Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford - Wikipedia Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search 18th-century British courtier and politician The Most Honourable The Marquess of Hertford KG PC PC (Ire) Lord Lieutenant of Ireland In office 7 August 1765 – 1766 Monarch George III Preceded by Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath Succeeded by George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol Personal details Born Francis Seymour-Conway 5 July 1718 Died 14 June 1794(1794-06-14) (aged 75) Citizenship British Arms of Seymour-Conway, Marquess of Hertford: Sable, on a bend cotised argent a rose gules between two annulets of the first (Conway); quartering: Quarterly, 1st and 4th: Or, on a pile gules between six fleurs-de-lys azure three lions of England (special grant to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford (d.1552)); 2nd and 3rd: Gules, two wings conjoined in lure or (Seymour)[1] Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, KG, PC, PC (Ire) (5 July 1718 – 14 June 1794) was a British courtier and politician. Contents 1 Background 2 Political career 3 Marriage 4 References Background[edit] Hertford was born in Chelsea, London, the son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway, and Charlotte Shorter, daughter of John Shorter of Bybrook. He was a descendant of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset. He succeeded to the barony on the death of his father in 1732. The first few years after his father's death were spent in Italy and Paris. On his return to England he took his seat, as 2nd Baron Conway, among the Peers in November 1739. Henry Seymour Conway, politician and soldier, was his younger brother. Political career[edit] In August 1750 he was created Viscount Beauchamp and Earl of Hertford, both of which titles had earlier been created for and forfeited by his ancestor Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector of England, following his attainder and execution in 1552. The Seymour family had inherited a moiety of the feudal barony of Hatch Beauchamp, in Somerset, by marriage to the heiress Cicely Beauchamp (d.1393). In 1755, according to Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, "The Earl of Hertford, a man of unblemished morals, but rather too gentle and cautious to combat so presumptuous a court, was named Ambassador to Paris." He appointed David Hume as his Secretary, who wrote of him, "I do not believe there is in the World a man of more probity & Humanity, endowd with a very good Understanding, and adornd with very elegant Manners & Behaviour".[2] However, due to the demands of the French, the journey to Paris was suspended. From 1751 to 1766 he was Lord of the Bedchamber to George II and George III. In 1756 he was made a Knight of the Garter and, in 1757, Lord-Lieutenant and Guardian of the Rolls of the County of Warwick and City of Coventry. In 1763 he became Privy Councillor and, from October 1763 to June 1765, was a successful ambassador in Paris. He witnessed the sad last months of Madame de Pompadour, whom he admired, and wrote a kindly epitaph for her.[3] In the autumn of 1765 he became Viceroy of Ireland where, as an honest and religious man, he was well liked. An anonymous satirist in 1777 described him as "the worst man in His Majesty's dominions", and also emphasised Hertford's greed and selfishness, adding "I cannot find any term for him but avaricious." However, this anonymous attack does not seem to be justified. In 1782, when she was only fifty-six, his wife died after having nursed their grandson at Forde's Farm, Thames Ditton, where she caught a violent cold. According to Walpole, "Lord Hertford's loss is beyond measure. She was not only the most affectionate wife, but the most useful one, and almost the only person I ever saw that never neglected or put off or forgot anything that was to be done. She was always proper, either in the highest life or in the most domestic." (Walpole visited Forde's Farm on several occasions from his residence at Strawberry Hill, Twickenham.) Within two years of the tragedy, Lord Hertford had sold Forde's Farm to Mrs Charlotte Boyle Walsingham, and a further two years later, she had re-developed the estate, building a new mansion which she called Boyle Farm, a name still in use today. In July 1793 he was created Marquess of Hertford, with the subsidiary title of Earl of Yarmouth. He enjoyed this elevation for almost a year until his death at the age of seventy-six, on 14 June 1794, at the house of his daughter, the Countess of Lincoln. He died as the result of an infection following a minor injury he received while riding. He was buried at Arrow, in Warwickshire. Marriage[edit] Isabella, Countess of Hertford by Alexander Roslin (1765) Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow Lord Hertford married Lady Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, on 29 May 1741. Her grandfather was Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663-1690), an illegitimate son of King Charles II. By his wife he had thirteen children: Francis Seymour-Conway, 2nd Marquess of Hertford (12 February 1743 – 28 June 1822) Lady Anne Seymour-Conway (1 August 1744 – 4 November 1784), married Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda. Lord Henry Seymour-Conway (15 December 1746 – 5 February 1830) Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway (27 September 1747 – 20 July 1770), married Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry. Lord Robert Seymour-Conway (20 January 1748 – 23 November 1831) Lady Gertrude Seymour-Conway (9 October 1750 – September 1793), married George Mason-Villiers, 2nd Earl Grandison. Lady Frances Seymour-Conway (4 December 1751 – 11 November 1820), married Henry Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, a son of Henry Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, 2nd Duke of Newcastle. Rev. Hon. Edward Seymour-Conway (1752–1785), canon of Christ Church, Oxford, unmarried Lady Elizabeth Seymour-Conway (1754–1825) died unmarried Lady Isabella Rachel Seymour-Conway (25 December 1755 – 1825), married George Hatton, a member of parliament. Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour (29 April 1759 – 11 September 1801), married Lady Anne Horatia Waldegrave, a daughter of James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave Lord William Seymour-Conway (29 April 1759 – 31 January 1837) Lord George Seymour-Conway (21 July 1763 – 10 March 1848). He married Isabella Hamilton, granddaughter of James Hamilton, 7th Earl of Abercorn, and was the father of Sir George Hamilton Seymour, a British diplomatist. He is not known to have suffered himself from any mental abnormality, but a noted strain of eccentricity, even madness, appeared among his descendants: the debauched behaviour of his grandson, the 3rd Marquess, and the suicide of another grandson, Viscount Castlereagh, were both attributed to a strain of madness supposed to be hereditary in the Seymour Conway family.[4] Lord Hertford died in Surrey, England. References[edit] ^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, pp.571,1036 ^ Klibansky, Raymond and Mossner, Ernest C. (eds.) (1954). New Letters of David Hume. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.78. ^ Mitford, Nancy Madame de Pompadour Hamish Hamilton 1954 ^ Hyde, Montgomery The Strange Death of Lord Castlereagh William Heinemann 1959 p.157 Diplomatic posts Preceded by The Duke of Bedford British Ambassador to France 1763–1765 Succeeded by The Duke of Richmond Honorary titles Preceded by The Earl Brooke Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire 1757–1794 Succeeded by The Earl of Warwick Preceded by The Lord Clive Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire 1775–1776 Succeeded by The Earl of Powis Political offices Preceded by The Viscount Weymouth Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1765–1766 Succeeded by The Earl of Bristol Preceded by The Duke of Rutland Master of the Horse 1766 Succeeded by The Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven Preceded by The Duke of Portland Lord Chamberlain 1766–1782 Succeeded by The Duke of Manchester Preceded by The Duke of Manchester Lord Chamberlain 1783 Succeeded by The Earl of Salisbury Peerage of Great Britain New creation Marquess of Hertford 1793–1794 Succeeded by Francis Seymour-Conway Earl of Hertford 1750–1794 Peerage of England Preceded by Francis Seymour-Conway Baron Conway 1732–1794 Succeeded by Francis Seymour-Conway v t e Cabinet of Prime Minister Lord North (1770–1782) Prime Minister Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord North (1770–1782) Lord Chancellor Commission (1770–1771) The Earl Bathurst (1771–1778) Lord Thurlow (1778–1782) Lord President of the Council The Earl Gower (1770–1779) The Earl Bathurst (1779–1782) Lord Privy Seal The Earl of Halifax (1770–1771) The Earl Suffolk (1771) The Duke of Grafton (1771–1775) The Earl of Dartmouth (1775–1782) Lord Steward The Earl Talbot (1770–1782) Lord Chamberlain The Earl of Hertford (1770–1782) Southern Secretary The Viscount Weymouth (1770) The Earl of Rochford (1770–1775) The Viscount Weymouth (1775–1779) The Earl of Hillsborough (1779–1782) Northern Secretary The Earl of Rochford (1770) The Earl of Sandwich (1770–1771) The Earl of Halifax (1771) The Earl of Suffolk (1771–1779) The Viscount Weymouth (1779) The Viscount Stormont (1779–1782) Colonial Secretary The Earl of Hillsborough (1770–1772) The Earl of Dartmouth (1772–1775) The Lord George Germain (1775–1782) Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Lord Strange (1770–1771) The Earl of Clarendon (1771–1782) First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Edward Hawke (1770–1771) The Earl of Sandwich (1778–1782) Master-General of the Ordnance Vacant (1770–1772) The Viscount Townshend (1772–1782) Lord Lieutenant of Ireland The Viscount Townshend (1770–1772) The Earl Harcourt (1772–1777) The Earl of Buckinghamshire (1777–1780) The Earl of Carlisle (1780–1782) Authority control GND: 1197019391 ISNI: 0000 0000 3065 0283 LCCN: n88132260 SNAC: w61269v1 VIAF: 23693156 WorldCat Identities: lccn-n88132260 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Francis_Seymour-Conway,_1st_Marquess_of_Hertford&oldid=979554598" Categories: 1718 births 1794 deaths Diplomatic peers Seymour family Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Montgomeryshire Lord-Lieutenants of Warwickshire Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Members of the Privy Council of Ireland People from Chelsea, London Ambassadors of Great Britain to France Marquesses of Hertford (1793) Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata EngvarB from May 2014 Use dmy dates from May 2014 Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages Čeština Français Italiano مصرى 日本語 Polski Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 21 September 2020, at 11:48 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view Developers Statistics Cookie statement