l66 THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
"to the several beds. He married Miss Jackson, by whom
"he has left several children, the youngest just born. Mr. S.
"was so corpulent, through excessive eating, that he kept
"a regular weekly fast, without reducing his corpulency.
"The third daughter died the 22nd inst. Having been
"long subject to violent attacks of the stone and a lethargic
"habit, he died of an obstruction in his kidneys which brought
"on a diarhoea. After lying in state two days, at his house
"at Knots green, Low Leyton, his remains were interred
"at Hendon on November 7th."
Slater was not less respected for his pleasant manner,
liberality, and every characteristic of a gentleman, for his
opulence and honour as an English merchant, than for enthusiasm
as a botanical collector. He married at St. Mary Aldermary,
London, on the 29th March, 1784 (being then described as an
iron merchant) Elizabeth, daughter of Philip Jackson, of
Rainton Hall, Houghton-le-Spring, Durham, and before of
Leyton and Walthamstow, by Penelope Lawrence, daughter of
John Goodchild, of Pallion House, near Sunderland. By his
wife he had two sons and three daughters, and through this
marriage he was connected with many important Leyton
families, including the March, Phillips, More, Bosanquet,
Richards, Lisle, Vandeput, Dunster, and Dashwood families
and with the Countess of Effingham.
In his will dated 29th April, 1793, and proved nth November
following, Gilbert Slater, of Iron Wharf, in the parish of Allhallows-
the-Great, London, describes himself as of Knots Green, Low
Layton, Essex. He leaves his wife £1,300 per annum, and if
she remarries £650 per annum and the interest of £5,000. The
wife is also to have his house, gardens, and grounds at Knots
Green and all household goods, furniture, plate, china and linen,
books, pictures, prints and drawings, stock of wine, etc., with his
carriages, harness and carriage horses and other horses, cows, and
all other live and dead stock upon or about his premises at
Knots Green. To each of his children he leaves £5,000 at age
21, and in addition each daughter is to have a further £3,000,
while all the rest of his estate goes to his son or sons equally
at age 21. There is no mention of his plants in his Will.
Unfortunately the Will was never witnessed, and the two