Thomas Wyatt

(Born: ca. 1797 - Died: February 12, 1873)

English born author and lecturer. Details about his life are very sketchy. He and his wife, Mary Lynch, were both born in England, but emigrated to the United States about 1831. (Their first two children, Frederick and Emily were born in England about 1824 and 1830, respectively. A third child, Sarah, was born in New Jersey, in 1832.) He is listed in the Federal Census for Philadelphia for 1850, with his birth place noted as England and his age as 50. His profession is given only as “D. D.” Also listed are Mary Lynch, Frederick, Emily and Sarah, but they are not clearly connected with Thomas, although a note suggest that they were all boarding in the same house. The son, Frederick, appears to have been living in Jefferson Township, Clark County, Missouri by 1860 and may have enlisted in the Civil War. Thomas Wyatt seems to have visited Mrs. Whitman about July 1852. His last publication appears in 1854. A very brief obituary notice appears in the New York Herald for February 13, 1873, p. 3, col. 6:

There is no evidence to support the claim that Wyatt taught at William and Mary College. A provisional list of Alumni, Faculty and Board of Vistors of the College, 1693-1888 does not list his name in any capacity. The possibility may not be entirely dismissed, however, as fires in 1859 and 1862 caused the loss of numereous documents.

There is an entry in a log book of the Church of the Epiphany (????) that Mr. Thomas Wyatt was entered from St. Andrew’s in Philadelphia and “removed” to New Jersey in 1854.

His books include:

A Manual of Conchology by Thomas Wyatt, A. M., New York: Harper & Brother, 1838

A Synopsis of Natural History by Thomas Wyatt, A. M., Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle, 1839

History of the Kings of France by Thomas Wyatt, A. M., Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1846

Memoirs of the Generals, Commodores, and Other Commanders, Who Distinguished Themselves in the American Army and Navy During the Wars of the Revolution and 1812, Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1848 (copyrighted in 1847)

The Sacred Tableaux Or Remarkable Incidents in the Old and New Testament edited by Thomas Wyatt, A. M., Boston, John M. Whittemore, 1848 (copyrighted in 1847)

Beauties of Sacred Literature edited by Thomas Wyatt, A. M., Boston: James Munroe & Co., 1848

A Description of the National Medals of America presented to the officers of the war of 1812, by Thomas Wyatt, A. M., New York: C. Vinten 1854