Oliver Goldsmith

1794-1861

Oliver Goldsmith (narrative poet) was born 6 July 1794 in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. After two years of living in St. Andrews, a fire destroyed their home and property and the family relocated to Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The Goldsmiths eventually settled in Halifax in 1796, where Oliver later went to the Halifax Grammar School. For brief periods, he took part in several trades, including those of book seller, ironmonger, and apprentice in a lawyer’s office. Goldsmith entered the Commissariat of the British Navy on 5 June 1810. Following his father’s death in June 1811, Goldsmith’s mother moved back to Plymouth, England, followed there by her son in 1816. A year later he was sent back to Nova Scotia where he was Assistant Commissary General. He retired after forty-five years and in 1855 moved to Liverpool, England, where he lived with his sister, Jane. The first edition of his poem The Rising Village was published as a forty-eight-quarto volume in 1825 by the John Sharpe Company of London.  He died in Liverpool on 23 June 1861, after which an autobiography was found among his family papers. These papers were edited by W.E. Myatt and published in 1943, with a new edition in 1985.

Source: Watling, Erin and Deirdre Pinder. "Oliver Goldsmith." New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia, Winter 2009. Accessed 1 June 2023.

Predominant New Brunswick Residences:

Saint Andrews

Archival Material