Andrew Elliot (November 1728 – 25 May 1797) was a British

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

and

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...

who served as the

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

and last British

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

in 1783.

Early life

Elliot was born November 1728 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the son of Sir Gilbert Elliot, 2nd Baronet of Minto and the former Helen Steuart (1696–1774). He was a brother of Gilbert,

John 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

Jean Elliot Jean Elliot (April 1727 – 29 March 1805), also known as Jane Elliot, was a Scottish poet. She wrote one of the most famous versions of ''The Flowers of the Forest'', a song lamenting the Scottish army's defeat in the Battle of Flodden. Pu ...

. His paternal grandparents were Sir Gilbert Elliot, 1st Baronet, of Minto and Dame Jane Carre (the fourth daughter of Sir Andrew Carre of Cavers, Roxborough). His maternal grandparents were Sir Robert Steuart, 1st Baronet, of Allanbank, and, his second wife, Helen Cockburn (a daughter of

Sir Alexander Cockburn Sir Alexander James Edmund Cockburn, 12th Baronet (24 December 1802 – 20 November 1880) was a British jurist and politician who served as the Lord Chief Justice for 21 years. He heard some of the leading ''causes célèbres'' of the nine ...

of Langton). His maternal uncle was Archibald Stewart,

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

Career

He arrived in Pennsylvania in 1746 as an apprentice and established himself as a trader. In 1762, he was elected a member of the board of trustees of the

College of Philadelphia The Academy and College of Philadelphia (1749–1791) was a boys' school and men's college in Philadelphia in the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania. Founded in 1749 by a group of local notables that included Benjamin Franklin, the Academy of P ...

. In 1763, he was appointed collector of the port of New York and receiver general of New York. In 1764 he was appointed to the Province of New York executive council. During the American Revolution he remained a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

. A few days after the

declaration of independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

he left New York City for Perth Amboy for his safety. He returned to New York City after the British reoccupation. On 1 May 1777 he was appointed the head of the military court of police and on 17 July the superintendent of all imports and exports. In 1780 he was appointed lieutenant governor of the Province of New York. In 1783 he was part of the delegation that met with

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

at Tappan. He was the acting governor from April 1783 to November.

Later life

Elliot sent his family back to Scotland on ''HMS Nonsuch'' on 9 July, and then he left for Scotland in December 1783.The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1887, page 156 After returning to Scotland, he was asked to serve as British Minister to America in 1790, but declined and held no further public offices.

Personal life

Elliot was twice married. His first marriage was in 1754 to Eleanor McCall, a daughter of George McCall and Anne ( Yeates) McCall of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Together, they were the parents of one child: * Eleanor Elliot (–1830), who married James Jauncey Jr., a member of the

New York General Assembly The General Assembly of New York, commonly known internationally as the New York General Assembly, and domestically simply as General Assembly, was the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the Province of New York d ...

, in 1773. After his death, she married Admiral Robert Digby, MP for Wells, in 1784. After the death of his first wife, he married Elisabeth Plumsted in 1760. She was a daughter of the

Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

William Plumsted and, his first wife, Rebecca ( Kearney) Plumsted. After Elisabeth's mother died, her father William married Mary McCall, the sister of Elliot's first wife, making Elisabeth a step-daughter of his sister-in-law. Together, they were the parents of: * Agnes Murray Elliot (1763–1860), who married Sir David Carnegie, 4th Baronet. * Elizabeth Elliot (–1847), who married William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart. Elliot died at home on 25 May 1797 at Mount Teviot,

Jedburgh Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

, aged 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Andrew 1728 births 1797 deaths British officials in the American Revolution Merchants from colonial New York 18th-century American merchants Governors of the Province of New York Politicians from Edinburgh University of Pennsylvania people Younger sons of baronets Members of the New York Executive Council