William Lewis (1625–1661) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1660.

Biography

Lewis was the second son of

Sir Edward Lewis Sir Edward Lewis (Of the Van), Sheriff of Glamorgan (1508–1561) was a Welsh landowner and sheriff of Glamorgan who built Van Manor, served as Sheriff of Glamorgan multiple times in the mid-16th century. Biography Sir Edward Lewis was a pr ...

, a courtier, and his wife Lady Anne Sackville, daughter of

Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset (1561–1609) was an English aristocrat and politician, with humanist and commercial interests. Life He was the eldest son of Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, by Cecily, daughter of John Baker (died ...

and widow of Sir Edward Seymour. His father owned The Van,

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, and

Edington Priory Edington Priory in Wiltshire, England, was founded by William Edington, the bishop of Winchester, in 1351 in his home village of Edington, about east of the town of Westbury. The priory church was consecrated in 1361 and continues in use as t ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, and died in 1630. Lewis matriculated at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

on 12 October 1638, aged 14. His mother sent her eldest sons abroad during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

to prevent their uncles,

William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, (158824 October 1660) was an English nobleman and Royalist commander in the English Civil War. Origins Seymour was the son of Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (who predeceased his own father) by his wife ...

and

Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset Order of the Garter, KG (159117 July 1652) was an English courtier, soldier and politician. He sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons from 1621 to 1622 and became Earl of Dorset in 1624. He ...

, from engaging them in the

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

cause and he travelled in France and Italy between 1642 and 1646. In 1647 he succeeded to the family estates on the death of his elder brother. Lewis was commissioner for assessment for

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

from January 1660 and was commissioner of militia for Oxfordshire in March 1660. He was a J.P. from March 1660 until his death. In 1660, he was elected Member of Parliament for

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

. He was Deputy Lieutenant from August 1660. Lewis died at the age of about 35.

Family

Lewis married Margaret Banastre, daughter of Lawrence Banastre of

Boarstall Boarstall is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, about west of Aylesbury. The parish is on the county boundary with Oxfordshire and the village is about southeast of the Oxfordshire market town of Bi ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

on 24 June 1649, and had two sons and two daughters. The marriage enabled him to buy an estate at Bletchington in 1656 for £10,000. His son

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

was MP in 1669. His brother

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

was MP for Westbury. His daughter Mary married William Jephson and his daughter Elizabeth married firstly Sir Francis Dayrell and secondly

Sir William Morgan Sir William Morgan Order of the Bath, KB (8 March 1700 – 24 April 1731) was a Welsh Whigs (British political party), Whig politician of the early 18th century. Morgan was the eldest son of John Morgan (of Rhiwpera), John Morgan, a Whig of ...

. His widow remarried to

Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond KG (7 March 1639December 1672) was an English peer who was the fourth cousin of Charles II of England, being both descended in the male line from John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox. Early life He was the o ...

, and died in 1666. Richmond then remarried Frances Stewart ("la Belle Stuart"), much to the displeasure of King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

, who had hoped to make her his mistress.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, William 1625 births 1661 deaths English MPs 1660 Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford