Sir William Earle Welby, 1st Baronet

Sir William Earle Welby, 1st Baronet (c. 1734 – 6 November 1815) was a British land-owner, baronet and Member of Parliament for Grantham from 1802 to 1806. He also served as High Sheriff of Lincolnshire from 1796 to 1797.

Early life

William Earle Welby was baptised on 22 August 1734 at Denton in Lincolnshire. He was the only son of Col. William Welby of Denton and his wife, Catherine, a daughter of James Cholmeley of Easton and his wife Catherine Woodfine.[1] The elder Welby had been a Colonel in the Lincolnshire Militia and was Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1746.[2]

The younger Welby was educated first at Eton School, before being admitted to Clare College, Cambridge, in 1753 and then at the Middle Temple in 1756.[3]

Family

Welby married twice. His first marriage was to Penelope Glynne, the daughter of Sir John Glynne, 6th Baronet, and his wife Honora Conway, daughter and co-heiress of Henry Conway and his wife Honora, née Ravenscroft.[4] With her he had one son and one daughter who survived to adulthood, and, according to Collin's Baronetage of England, two other children who died as infants.[5] The surviving issue were:

He then married, secondly, Elizabeth Cope, daughter and heiress of Robert Cope of Spondon; together, they had the following daughters, who died unmarried, Catherine Welby (1776–1849),[8] Elizabeth Welby (1782–1862),[9] Eleanora Charlotte Welby (1783–1855),[10] Maria Rebecca Welby (b. 1788)[11] and Selina Charlotte Welby (d. young, before 1806),[12] and the following other children:

Member of Parliament and Public Service

The Welby family were part of the minor landed gentry in Lincolnshire during the middle of the eighteenth century.[18] Welby himself was Lord of the Manor of Denton, near Grantham.[19] By the late 1760s, Welby had become established in high society circles, marrying the daughter of Sir John Glynne, from an old land-owning family, the Glynne baronets. The year after his marriage, he and his wife were painted by the fashionable portrait artist Francis Cotes; the painting was described as one of Cotes's masterpieces when it was sold in 2012 by the auction house Christies for £457,000.[20] The next twenty years of his life were not spent in public office, though, as a Lord of the Manor, he would have been concerned with the management of his estates. After his first wife's death in 1777, Welby remarried to an heiress, supplementing his wealth; indeed, he was able to send all of his sons from that marriage to Cambridge University.[21]

His first entry into official office came in 1796-7, when he served as High Sheriff of Lincolnshire[22] (being succeeded by John Cracroft[23]), but it would be another six years before his entry into Parliament. During that time, he was created a Baronet, in 1801.[24] His entry into the House came in 1802, when the Duke of Rutland and Lord Brownlow, who were the principal land-owners around Grantham, were resisting attempts by Sir William Manners, Bt., to purchase the borough and establish himself as its Member of Parliament. Although Welby claimed to stand independent of any patronage, he essentially represented the gentlemen of the borough opposed to Manners and was thus supported by Rutland and Brownlow. Despite Manners's efforts, Welby finished second with 434 votes.[25]

As a member of parliament, Welby was largely quiet and is not known to have made any speeches in the House. He silently supported Addington and then Pitt, although he appears an infrequent voter and his loyalty to the Government could not easily be counted on. He voted against the Censure of Lord Melville in 1805. In 1806, after serving a four-year term, Welby declined to stand again.[26]

Later life

He remained out of public office until his death in 1815, aged about 82.[27] He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son.[28]

Likenesses

References

Bibliography

Citations

  1. Port (1986) ; Collins (1806), p. 547 ; this James Cholmeley died in 1735 and was a member of the Cholmeley family outlined in the said work by Collins.
  2. Burke (1833), p. 597
  3. Venn (1954), p. 398 ; Port (1986)
  4. Ruvigny (1911), p. 47 and Table II ; see also Burke (1833), p. 597 ; Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; Port (1986)
  5. Collins (1806), p. 489
  6. Burke (1833), p. 597 ; Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; Ruvigny (1911), p. 47
  7. Burke (1833), p. 597) ; Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; Ruvigny (1911), p. 47
  8. Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; Burke (1869, p. 517
  9. Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; Burke (1869), p. 517
  10. Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; Burke (1869), p. 517
  11. Courthope (1835), p. 289
  12. Courthope (1835), p. 289
  13. Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; Venn (1954), p. 398 ; "Records of former British Telecom properties, X 815/16/1 (Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Record Service)". National Archives (Access to Archives service). Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  14. Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; Venn (1954), p. 397 ; "Records of former British Telecom properties, X 815/16/1 (Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Record Service)". National Archives (Access to Archives service). Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  15. Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; Venn (1954), p. 397 ; an article relating to his funeral appears in the Grantham Journal (21 October 1871, p. 4).
  16. Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; Temple (2008), pp. 322–338 ; Venn (1954), p. 398 ; "Records of former British Telecom properties, X 815/16/1 (Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Record Service)". National Archives (Access to Archives service). Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  17. Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; Venn (1954), p. 397 ; "Records of former British Telecom properties, X 815/16/1 (Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Record Service)". National Archives (Access to Archives service). Retrieved 29 April 2014. ; Burke (1869), p. 517 ; for R. E. Welby's parentage, see his entry in Venn (1954), p. 517
  18. Burke (1833), p. 597
  19. Port (1986)
  20. "Francis Cotes, R.A. (London 1726–1770), Portrait of William Earle Welby (C. 1734–1815), of Denton, Lincolnshire and his first wife, Penelope (1737–1771), playing chess, before a draped curtain (Sale 5602 Lot 36 )". Christie's. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  21. See the notes above for his sons and compare with Venn (1954), pp. 397–8.
  22. Port (1986)
  23. White and Armytage (1897), p. 23, footnote 1. This Mr Cracroft was the head of the Cracroft family of Hackthorn Hall, Lincolnshire, who are covered in Burke's Landed Gentry, 1847, vol. 1, and later editions.
  24. Burke (1833), p. 597 ; Courthope (1835), p. 289 ; "The London Gazette, 2 June 1801 issue no. 15372, p. 619". Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  25. Port (1986) ; Port and Thorne (1986)
  26. Port (1986)
  27. Gentleman's Magazine (1815, pt. ii), p. 637
  28. Courthope (1835), p. 289
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Simon Yorke
George Sutton
Member of Parliament for Grantham
18021806
With: Thomas Thoroton
Succeeded by
Thomas Thoroton
Russell Manners
Other offices
Preceded by
Ayscoghe Boucherett
High Sheriff of Lincolnshire
1796–1797
Succeeded by
John Cracroft
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baronet
(of Denton Manor)
1801–1815
Succeeded by
Sir William Earl Welby, Bt.
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