CHOKER, THOMAS CROFTON, was born January 15, 1793, in the city of Cork, Ireland. He was the only son of Major Thomas Croker, of the 3Sth regiment of foot. At the age of fifteen he became an apprentice in a mercantile establishment iu Cork. Between the years 1812 and 1818 he made excursions occasionally on foot in the south of Ireland; and it was duriug these rambles that he commenced making his collections of the legends and songs of the peasantry of Ireland. In the year 1818, Moore, in an advertisement to the 7th number of the Irish Melodies,' expressed his obligations to him for about forty Irish airs which he had sent, for many curious fragments of Irish poetry, and for several iuteresting local traditions. Crofton Croker had also acquired .considerable skill in making pen-aud-iuk sketches, and some of them were exhibited at Cork in 1818.
Major Croker died in 1818, and his widow soon afterwards made application to Mr. John Wilson Croker, then secretary to the Admi ralty, who was a friend of the family, but no relation ; and through his interest, in February 1819, Thomas Crofton Croker became a clerk in the Admiralty, with a salary of 2/. a week. While in this situation he contributed to the introduction of lithography into the Admiralty as a substitute for transcribing several copies of the same document, and for confidential circulars; and he had for many years the superb tendeocc of the private lithographic-press of the Admiralty. He subsequently became a clerk of the first class, with a salary of 800/.; and he retired in 1850 with a pension of 580/.
Mr. Crofton Croker's first literary work was his 'Researches in the South of Ireland,' published in 1324, in 4to, and consisting for the most part of the notes made during his early excursions in 1812-13, and during a subsequent tour in 1821. His next work was the 'Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland,' Loudon, 1825, 3 vols.
8vo. In the first edition of this work he was assisted by Dr. Magian, Mr. Pigott, and Mr. Keightley ; but the materials supplied by his assistants, or at least most of them, were afterwards omitted. A second edition was illustrated with etchings after sketches by Maclisc, then, as Croker states, "a young Irish artist of considerable promise." The 'Fairy Legends' appeared in 1834 in one volume, forming a part of the 'Family Library.' This work, when first pub
lished in 1825, produced a long complimentary letter from Sir Walter Scott ; and on the 20th of October 1826, he was introduced to Sir Walter at the residence of Mr. Lockhart in Pall Mall. His personal appearance is thus described in Scott's Diary :—" Little as a dwarf, keen-eyed as a hawk, and of easy prepossessing manners, something like Tom Moore." In 1829 Mr. Crofton Croker published 'Legends of the Lakes, or Sayings and Doings at Killarney ; collected chiefly from the Manu scripts of H. Adolphus Lynch, Esq., MP., King's German Legion,' London, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. This work was followed in 1832 by two small novels—' The Adventures of Barney Mahoney,' and 'My Village versus Our Village,' of which the first was very favourably received, but the second less ao. In 1339 he edited, with very copious notes, The Popular Songs of Ireland,' 12mo. He was a contributor to some of the annuals which were iu fashion about 1830-40, especially to Amulet,' and 'Friendship's Offering ;' and he edited for two or three years 'The Christmas-Box.' He wroto many small articles, some for magazines, and some which were printed privately. Ho was a constant contributor to the early volumes of 'Fraser'e Magazine,' frequently to ' The Literary Gazette,' and occasionally to The New Mouthly Magazine.' He had always a taste for antiquities, and he was early elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He was chosen a member of the Royal Irish Academy in 1827. He took part in the foundation of the Camden Society in 1839, and of the Percy Society in 1840. He was member of the council of both these societies, and he edited some of the works published by them. When the British Archreological Society was founded, in 1843, he becamo one of the committee. He was also a member of the United Service Institution, of the Irish Archaeological Society, of the Numismatic Society, of the Hakluyt Society, and he was perpetual president of the club of antiquarians called the Society of Noviomagians. He had collected an extremely interesting museum of Irish antiquities, which was sold by auction after his death. He died at his residence, Old Brompton, London, August 8, 1854.
(Gentleman's Magazine, &a)