Personal data
Nathaniel Gould
about
Born 1730   Died November 12, 1786  
Colonel Gould

Married (1752) to Frances Mary Buckworth (d. 1759). Married (1759) to Elizabeth Cochrane, Boswell's mother's cousin. He had two children from his first marriage, Fanny (b. ca. 1755, d. 1832)1 and Buckley (possibly b. 1752 in Weston, Somerset, d. 1827).2

He entered the 3rd Regiment of the Guards in 1749 and remained in that regiment until 1766 when he retired with the rank of Lt-Colonel.

According to Boswell, Lt-Col Gould participated in the Affair of St. Cast.3

Boswell first met Nathaniel Gould on December 03, 1762. During the following months he often dined with the Goulds, and enjoyed their company. Boswell especially seems to have taken a liking to the Colonel, and on January 8, 1763 mentioned the Colonel's charming indolence in his journal.

  • 1Fanny Gould married Lt-Gen Charles Horneck in Bath in 1790, and later, in 1812, the poet Rev. Thomas Sedgwick Whalley (1746-1828). According to one source, she "was of extravagant habits, and came to him in debt to the extent of some thousands, for which he found himself responsible" (Knapp, Oswald G. (1914). The Intimate Letters of Hester Piozzi and Penelope Pennington, 1788-1821. p. 281)
  • 2

    Possibly named Bulkeley. Commissioned ensign in the 59th Regiment in 1770, and later sailed to India on the Walpole. (see footnote for December 3, 1762, in the Penguin edition (2010) of the London Journal)

  • 3

    In September 1758, French forces intercepted a British expeditionary army attempting to evacuate from the coast of Brittany during the Seven Years' War. A decisive French charge on the beach at Saint-Cast inflicted heavy casualties, leading to a major defeat for the British rearguard and their naval withdrawal. This victory ended the British policy of "descents" (coastal raids) on France and remains a celebrated moment of French coastal defense.

Unless otherwise noted, the source for a dated quotation of Boswell's is generally the corresponding volume of the Yale Trade Editions of Boswell's journals.