Jennings, James (1772–1833)

Writer. Born in Huntspill, Somerset, son of a village shopkeeper, John Jennings, and his wife Elizabeth Fear. Educated locally and at North Petherton School. Apprenticed to a Bristol apothecary in 1786. He contributed poems to the European Magazine and in 1794 published The Times, a satire. Jennings moved to London shortly after his marriage to Charlotte Sawier, probably the only daughter of Southey’s landlady Mary Sawier, in 1795.

Jebb, John (1775–1833)

John Jebb (1775–1833): Irish clergyman, who rose to be Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick, Ardfert, and Aghadoe 1823–1833. He was a close friend of Robert Inglis. In 1818 Jebb sent Southey a copy of the second edition of his Sermons, on Subjects Chiefly Practical. This initiated a correspondence on religious and political matters that lasted until Jebb’s death.

Jardine, David (1794–1860)

David Jardine (1794–1860): The eldest child of David Jardine (1766–1797), Minister of the Trim Street Unitarian Chapel, Bath. Jardine was an undergraduate at the University of Glasgow and Southey helped his education by lending him books. Jardine graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1813 and became a barrister in 1823. He was appointed Recorder of Bath in 1837 and a police magistrate at Bow Street, London 1839–1860. He also wrote extensively on legal history.

Jardine, Alexander (d. 1799)

Alexander Jardine (d. 1799): Army officer and author. He was appointed to the post of Consul in Galicia in 1791. He was a friend of William Godwin and Joel Barlow (1754–1812; DNB), and his writings included Letters from Barbary, France, Spain, Portugal &c. (1788). He and Southey met during the latter’s 1795–1796 visit to the Iberian peninsula. He figures in both Southey’s correspondence from this period and in Letters Written During a Short Residence in Spain and Portugal (1797).

Jackson, Thomas (1783–1873)

Thomas Jackson (1783–1873): Wesleyan Methodist minister and writer. The son of an agricultural labourer, he was born in Lincolnshire. His formal education finished at the age of twelve when he was sent to work on a farm. This was followed by an apprenticeship to a carpenter. He became a Methodist in 1801 and was appointed an itinerant preacher in 1804. He served some of the key circuits in London and the North of England and, as a result, was an influential figure.