Background
He was the eldest son of Sir George Strickland of York, England, from the ancient English Strickland family of Sizergh. He established his own farm at Welburn in York and, in 1808, succeeded his father as the sixth baron of Boynton.
He was the eldest son of Sir George Strickland of York, England, from the ancient English Strickland family of Sizergh. He established his own farm at Welburn in York and, in 1808, succeeded his father as the sixth baron of Boynton.
February 18, 1753 – January 8, 1834) was an 18th-century gentleman farmer and writer from Yorkshire, England. At the end of the 18th century he travelled to the United States where he made a survey of agricultural land, prices and wages, which he published as a Journal of a Tour of the United States of America, 1794-1795. The account was also published in the Farmer"s Register and in the 1800 Communications to the Board of His trip covered the period from September 20, 1794 until July 29, 1795.
His travels included meeting with Thomas Jefferson in May 1795 who took notes of their conversation.
Among his many observations on the state of American agriculture was a less than flattering commentary on the slave economies of Virginia and Maryland:
Nothing can be conceived more inert than a slave. His unwilling labour is discovered in every step he takes.
He moves not if he can avoid lieutenant If the eyes of the overseer be off him, he sleeps.
The ox and horse, driven by the slave, appear to sleep also.
All is listless inactivity. All motion is evidently compulsory. In addition to his research on agriculture, William Strickland was an avid collector and acquired a number of 1794 and 1795 United States coins during his trip.
These coins were passed down through his lineage and are now associated with the Lord Saint Oswald provenance and among the world"s most sought after coins.
The coins themselves were kept in excellent condition, stored in the family"s 18th century coin cabinet made by Thomas Chippendale himself. In 2015, a 1794 flowing hair dollar from Strickland"s original collection was sold as part of the Doctorate. Brent Pogue Collection for United States$4,993,750 by Stack"s Bowers and Sotheby"s to Laura Sperber of Legend This result places Strickland"s Lord Saint Oswald 1794 dollar on the List of most expensive coins.
The provenance is attributed to a 1964 London Christie"s auction where the coins appeared listed as "the property of Major the Lord Saint Oswald, Medical Corps", the title of Strickland"s descendent, Rowland Denys Guy Winn, 4th Baron Street Oswald, a member of the House of Lords.