Sir Joseph Jekyll (166319 August 1738), of Westminster, was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, judge and Whig politician who sat in the English and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

for 40 years from 1697 to 1738. He became Master of the Rolls in 1717.

Early life and career as a barrister

Jekyll was born in 1663 to

John Jekyll John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

of the Fishmonger's Company and alderman, of

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, London, and his second wife Tryphena. He was the half-brother of

Thomas Jekyll Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

. He attended a non-conformist seminary in Islington before being admitted to the Middle Temple in 1680. He was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1687. Thanks to his connections with Middle Temple he became an associate of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Somers, and later married Somers' sister, Elizabeth. With Somers' support he became Chief Justice of Cheshire in June 1697, succeeding

John Coombe John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, and was knighted on 12 December of that year. In 1699 he became a Reader of Middle Temple. In 1700 he became a Serjeant-at-Law, in 1702 a King's Serjeant and finally Prime Serjeant in 1714. Jekyll was very active in bringing cases before the House of Lords, acting in 14 cases in 1706 alone.

Political career

Jekyll was returned as a Whig Member of Parliament for

Eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

at a by-election on 14 December 1697 and was returned again in the following year at the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' sup ...

. He was seen as part of the Whig Junto . He was extremely active in parliament and an excellent speaker. He played a role in drafting various bills and acts. Occasionally he voted against the party, mainly because he supported greater reform of the electoral system and the removal of bribery and corruption. He was returned unopposed for Eye in the two general elections of 1701 and in

1702 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Wednesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 2 – A total solar eclipse is visible from the southe ...

and

1705 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Sunday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 8 – George Frideric Handel's first opera, ''Almira'' is p ...

. Returned again at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

he was involved in the impeachment of Henry Sacheverell in 1709 and 1710. He was returned again for Eye at the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

but at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 Robert Harley had led a government appointed after the downfall of the Whig Junto, attempting to pursue a moderate and non-controversial policy, b ...

was returned instead for Lymington. At the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...

Jekyll was returned again for Lymington. He was asked to participate in the secret committee tasked with preparing the impeachment of the

Earl of Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half centuries, until the death of the 20th Earl in 1703. ...

and the Duke of Ormonde, which he refused to support. He persuaded the government to open an investigation into the collapse of the South Sea Company in 1720. At the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

he was returned as MP for Reigate where he was returned again in

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

and

1734 Events January– March * January 8 – Salzburgers, Lutherans who were expelled by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salzburg, Austria, in October 1731, set sail for the British Colony of Province of Georgia, Georgia in North America ...

. He sponsored the Mortmain Act and the Gin Act 1736, and was noted for his opposition to intoxication, which annoyed the public so much that he was forced to have a guard at his house at all times.Foss (1870) p.375 Under

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

he remained independent of the government in terms of how he voted, and was described by Alexander Pope as "an odd old Whig, who never change his principles or wig".Foss (1870) p.374 Outside Parliament, Jekyll provided £600 to fund the colony at Jekyll Island, and as a result James Oglethorpe named the island in the Province of Georgia after him.

Master of the Rolls

On 13 July 1717, Jekyll was appointed Master of the Rolls, and the same year became a

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. His time as Master "was distinguished by legal ability, integrity and despatch", and during this period he helped write ''The Judicial Authority of the Master of the Rolls''. He was given the Great Seal on 7 January 1725, and held it until 1 June.

Death and legacy

On 19 August 1738 he died of "a mortification in the bowels", and was buried in the Rolls Chapel. He had no children. In his will he left £20,000 to help pay off the

national debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt, or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit oc ...

, something Lord Mansfield described as "a very foolish bequest.. he might as well have attempted to stop the middle arch of Blackfriars Bridge with his full-bottomed wig". Jekyll Island is named in his honor.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jekyll, Joseph 1663 births 1738 deaths Knights Bachelor Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Serjeants-at-law (England) Masters of the Rolls English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741