John Ives
Encyclopedia
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
(14 July 1751 – 9 January 1776) was an antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
and officer of arms
Officer of arms
An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...
at the College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
in London. He was born in Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
, the son of another John Ives, a wealthy merchant. He was baptized at a Congregationalist church and it was from a Congregationalist minister that he received his earliest educational instruction. He was planning to attend Gonville and Caius College but went to work in his father's counting-house in 1767.
Due to his father's wealth, Ives did not need to take a job, and his growing interest in British antiquities made it undesirable. Ives was elected as a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
on 13 June 1771. Shortly thereafter , Ives began to assemble material for a history of Lothingland
Lothingland
Lothingland is an area in East Anglia, situated on the North Sea coast. It is bound by Breydon Water to the north, the River Waveney to the west and Oulton Broad to the south, and includes Lowestoft....
, the north-easternmost part of Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. This was never published, but a manuscript version of it, entitled Collectanea Lothinglandia or The History and Antiquities of the Hundred of Lothingland can be found in the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
.
Ives was also able to spend time as a collector, thanks to his father's resources. He was also able to acquire a private press around the beginning of 1772. With this, he produced a printed copy of the baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
al and burial registers of Great Yarmouth for the preceding nine years in dated 5 September 1772.
Ives was made a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
on 25 March 1773. That summer, he elope
Elope
To elope, most literally, merely means to run away with a girl and to not come back to the point of origination. More specifically, elopement is often used to refer to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving hurried flight away from one's place of residence together...
d with Sarah Kett at Lambeth on 16 July 1773.
In October of 1774 Ives was appointed Suffolk Herald of Arms Extraordinary at the College of Arms. As an officer extraordinary, he did not receive automatic access to the College's records. However, he was corresponding with John Charles Brooke
John Charles Brooke
John Charles Brooke FSA was an English antiquarian and Somerset Herald at the time of his premature death in 1794.-Early life:...
, then Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary
Rouge Croix Pursuivant
Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms. The office is named after St George's Cross which has been a symbol of England since the time of the Crusades...
, which indicates that Ives was friendly with the officers in ordinary. He died of consumption
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
at Great Yarmouth on 9 January 1776. He was buried with his family in Belton
Belton
Belton may refer to:* Belton, Texas* Belton, South Carolina* Belton, Missouri* Belton, Montana, known today as West Glacier, Montana* Belton, Ontario* Belton, North Lincolnshire* Belton, Lincolnshire** Belton House* Belton, Leicestershire...
church. In accordance with his will, his collections were auctioned in the spring of 1777 in London, the proceeds going to Sarah, his widow.