(1729 - 88), b. Lisbon of English parents.
- 1773 - 84 Naples (Jan. 1773 - ), Rome ( - 1782 - 3), Naples (May - Jun. 1783), Florence (by 10 - 23 Nov. 1783 - ), Naples (Jan. 1784), Florence ( - 5 Feb. - 4 May) [Paris Nov.]
Chase was a member of Lord Tylney's household in Florence, and there are sporadic references to him in Italy from 1773. Early in 1773 he was with his master in Naples (see Elizabeth, Duchess of Beaufort) and in June 1775 he went with Lady Orford to Fiesole.1 On 30 September 1776 Home wrote to Colin Morison from Florence introducing Mr Chase and Mr Tenant who are going to visit Rome 'to observe the different curiosities ... and mean to lodge at Pio's if his home is empty'.2 On 3 November 1779 Hippisley asked Lord Herbert to 'ask Mr Chase to lend you his account of the Earthquake at Lisbon', in which, according to Horace Walpole, Chase had been crushed in the ruins of his house.3 Chase's name occurs several times in John Ramsay's Journal: in December 1782 in Rome, in May and June 1783 in Naples, and May 1784 in Florence.4
When Lord Tylney died in Naples in September 1784 he left 'Thomas Chase Esq.' £;300 in his will 'as a mark of gratitude for the great services he has shown me during his residence with me at Florence and Naples'.5 William Assheton and Dr John Parkinson met him in Naples on 27 January 1784 at a dinner given by the 5th Earl of Shaftesbury, and Assheton met both men again in Paris in November of that year.6 Chase witnessed Horace Mann's will (26 March 1781), in which he was left a mourning ring ('to my most esteemed and dear friend').7
1. Home letter bk.MSS (3 Jun., 9 Jul., 22 Nov., 19 Dec. 1775). 2. Ibid. (30 Sep. 1776). 3. Pembroke Papers, 1:305. Wal.Corr., 25:534n7. 4. Ramsay jnl.MSS. 5. Ld. Tylney's will (PCC 223 Major). 6. Assheton list MSS. Parkinson jnl.MSS. 7. Wal.Corr., 25:534n7, 667.