This officer is the third and youngest son of the late William Sotheron, of Darrington, near Pontefract, co. York, Esq. He was born in 1765, and entered the naval service in 1776, as a Midshipman on board the Bienfaisant, of 64 guns, commanded by the late Admiral M‘Bride, under the auspices of which gallant officer, he completed the first six years of active duty. Being lent for awhile to the Arethusa frigate, he bore a part in the well-fought battle between that ship and la Belle Poule, June 17, 1778^[1]; and on his return to the Bienfaisant, was in the action between Keppel and d’Orvilliers, off Ushant^[2]. He was also present at the capture of the Caraccas convoy, the defeat of Don Juan de Langara, and the relief of Gibraltar by the fleet under Sir George B. Rodney, circumstances which have already been adverted to in our memoir of H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence^[3].

In the ensuing summer we find the Bienfaisant cruizing after a large private ship of war, which was known to have sailed from Brest and proceeded to St. George’s Channel. Captain M‘Bride’s look out was ineffectual, until Aug. 13th, when being off Kinsale, early in the morning, he perceived a strange vessel in chace of some merchantmen that had sailed from Cork on the preceding day, under his protection. He immediately made sail; and at 7 A.M., got within pistol-shot of the stranger, then under English colours. On being hailed by the Bienfaisant, she hauled them down, and hoisted French. A smart action, commenced on both sides with musketry, now took place; and, at the expiration of an hour and ten minutes, the enemy struck, having had 21 men killed and 35 wounded, with her rigging and sails cut to pieces. The Bienfaisant had 3 men killed and 20 wounded; and the Charon, a 44-gun ship, which came up at the close of the engagement, had 1 man wounded. The prize proved to be le Comte d’Artois, of 64 guns and 644 men, commanded by the Chevalier Clonard, who was slightly wounded.

Le Comte d’Artois was not destined to be a solitary captive; for, in the course of the following month, the Bienfaisant also captured la Comtesse d’Artois, another French privateer.

At the close of 1780, Mr. Sotheron removed with his gallant commander into the Artois frigate, which had been taken from the French a few months before, and was considered to be the finest vessel of her class in the world. This ship formed part of the force employed to watch the motions of the Dutch squadron, which was then ready for sea in the Texel; and our young officer was consequently present, in the month of Aug. 1781, at the engagement off the Dogger Bank, between Sir Hyde Parker and Admiral Zoutmann^[4]. On the 3d Dec. in the same year, the Artois captured the Hercules and Mars, Dutch privateers, mounting 24 nine-pounders and 10 cohorns each, the crews of which amounted to 310 men, 22 of whom were slain and 35 wounded. The Artois had only 1 killed and 6 wounded. She is also represented as having formed part of the fleet under Admiral Barrington, when that officer intercepted a French convoy bound to the East Indies, on which occasion the Pegase of 74 guns, l’Actionnaire a 2-decker armed en flute, and ten sail of transports, fell into the hands of the British^[5].

During the remainder of the war Mr. Sotheron served in the Artois, off the Irish coast. He afterwards proceeded to Newfoundland, where he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, by Admiral Campbell, in 1783, and served in that capacity on board the Danac and Mollis frigates, during the ensuing three years. We subsequently find him in the Kingfisher sloop, from which vessel he removed into the Trusty, 50, bearing the broad pendant of Commodore Cosby, on the Mediterranean station^[6].

Mr. Sotheron’s next appointment was about 1792, to be first Lieutenant of the Romney, another 50-gun ship, carrying the flag of Rear-Admiral Goodall,in the Mediterranean; and in the course of the same year, he obtained the command of the Fury, of 14 guns, employed in affording protection to the trade between England and Portugal. He subsequently accompanied the expedition under his old patron Rear-Admiral M‘Bride^[7] and the Earl of Moira, sent to assist the French royalists in Normandy and Brittany, but which returned to port in consequence of no favourable opportunity presenting itself for commencing operations with any prospect of success. The Fury was afterwards attached to Commodore Sir J. B. Warren’s squadron, stationed off the French coast, and assisted at the capture of la Vipere, a national corvette, mounting 18 guns.

Captain Sotheron was advanced to post rank Dec. 11, 1J93; and in the following year we find him commanding the Monarch, a 74-gun ship, bearing the broad pendant of Sir James Wallace, with whom he removed into his old ship the Romney, on that officer being appointed Commander-in-Chief at Newfoundland.

Towards the latter end of 1796, a French squadron under the orders of M. de Richery invested that settlement, and destroyed property to a considerable amount. The enemy’s armament consisted of seven sail of the line and three frigates, on board of which were embarked 2,000 troops. The ships under Sir James Wallace were at this period detached on various services; neither would they, if collected, have been of sufficient force to prevent the depredations committed by the invaders. Sir James, however, resolved upon making a vigorous defence, and by his judicious arrangements, aided by the bravery and vigilance of Captain Sotheron and the other officers of his small squadron, consisting of the Romney, two frigates, and two sloops, completely baffled the designs of the enemy, who, after a fruitless attempt to obtain possession of the colony, returned to Europe.

Captain Sotheron’s next appointment was to the Latona frigate, on the Newfoundland station, where he continued during the two following years. Subsequent to his return to England, he was actively employed in the North Sea, and occasionally commanded a light squadron off the coast of Holland, the operations of which will be detailed under the heads of Captains Mackenzie and Slade, in our next volume. In the autumn of 1799, the Latona formed part of the expedition sent against the Helder; and after the surrender of that fortress went with Vice-Admiral Mitchell to attack the Batavian ships of war lying at anchor in the Vlieter channel, but which surrendered without making any resistance, in consequence of the spirit of disaffection manifested by their crews^[8]. For his services on this occasion, Captain Sotheron, in common with the other officers of the fleet, received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament.

Our officer continued in the North Sea during the remainder of the war, and was fortunate enough to capture several of the enemy’s armed vessels. In the spring of 1802, he was sent abroad with despatches; and some time after the renewal of hostilities, obtained the command of the Excellent, 74, attached to the Mediterranean fleet, under the orders of Lord Nelson, by whom he was entrusted with the defence of the Bay of Naples; on which service we find him at the time when the ancient Neapolitan government was displaced by the French army, and the throne of that kingdom usurped by Joseph Buonaparte. In this state of affairs, the very prudent arrangements made by Captain Sotheron, prevented the mischief that would otherwise have ensued. From this period we lose sight of him until Aug. 1, 1811, on which day he was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral.

On the vacancy occasioned in the representation for Nottinghamshire, by the resignation of Lord William Bentinck, in 1814, Rear-Admiral Sotheron was unanimously elected M.P. for that county, in conjunction with Captain Lord Newark, now Earl Manvers (of whom a memoir will appear in our next volume, and whose name is endeared to all his professional brethren by a recent act of princely munificence^[9]); and thus was presented the novel spectacle, of the midland shire of England represented in the senate by two naval officers.

In 1816, on the demise of his eldest brother, Colonel Sotheron, who served for the borough of Pontefract in several parliaments. Rear-Admiral Sotheron, as heir-at-law, succeeded to the family estates in the counties of York and Nottingham. He was advanced to the rank of Vice-Admiral Aug. 12, 1819; and still continues to represent Nottinghamshire, having been returned to every succeeding Parliament since his first election^[10].

Our officer has been twice married. His first wife died on the 29th May, 1812. His present lady, to whom he was united Nov. 13, 1813, is the eldest daughter of Wilson Braddyll, of Connhead Priory, co. Lancaster, Esq. His heir is Lucy Sarah Sotheron, an only child.