Edward 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 |
| Died | 17 September 1863(1863-09-17) (aged 79) Glengarry,Scotland |
| Spouse(s) | (née Lady Hannah Grey) , Dowager Countess of Leicester (née Lady Anne Keppel) |
| 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 an English merchant and politician. He was a Director of theHudson's Bay Company and a prime mover behind theReform Bill of 1832.
Ellice was born on 27 September 1783 inLondon, the son ofAlexander Ellice and Ann Russell. In 1795, his father purchased theSeigneury ofVillechauve in Canada fromMichel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière. His younger brother was GeneralRobert Ellice.
He was educated atWinchester School and atMarischal College,Aberdeen. He became a partner in the firm ofPhyn, Ellices and Inglis, which had become interested in theXY Company in Canada. He was sent to Canada in 1803, and in 1804 became a party to the union of theXY andNorth West Companies. He became a partner in the North West Company, and during the struggle withLord 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 ofCharles Grey, 1st Earl Grey, and the widow of CaptainGeorge Edmund Byron Bettesworth. He had one son by her,Edward.
In 1820, he was, with the brothersWilliam andSimon McGillivray, active in bringing about the union of the North West and theHudson's Bay Companies; and it was actually with him and the McGillivrays that the union was negotiated. He amalgamated theNorth West,XY, andHudson's Bay companies in 1821.
In 1825 Ellice was a director of theNew Zealand Company, a venture chaired by his brother-in-law, the wealthyJohn George Lambton,Whig MP (and later 1stEarl of Durham), that made the first attempt to colonise New Zealand. His brotherRussell Ellice was also a director.[1][2][3]
He wasMember of Parliament forCoventry from 1818 to 1826, and again from 1830 to 1863.[4] He served as aSecretary to the Treasury, and a whip inLord Grey'sgovernment, 1830–1832. He wasSecretary 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 theReform Club in 1836 and supported Palmerston as premier. He was appointed aPrivy Counsellor in 1833.
He was awarded a DCL bySt Andrews University. He privately urged French government to send troops into Spain in 1836. He wasdeputy-governor of theHudson's Bay Company.
Ellice was a co-owner of eight sugar estates inGrenada,British Guiana,Tobago andAntigua. In the 1830s, the British government emancipated the slaves, and Ellice received £35,000 in compensation for the liberation of over 300 slaves.[5]
In 1843, he married, secondly, Anne Amelia Leicester, née Keppel, daughter ofWilliam Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle and widow ofThomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester. She died in the following year. His only son wasEdward Ellice Jr., who also sat in Parliament.
His brother General Robert Ellice marriedEliza Courtney; one of their grandsons became his son's heir in 1880.
On returning from Canada in 1838, Ellice bought the estate of Glenquoich inLochaber,[6] and built a lodge on the shores ofLoch Quoich designed by Inverness architectAlexander Ross. In the summer and autumn months he entertained a wide range of guests there, including artists, writers, statesmen and diplomats.
In the 1840s Ellice was also a shooting tenant onSir George Macpherson Grant'sInvereshie estate inBadenoch. Over a seven year period his sporting yields there were 14,560grouse, 810ptarmigan and 146blackcock, pluswoodcock, partridge, teal, snipe andmountain hares. He shot 34 deer at Invereshie between 1834 and 1839. His sporting activities provoked complaints from the estate's farming tenants and Macpherson Grant regarded him as a problem tenant.[6]
TheEllice Islands, formerly part of the colony ofGilbert and Ellice Islands and now the independent nation ofTuvalu, were named after him. TheRural Municipality ofEllice inManitoba,Fort Ellice, and Ellice Avenue inWinnipeg[7] are named after him.
...first published in 1977.
including Thomas Shepherd's Journal and his coastal views, The NZ Company of 1825.
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCoventry 1818–1826 With:Peter Moore | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCoventry 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 SirJoseph Paxton 1854–1863 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byasSecretary to the Treasury | Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1830–1832 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary at War 1833–1834 | Succeeded by |