Elton, Sir Charles Abraham

(1778-1853)

   Born at Bristol, the only son of the Rev. Sir Abraham Elton, fifth baronet. Educated at Eton College, he was commissioned into the army at the age of fifteen and served in Holland under the Duke of York. He was afterwards lieutenant-colonel of the Somersetshire militia. He married in 1804 and had five sons and eight daughters. The two eldest sons were drowned in 1819 while bathing near Weston-superMare. He inherited the title in 1842 and lived in retirement at Clevedon Court, Bristol. He died at Bath. Some of his publications: Poems, 1804. Tales of Romance, and Other Poems, Including Selections from Propertius, 1810. Specimens of the Classical Poets in a Chronological Series from Homer to Tryphiodorus, Translated into English Verse, 1814. Remains of Hesiod, translated - with notes, 1815. Appeal to Scripture and Tradition in Defence of the Unitarian Faith, 1818. The Brothers, a Monody and Other Poems, 1820 (referring to the death of his sons). Some of his poems: "Archilochos," "The Birth of the Muses," "The Creation of Woman," "The Goddess Hecate," "The Inspiration of Wine."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Greek Poets. Nathan Haskell Dole, ed. Crowell, 1904.