124 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
"Dighton" or "R. Dighton" while the son always wrote his
name in full—"Richard Dighton."
Richard Dighton was born in 1795 and studied under his
father. He executed a large series of cartoons in the same style
and published his own and his father's works. He also executed
portraits in crayon and in water-colour. Two of his portraits
are in the National Portrait Gallery—those of John Keate, D.D.
(1773-1852), Head Master of Eton, and John Braham, a cele-
brated tenor singer (1774-1856). Richard Dighton died in 1880.
The most famous of the three men who are the subjects of
today's exhibit is, I presume, Samuel Gurney (born 1786, died
1856) of Ham House, Upton, in the parish of West Ham, the bill
discounter and philanthropist. He was the second son of John
Gurney of Earlham Hall near Norwich (died 1809) by Catherine,
daughter of John Bell, merchant of London. He, his brothers
Joseph John and David Gurney and his sister Elizabeth Fry all
have niches in the Dictionary of National Biography. He married
on April 7th, 1808, Elizabeth, daughter of Jas. Sheppard of
Ham House. This house descended to the young couple and it
was here his wife died in 1855.
Samuel Gurney entered the banking firm of Richardson and
Overend, afterwards Overend, Gurney and Co., in 1807. He
became known as the "Banker's Banker," and died on June 5th,
1856, in an hotel in Paris, being buried in the Friends' Burial
Ground at Barking. He left nine children and upwards of 40
grandchildren. There is an obelisk and drinking fountain facing
the west end of Stratford Church erected to his memory in 1861
by his fellow parishioners and friends.
Ten years after the death of Samuel Gurney, in 1886, his bank
suddenly suspended payment on what afterwards became known
as "Black Friday." My father and grandfather were both
financial editors and I can well remember my father telling me
of the consternation the failure caused in the City. On this
particular day my father was told, when a youth,'to go round to
the different banks and note those that had posted on their closed
doors the fact that they had ceased to pay Of course before the
days of Joint Stock Banks the failure of one big private bank
invariably brought down smaller institutions if only temporarily.
My next man is William Mellish of "Harts," Woodford and
London, shipowner and navy victualling contractor. Born 1774,
he was M.P. for Grimsby 1796-1806 and for Middlesex 1806-20
and was elected a Subscriber to Lloyd's in 1802. He died in
Dover Street, London, on January 27th, 1834, at a house he had
taken just before his demise and which had lately been the
residence of Mr. Long Wellesley of Wanstead House fame.
Some 18 months before, one of his Captains attempted to