Paul Lewis - Highwayman executed at Tyburn
Biography
Birth: n/a
Death: May 04, 1763 at Tyburn by Hanging
Born at Hurstmonceaux, Sussex, the son of a Clergyman. He became a Lieutenant in the navy before, at some point, he took to robbing people and on March 12, 1763 following a failed attempt at robbing a farmer, Mr. Brown, he was taken into custody. He was sentenced to death at the Old Bailey, and on May 4, 1763 he was executed at Tyburn.
Life with James Boswell
Boswell didn't really meet Paul Lewis, but on May 3, 1763 Boswell went to the Newgate prison to watch the prisoners, and there saw Lewis going to the chapel. Boswell took to him instantly, and in his journal described him as a "genteel, spirited young fellow. He was just a Macheath. [...] Poor fellow! I really took a great concern for him, and wished to relieve him." Lewis was executed on the next day, as was Hannah Diego/Dagoe (Link), also mentioned briefly by Boswell. Boswell watched the executions, together with Robert Temple, and was "thrown into a very deep melancholy".
Related links
Mentioned in
Paul Lewis is mentioned in:
- London Journal 1762-1763
