Edward Ellice the Younger (19 August 1810 – 2 August 1880) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician and landowner.

Life

He was the eldest son of Edward Ellice, from his first marriage to Hannah Althea Grey, the youngest sister of

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845), known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was a British Whig politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834. As prime minister, Grey w ...

. The Ellice family was English by descent, and had settled in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

in the mid-17th century. Edward Ellice was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1810 and was 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 ...

(1823–1836) and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He matriculated at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

on the 6 June 1828 and in 1831 was awarded a

master of arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree. In 1832, he was appointed as Private Secretary to

John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, (12 April 1792 – 28 July 1840), also known as "Radical Jack" and commonly referred to in Canadian history texts as Lord Durham, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman, colonial ...

for his diplomatic mission to Russia. Lord Durham was a close friend and a relative of Ellice's father, having married the Earl Grey's second daughter. Ellice was an unsuccessful candidate for Inverness Burghs in the 1835 general election, but was elected to represent

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

in a May 1837

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. In the general election that year he was elected to represent St Andrews Burghs, a seat he held until 1880. Ellice continued as Durham's private secretary during his term as Governor-General of the Province of Canada; whilst he was working in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, his wife

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

and her sister were captured for six days during the

Rebellions of 1837–1838 The Rebellions of 1837–1838 (), were two armed rebellion, uprisings that took place in Lower Canada, Lower and Upper Canada in 1837 and 1838. Both rebellions were motivated by frustrations with lack of political reform. A key shared goal was r ...

.K. D. Reynolds, ‘Ellice , Katherine Jane anie(1813–1864)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 19 June 2017
/ref> He remained a

backbencher In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...

throughout his political career, taking special interest in the reform of the

Scottish Poor Laws The Scottish poor laws were the statutes concerning poor relief passed in Scotland between 1579 and 1929. Scotland had a different poor law system to England and the workings of the Scottish laws differed greatly to the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 ...

. He supported the idea of " clearance", but viewed indiscriminate forcible eviction of the peasantry as "cruel and indefensible". He was offered a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he was Prime Minister ...

in 1869, but declined the offer,Debrett's House of Commons, 1870 and retired from Parliament in early 1880, shortly before his death aged 69. Ellice married the diarist Katherine Jane Balfour, daughter of General Balfour of Balbirnie, in 1834. She accompanied him to Russia and Canada. In 1859 she was hostess to the artist Richard Doyle who gifted her an illustrated diary of a journey to the islands of Rona and

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

. Following her death in 1864, Ellice married in 1867 Eliza Stewart, daughter of Thomas Campbell Hagart of Bantaskine, widow of Alexander Spiers of Elderslie. Ellice owned the large

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

sporting estate of

Invergarry Invergarry () is a village in the Highlands of Scotland, located about north-east of Fort William. It is in the Great Glen, near where the River Garry flows into Loch Oich. Geography Near the centre of the village is the junction between th ...

, where the architect

David Bryce David Bryce Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE FRIBA Royal Scottish Academy, RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scotland, Scottish architect. Life Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David B ...

built Invergarry House (now the Glengarry Castle Hotel) for him between 1866 and 1869AmBaile – Highland History and Culture
House (now Glengarry Castle Hotel)

References

*''Oliver & Boyd's new Edinburgh almanac and national repository for the year 1850''. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, 1850 *Jonathan Spain, "Ellice, Edward (1810–1880)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press'', Sept 2004; online edn, May 200
accessed 11 July 2006
*

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellice, Edward 1810 births 1880 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies 19th-century Scottish politicians 19th-century Scottish landowners Ellice family