Rugeley, Rowland
In 1774 The Story of Aeneas and Dido: Burlesqu’d from the Fourth Book of the Aeneid of Virgil was published in Charleston. This work, which has been called the first classical burlesque written in America, has a lengthy preface satirizing the pretensions of poets in the New World, witty footnotes in Latin, and a wildly comic spirit. Rugeley showed himself to be comfortable with neoclassical forms and a content that mixes the classical with the contemporary.
Author. One of South Carolina’s earliest writers, Rowland Rugeley was born in England on August 25, 1738, the son of a linen draper of St. Ives. In 1763 his Miscellaneous Poems: Translations from La Fontaine and Others was published in Cambridge. Containing translations from Horace; “Belphagon, or The Devil’s Marriage” by La Fontaine, and several short poems, the book showed Rugeley to be a writer of some learning, modest talent, and real wit.
In 1765 Rugeley immigrated to South Carolina with a loan from his father and the promise of help from the colonial governor, Lord Charles Montagu. Montagu awarded Rugeley the office of register, and in 1769 Rugeley became a member of the Royal Council. He purchased several large tracts of land around Charleston for planting but never had the funds to develop them. The lands, bought on credit, were eventually lost. In 1774 The Story of Aeneas and Dido: Burlesqu’d from the Fourth Book of the Aeneid of Virgil was published in Charleston. This work, which has been called the first classical burlesque written in America, has a lengthy preface satirizing the pretensions of poets in the New World, witty footnotes in Latin, and a wildly comic spirit. Rugeley showed himself to be comfortable with neoclassical forms and a content that mixes the classical with the contemporary.
Rugeley married Harriet Dawson on March 27, 1775, but she died in December 1776, a week after the death of their infant daughter. Rugeley died shortly thereafter on December 23, 1776. In his obituary in the South-Carolina and American General Gazette of January 2, 1777, Rugeley was praised for his “integrity and philanthropy” as well as for his wit, learning, and charm. Rugeley’s works have never been reprinted. Copies are extant in the special collections of the South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina.
Rugeley, Rowland. Miscellaneous Poems: Translations from La Fontaine and Others. Cambridge, U.K.: Fletcher and Hodson, 1763.
–––. The Story of Aeneas and Dido: Burlesqu’d from the Fourth Book of the Aeneid of Virgil. Charleston, S.C.: Robert Wells, 1774.
Rugeleys in America. 2 vols. Austin, Tex.: Rugeley Family Association, 1995–1997.
