck in Palestine or Phœnicia before the dissolution of the Persian empire," vol. lxii. p. 345. Other papers by him may be found in the general index to the Philosophical Transactions. 10. A part of the Ancient Universal History, contained in the sixth and seventh volumes of that great work. The particulars of this piece of literary history were communicated by Dr Johnson to Mr Nichols, in a paper printed in the Gentleman's Magazine for December 1784, p. 892. The original of that paper, which affords a strong proof of the steady attachment of Johnson to the interests of literature, has been, according to his desire, deposited in the British Museum. The letter is as follows:
"To Mr Nichols.
"The late learned Mr Swinton of Oxford having one day remarked, that one man, meaning, I suppose, no man but himself, could assign all the parts of the Universal History to their proper authors, at the request of Sir Robert Chambers, or of myself, gave the account which I now transmit to you in his own hand, being
Swinton. being willing, that of so great a work the history should be known, and that each writer should receive his due proportion of praise from posterity. I recommend to you to preserve this scrap of literary intelligence, in Mr Swinton's own hand, or to deposit it in the Museum, that the veracity of the account may never be doubted.—I am, Sir, your most humble servant,
Dec. 6, 1784.