Dr Samuel Phillips Eady

Samuel Eady

In just 25 years, Samuel Eady attained enough notoriety for several lifetimes. From a promising start as a master craftsman, he was still the subject of ridicule in Parliament some time after his death in 1834. Some career path!

Born in 1786, at the age of 13yrs he was apprenticed to John Ashton, a draper of St Ives. Samuel must have done well. By 1806 he had his own business in the town. A master linen and woollen draper, he was able to take on John Clark as his own apprentice. A year later he married Ann Ears, and a daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1808.

In 1810 his son, Josiah Phillips Eady, was born. The year proved eventful for other reasons. Samuel had taken on a debt when he received goods valued at £115 from William Russell in exchange for several promissory notes. When Russell was made bankrupt in 1824 and the promissory notes had not been honoured despite periodic requests for payment, his creditors pursued the debt through court.

No wonder payment wasn't forthcoming. Samuel declared himself bankrupt in 1810. Described as a warehouseman, dealer and chapman, he was ordered to present himself on several times and dates at the Crown Inn, St Ives, to make full disclosure of his effects and for his debtors to prove their claims. In fact he made a habit of it, being again declared bankrupt in 1818, 1825 and 1833.

To continue the 1810 theme, in December he was tried at the Old Bailey, charged by Dr Harbox of Huntingdon of conspiracy. It was one of the few times he was given the benefit of the doubt and found not guilty.

The 1818 bankruptcy documents noted Samuel as a druggist living at Gerard Street, Soho. He began to use the title 'Dr Eady', promoting his abilities to cure all kinds of maladies. Samuel's specialism appears to have been the treatment of syphilis using mercury. He was thought to have close ties with one Mrs Wood, reputedly a brothel keeper. In the 1821 caricature above, thought to be by George Cruikshank, Dr Eady is shown with two prostitutes. The table is full of goods supplied by the Doctor, with the bill headed 'Dr to Mrs Wood'.

In 1821 his daughter, Martha Abigail Phillips Eady, was born. His family continued to grow in the following years, with the birth of Reuben Phillips Eady in 1825 and John Zachary Eady 1827.

Samuel attracted ridicule by the way he promoted his services, chalking adverts on walls all over London and elsewhere in the country. There is one of his posters from 1824, written in very florid prose, promoting his treatment 'for those who are unhappily afflicted with diseases of the generative system', that is syphilis. He even issued his own farthing tokens, as shown in the example below. At this time he is reputed to have become deranged, spending six weeks in St Luke's Hospital for the Insane. There must be some doubt about the cure. Upon release, he bit a patient.

From 1824 onwards his name was mentioned in newspaper articles and court cases as a subject of derision, right up to the last traceable mentions in the House of Lords 1847, and the House of Commons 1863. A poem and comic song were written about him in 1826.

In that same year both Samuel and his daughter Elizabeth, now aged 18yrs, were in court at Bow Street charged with assaulting and beating their maid. The case went in their favour, but it's well worth clicking the link at the foot of this page to read a report of the case. The maid's witness, Dr Eady's man servant, was turned for the prosecution. From the description of him, if he had testified against his employer it sounds unlikely he would have easily got another job elsewhere. Samuel was no shrinking violet. He was described in court as follows (he evidently looked older than his 40 years) :

'The Doctor, in his own proper person, really exhibited an imposing presence. He is a man about 45 years of age, stoutly made, of florid complexion, and five feet eight inches high. Upon the present occasion he was attired in a spick-and-span new suit of black, hessian boots, with tassels of enormous size, and a black military stock reaching to his ears, and surmounted by a collar of such ample breadth as almost completely to hide those valuable appendages. His head, perhaps one of the largest which nature ever placed upon the shoulders of a human being, is nearly bald on the top, but behind, and at the sides, is a profusion of half black, half white hair, which was gathered into tiny curls and formed regular rows, one above another, in the most precise style imaginable ; the whole adorned with an abundance of powder and pomatum.'

In 1833 Samuel was in Fleet Prison, the notorious London debtor's prison. A sentence in Fleet Prison meant incarceration until the debt was paid off. The prisoner also had to pay for their prison food and lodgings, even to have leg irons removed. It is quite possible Samuel's family lived with him in the prison.

Samuel died in 1834, aged 47 years. He was buried at Edmonton, Middlesex.

Below are links to documents and images from various parts of Samuel's life in date order.

1826 Bow Street court case, Dr Eady and daughter

1826 Poem by Thomas Moore 'The Three Doctors'

1826 Song 'Dr Eady!'

Additional mentions of Dr Eady

11 Sep 1810 London Gazette, Samuel Eady bankruptcy awarded .

12 March 1811 London Gazette, Samuel Eady dividend distribution.

9 Jan 1811 Criminal Register, Samuel Eady

15 Oct 1814 London Gazette, Samuel Eady,
Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors.

1824 Dr Eady advertising leaflet.

1824 Caricature by George Cruikshank. Dr Eady is at the table in the middle.
Campaigners against cruelty to animals come upon Dr Eady and associates eating oysters.

1825 Dr Eady and his patients, by Thomas Rowlandson.

18 Jun 1833, Dr Eady, King's Bench &
Fleet Prison Discharge Book & Prisoner List.

1834 Death register, Samuel Phillips Eady.