Members of Society of Bucks 1764-1818

The Society of Bucks is covered elsewhere - this page looks at the membership over the half century of existance of this society. There are two books relating to membership - a register of members in order of acceptance as a member and an Approbation Register which list all who were proposed for membership, their proposer and decision on their membership. This latter register has the year 1763 in the label on the front cover which may indicate that it was acquired a few months prior to March 1764 which would appear to be its start on the Island.

There are 191 names in the Membership register and 197 names in the Approbation register of which 195 are indicated as approved of which 11 are not in the Membership register - possibly they never paid an entrance fee, The Approbation register has many pencilled notes in a later hand, noting how many joined as a group etc. Both registers indicate a death of a member, sometimes with the date thereof. The Membership register also has columns indicating the Buck's fictional 'estates' which presumeably figure in some of the rituals.

The list below is an amalgam of both registers,giving the membership number(a later addition to original register), names, abode anf occupation from the Membership register though ignoring the ritual estates but adding the proposer from the Approbations register, any Obituary notice, indicated †, as well as my notes The sequence of names differs slightly between the two registers - that of the Membership register is used here

The early meetings were on a Tuesday night, fortnightly at the Anchor in Bucks Row as per the Constitution book, but the gap between the dates of admitting members is not consistent.- as the meetings were in Douglas where most of the members lived, possibly they went on until late.

The three proposers of the first five mentioned members would appear to be the founders: Roger Haydock, Thomas Arthur and Peter John Heywood - the last two appear in the Constitution and Minute Book as described by Wm Cubbon as officers of the society - the 25 yearold attorney Peter John Heywood of the Nunnery, the Roman Catholic Thomas Arthur a leading merchant in the soon to be extinguished 'running trade'; the third Roger Haydock appears to play little or no role post the 6th March 1764 - he dies aged 65 in September 1786 leaving a widow Sussanah als Parr(d. 1792)and a son Joseph (d.1796). Cubbon also credits James Oates of Oatlands as Grand Buck at the founding but replaced by Peter John Heywood in 1765 and does not appear to play any futher role. Haydock however appears as the lead signature(along with those of several other Bucks) in a 1780 Petition to the 4th Duke of Athol to use his influence to improve the trade regulations imposed by London.