“R” is for Rugeley, Rowland (1738-1776)

“R” is for Rugeley, Rowland (1738-1776). Author. One of South Carolina's earliest writers, Rugeley was born in England. In 1763 his Miscellaneous Poems: Translations from La Fontaine and Others was published in Cambridge. In 1765 he immigrated to South Carolina  where the governor appointed him to the office of registrar. In 1769 became a member of the Royal Council. In 1774 he published in Charleston The Story of Aeneus and Dido: Burlesqu’d from the Fourth Book of the Aeneid of Virgil. 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. In his obituary, Roland Rugeley was praised for his “integrity and philanthropy” as well as for his wit, learning, and charm.