X INTRODUCTION 



born, and where he spent the last thu-ty-five years of his life, 

 was built by Gilbert White, the vicar of Selborne, bequeathed 

 to his son-in-law, the Rev. Charles White, and by him to 

 Gilbert White, the naturalist, his nephew by man'iage. 



Gilbert White, the naturalist, was the eldest of eleven 

 children, three of whom died in infancy. Those of his 

 brothers and sisters who are in any degree memorable, either 

 for what they did, or for their close association with the 

 naturalist, were : — 



(1) Thomas Holt (1724-1797), who made a fortune as a 

 London ironmonger, and wrote papers on natural history, 

 particularly on the trees of Great Britain. He was elected 

 to the Royal Society in 1777. 



(2) Benjamin (1725-1794), a London bookseller, who 

 brought out the History of' Selborne, besides most of the 

 works of Ellis, Pennant, Montagu, and other English natur- 

 alists; he succeeded Gilbert in the enjoyment of the estate 

 at Selborne. 



(3) Rebecca (b. 1726), married to Henry Woods, of Shop- 

 wyke, near Chichester. 



(4) John (1727-1781), who was chaplain at Gibraltar, and 

 after 1772 vicar of Blackburn in Lancashire. He corre- 

 sponded with Linnaeus about the animals of Andalusia, and 

 wrote a Natural History of Gibraltar, which did not, however, 

 get into print. Gilbert White ^ calls him " a very exact 

 observer," and often cites him as an authority. 



(5) Ann (b. 1731), who married Thomas Barker, and had 

 a son Samuel and three daughters, who often appear in 

 Gilbert White's correspondence. 



(6) Henry (1733-1788), who became rector of Fyfield, and 

 took pupils there. He kept meteorological observations, no 

 doubt at Gilbert's request, for comparison with those made 

 at Selborne. Thomas White at South Lambeth, and Thomas 

 Barker (Gilbert White's brother-in-law) at Lyndon, in Rut- 

 land, did the same. Extracts from Henry White's Diary 

 have been printed in Notes on the Parishes of Fyfield, etc., 

 by E. D. Webb (Salisbury, 1898). 



1 Letter XIV. 



