Charles Augustus Ellis, 6th Baron Howard de Walden and 2nd Baron Seaford (5 June 1799 – 29 August 1868), was a British diplomat and politician.

Lineage

Ellis was the son of Charles Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford and his wife, the Honourable Elizabeth Hervey, daughter of John Hervey, Lord Hervey, eldest son of

Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, (1 August 1730 – 8 July 1803), was an 18th-century Church of England, Anglican prelate. Elected Bishop of Cloyne in 1767 and Translation (ecclesiastical), translated to the see of Derry in 1 ...

, the "Earl-Bishop" of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

. Educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, He succeeded his great-grandfather Lord Bristol in the barony of Howard de Walden on 8 July 1803, aged four. Ellis became the 6th

Lord Howard de Walden Baron Howard de Walden is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ of summons in 1597 by Queen Elizabeth I for Admiral Lord Thomas Howard, a younger son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, by his second wife, the Honour ...

in 1807, a title that descended to him through his mother's line, and when his father died in 1845, he became the 2nd Lord Seaford. Although his family’s wealth initially derived from sugar plantations in Jamaica, it was his marriage to the Duke of Portland’s daughter that ultimately saved the family from bankruptcy.

Jamaican planter

Ellis inherited all his father's property in Jamaica, including sugar estates in Montpelier, Jamaica, Caymanas Park, Shettlewood and Crawle. Although the Ellis family wealth was built on these, after 1832 they were in decline. Charles Augustus was raised in England and does not seem to have visited Jamaica before 1846 when he took his wife, Lucy and son Frederick. Sugar production had fallen dramatically and in 1855 was abandoned and replaced with cattle rearing. The slaves on his properties were emancipated in 1832, and their wages were very low. In an attempt to improve profits on his plantations, Ellis further reduced wages paid to the newly-emancipated slaves, which met with resistance and resulted in a strike. He actively encouraged workers from Europe, notably Portugal and Germany, but the plantations remained unprofitable.

Political and diplomatic career

Lord Howard de Walden became an

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

and Lieutenant in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

on 24 April 1817. He served as Joint Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 26 May 1824 to 9 June 1828, during which time he acted as Attaché to Lord Stuart de Rothesay on a mission to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

in Brazil (January 1826). This role allowed him to move into international diplomacy, as he served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the court of Stockholm,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, from 2 October 1832, to the court of Lisbon,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, from 22 November 1833, and at

Brussels, Belgium Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, from 10 December 1846. Lord Howard de Walden was appointed a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

on 22 July 1838 and a Grand Cross of the Portuguese

Order of the Tower and Sword The Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit (), before 1917 the ancient and most noble order of the Tower and of the Sword, of valour, loyalty and merit (), is one of the four former ancient Portuguese milita ...

in 1841. He succeeded in the barony of Seaford on the death of his father in July 1845.

Family

Lord Howard de Walden married Lady Lucy Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (c. 181329 July 1899), daughter of

William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland, (24 June 1768 – 27 March 1854), styled Marquess of Titchfield until 1809, was a British politician who served in various positions in the governments of George Canning and Frederi ...

, at All Souls' Church in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

on 8 November 1828. She and her elder sister jointly inherited in 1879 the Duke of Portland's London Estate in Marylebone which had become extremely valuable. Her sister died childless and so the estate became part of the Howard de Walden inheritance. They had six sons and seven daughters, including: * Frederick George Ellis, 7th Baron Howard de Walden (9 August 1830November 1899). * Harriette Georgina Ellis (3 September 1831 – 16 April 1906). She married in 1875 Michelangelo Caetani, 13th Duke of

Sermoneta Sermoneta is a hill town and ''comune'' in the province of Latina (Lazio), central Italy. It is a walled hill town, with a 13th-century Romanesque church, the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta (sometimes erroneously called a cathedral) ...

. * Hon. William Charles Ellis (22 July 1835 – 20 June 1923). * Hon. Charles Arthur Ellis (December 1839 – 30 March 1906). * Hon. John Charles Ellis (29 September 1841 – 8 November 1886). * Hon. Evelyn Henry Ellis (9 August 1843 – 5 September 1913). Ellis was an early patron of Daimler launches and cars and first

distance Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects, points, people, or ideas are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two co ...

motorist in England: Southampton to Malvern, July 1895 on a 3½hp Daimler-engined French Panhard & Levassor car. His cousin, Sir Arthur Ellis's post as an equerry to the Prince of Wales directly led to the adoption of Daimler cars as official royal transport. He was the last member of the Ellis family to run the family's sugar estates in Montpelier, Jamaica.Barry Higman, ''Montpelier'' (Kingston: University of the West Indies Press, 1998), p. 67. * Augustus Charles William Ellis (5 February 1846 – 22 April 1882). Lord Howard de Walden died in August 1868 in Belgium, aged 69, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Frederick George Ellis, 7th Baron Howard de Walden. Lady Lucy Joan Howard de Walden died in July 1899 in St. James House, West Malvern, Worcestershire .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard De Walden, Charles Ellis, 6th Baron 1799 births 1868 deaths Grenadier Guards officers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath People educated at Eton College Diplomatic peers Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sweden Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Belgium Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Portugal 06 2