| The Right HonourableEdward Ellice | |
|---|---|
 Painting by Sir Charles William Ross | |
| Secretary at War | |
| In office 1833–1834 | |
| Preceded by | Sir John Hobhouse |
| Succeeded by | John Charles Herries |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 1830–1832 | |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Charles Wood |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1783-09-27)27 September 1783 London, England |
| Died | 17 September 1863(1863-09-17) (aged 79) Glengarry, Scotland |
| Spouse(s) |
Lady Hannah Bettesworth
(m. 1809) Anne Coke (m. 1843; died 1844) |
| Children | Edward Ellice, Jr. |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Edward Ellice (son) Robert Ellice (brother) Alexander Ellice (brother) Russell Ellice (brother) Charles Grey (father-in-law) John George Lambton (brother-in-law) Katherine Ellice (daughter-in-law) |
| Education | Winchester School |
| Alma mater | Marischal College, University of Aberdeen University of St Andrews |
Edward Ellice the Elder (27 September 1783 – 17 September 1863), known in his time as the "Bear", was a British merchant and politician. He was a Director of the Hudson's Bay Company and a prime mover behind the Reform Bill of 1832.
Biography
Ellice was born on 27 September 1783 in London, the son of Alexander Ellice and Ann Russell. In 1795, his father purchased the Seigneury of Villechauve in Canada from Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière. His younger brother was General Robert Ellice.
He was educated at Winchester School and at Marischal College, Aberdeen. He became a partner in the firm of Phyn, Ellices and Inglis, which had become interested in the XY Company in Canada. He was sent to Canada in 1803, and in 1804 became a party to the union of the XY and North West Companies. He became a partner in the North West Company, and during the struggle with Lord Selkirk he played an important part.
He engaged in the Canada fur trade from 1803, and as a result was nicknamed "the Bear". On 30 October 1809 he married Hannah Althea Bettesworth, née Grey, daughter of Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey, and the widow of Captain George Edmund Byron Bettesworth. He had one son by her, Edward.
In 1820, he was, with the brothers William and Simon McGillivray, active in bringing about the union of the North West and the Hudson's Bay Companies; and it was actually with him and the McGillivrays that the union was negotiated. He amalgamated the North West, XY, and Hudson's Bay companies in 1821.
In 1825 Ellice was a director of the New Zealand Company, a venture chaired by his brother-in-law, the wealthy John George Lambton, Whig MP (and later 1st Earl of Durham), that made the first attempt to colonise New Zealand. His brother Russell Ellice was also a director.
He was Member of Parliament for Coventry from 1818 to 1826, and again from 1830 to 1863. He served as a Secretary to the Treasury, and a whip in Lord Grey's government, 1830–1832. He was Secretary at War from 1832 to 1834, during which time he proposed that appointments in the army should be made directly from his office. He founded the Reform Club in 1836 and supported Palmerston as premier. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1833.
He was awarded a DCL by St Andrews University. He privately urged French government to send troops into Spain in 1836. He was deputy-governor of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Ellice was a co-owner of eight sugar estates in Grenada, British Guiana, Tobago and Antigua. In the 1830s, the British government emancipated the slaves, and Ellice received compensation to the tune of about £35,000 for the liberation of over 300 slaves.
In 1843, he married, secondly, Anne Amelia Leicester, née Keppel, daughter of William Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle and widow of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester. She died in the following year. His only son was Edward Ellice Jr., who also sat in Parliament.
Ellice acquired the large Scottish Highlands sporting estates of Invergarry, with David Bryce building Invergarry House for him, in 1866 to 1869 and of Glenquoich further inland, where he entertained up to a thousand guests a year, notable visitors including Sir Edwin Landseer, William Gladstone and Sir Henry Holland. In 1859 his son's wife, Katherine Ellice served as host when the artist Richard Doyle visited and she was given an illustrated diary of a journey to the islands of Rona and Skye. Katherine was an amateur artist and diarist.
His brother General Robert Ellice married Eliza Courtney; one of their grandsons became his son's heir in 1880.
Legacy
The Ellice Islands, formerly part of the colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands and now the independent nation of Tuvalu, were named after him. The Rural Municipality of Ellice in Manitoba, Fort Ellice, and Ellice Avenue in Winnipeg are named after him.
See also
References
- Adams, Peter (2013). Fatal Necessity: British Intervention in New Zealand, 1830–1847. BWB e-Book. Bridget Williams Books. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-927277-19-5. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
...first published in 1977.
- McDonnell, Hilda (2002). "Chapter 3: The New Zealand Company of 1825". The Rosanna Settlers: with Captain Herd on the coast of New Zealand 1826-7. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
including Thomas Shepherd's Journal and his coastal views, The NZ Company of 1825.
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help) - Wakefield, Edward Jerningham (1845). Adventure in New Zealand, from 1839 to 1844: With Some Account of the Beginning of the British Colonization of the Islands. John Murray. p. 4. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
Digitised 22 July 2009
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
- "Summary of Individual | Legacies of British Slavery".
- AmBaile – Highland History and Culture: House (now Glengarry Castle Hotel).
- Hamilton, John Andrew (1889). "Ellice, Edward (1781-1863)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 17. pp. 246–247.
- The Log of the Ladye, Scan.org, retrieved 20 June 2017
- History in Winnipeg Street Names at the Manitoba Historical Society
Bibliography
- W. Stewart Wallace, ed. (1948). The Encyclopedia of Canada, vol. II. Toronto: University Associates of Canada. pp. 287–288.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Colthart, James M. (1976). "Edward Ellice". Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. IX. Toronto. ISBN 0-8020-3319-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Watkin, Edward William. Canada and the States. Forgotten Books. ISBN 1-60620-892-6.
- "Archival material relating to Edward Ellice". UK National Archives.
- "Our History: Acquisitions". Hudson's Bay Company. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byJoseph Butterworth Peter Moore |
Member of Parliament for Coventry 1818–1826 With: Peter Moore |
Succeeded byThomas Bilcliffe Fyler Richard Edensor Heathcote |
| Preceded byThomas Bilcliffe Fyler Richard Edensor Heathcote |
Member of Parliament for Coventry 1830–1863 With: Thomas Bilcliffe Fyler 1830–1831 Henry Lytton Earle Bulwer 1831–1835 William Williams 1835–1847 George James Turner 1847–1851 Charles Geach 1851–1854 Sir Joseph Paxton 1854–1863 |
Succeeded byMorgan Treherne Sir Joseph Paxton |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byJoseph Planta George Robert Dawsonas Secretary to the Treasury |
Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1830–1832 |
Succeeded byCharles Wood |
| Preceded bySir John Hobhouse, Bt | Secretary at War 1833–1834 |
Succeeded byJohn Charles Herries |
- 1783 births
- 1863 deaths
- Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
- Alumni of the University of St Andrews
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Coventry
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- UK MPs 1818–1820
- UK MPs 1820–1826
- UK MPs 1830–1831
- UK MPs 1831–1832
- UK MPs 1832–1835
- UK MPs 1835–1837
- UK MPs 1837–1841
- UK MPs 1841–1847
- UK MPs 1847–1852
- UK MPs 1852–1857
- UK MPs 1857–1859
- UK MPs 1859–1865
- Ellice family