William Elliot of Wells (1701–1764) was an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," ...

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

, and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

during the reign of

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089 ...

. The son of William Elliot of

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada * Wells, British Columbia England * Wel ...

(1660-1728, known to posterity as the "Laceman", from his trade in gold-embroidered lace from which he made his fortune) and his wife Eleanor née Tankard, the younger William was christened 6 March 1701–2 at

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. Th ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

. Around 1720, he stood as legal guardian to

Granville Elliott Major-General Granville Elliott, 1st Count Elliott (7 October 1713 – 10 October 1759), was a British military officer who served with distinction in several other European armies and subsequently in the British Army. He fought at the Ba ...

, the infant son of his elder sister Charlotte Elliot and her recently deceased husband

Roger Elliott Major General Roger Elliott ( 1665 – 16 May 1714 ) was one of the earliest British Governors of Gibraltar. A member of the Eliot family, his son Granville Elliott became the first Count Elliott and his nephew George Augustus Eliott also ...

. He entered the army in 1722 as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...

in the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, and in the following year joined Charles Churchill's Regiment of Dragoons as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. While serving under Col. Churchill (1679-1740), Elliot witnessed the will of Churchill's mistress, the celebrated actress

Anne Oldfield Anne Oldfield (168323 October 1730) was an English actress and one of the highest paid actresses of her time. Early life and discovery She was born in London in 1683. Her father was a soldier, James Oldfield. Her mother was either Anne or Eli ...

(1683-1730), and was one of the

pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles ...

s at her funeral in 1730. Elliot inherited his father's estate of Wells, in

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and ...

, in 1728. In 1737, Elliot was commissioned as major of the 2nd Troop of

Horse Grenadier Guards The Horse Grenadier Guards, usually referred to ''Horse Grenadiers'' were a series of cavalry troops in the British Household Cavalry between 1687 and 1788, who used grenades and other explosives in battle. Originally attached to the Horse Gua ...

, of which he was made

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in 1741. He fought at both Dettingen and Fontenoy, but resigned his commission in 1746. His eldest sister's son,

George Augustus Eliott George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, (25 December 1717 – 6 July 1790) was a British Army officer who served in three major wars during the eighteenth century. He rose to distinction during the Seven Years' War when he fought in ...

(later

Lord Heathfield Lord Heathfield, Baron Heathfield of Gibraltar, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 6 July 1787 for General Sir George Augustus Eliott in recognition of his defence of Gibraltar during the Franco-Spanish Siege of 17 ...

, defender of Gibraltar), was one of his subordinate officers in the 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1741, Elliot was elected as a

Whig Whig or Whigs may refer to: Parties and factions In the British Isles * Whigs (British political party), one of two political parties in England, Great Britain, Ireland, and later the United Kingdom, from the 17th to 19th centuries ** Whiggism ...

(MP) for

Calne Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

(which seat he held until 1754). Subsequently, in 1743, he was made one of the equerries to

, and served until the king's death in 1760.

Family

Elliot married – against her father's wishes – Lady Frances de Nassau d’Auverquerque, elder daughter of the Earl of Grantham and Lady Henrietta Butler, daughter of the

Earl of Ossory Earl of Ossory is a subsidiary title held by the Earl of Ormond that was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1528. During King Henry VIII of England's pursuit of Anne Boleyn, who would be his second wife, he arranged for the main claimant to the ...

, at

St Benet Paul's Wharf The Church of St Benet Paul's Wharf is a Welsh Anglican church in the City of London. Since 1556, it has also been the official church of the College of Arms in which many officers of arms have been buried. In 1666 it was destroyed in the Great ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, on 4 June 1737, with one son: * Henry Elliot, born 17 April 1741 Westminster, who died young. In 1758, Lady Frances would have inherited the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

title lordship of Dingwall upon the death of her uncle the

Earl of Arran Earl of Arran may refer to: *Earl of Arran (Scotland), a title in the Peerage of Scotland *Earl of Arran (Ireland), a title in the Peerage of Ireland *, a steamship 1860–1871 See also * *Earl of Arran and Cambridge Duke of Hamilton is a t ...

, had this title not been forfeited as a consequence of the 1715

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and heredit ...

of her uncle the

Duke of Ormonde The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldo ...

following his involvement in the

Jacobite risings , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

of that year.Gascoyne et al., ''The Complete Peerage'', vol. 3, pp. 128-29. William Elliot died on 7 June 1764 and was buried in

. Lady Frances Elliot died on 5 April 1772, and was buried with her late husband.

References

*Romney Sedgwick, ed., ''The History of Parliament: The Commons 1715-1754'' (London, 1971). {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, William 1701 births 1764 deaths Military personnel from London British Life Guards officers 10th Royal Hussars officers British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Calne British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 Burials at St James's Church, Piccadilly