Edward Adolphus Seymour (later St. Maur), 12th Duke of Somerset, etc., (20 December 180428 November 1885), styled Lord Seymour until 1855, was a British Whig aristocrat and politician, who served in various cabinet positions in the mid-19th century, including that of

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

Background and education

Somerset was the eldest son of Edward St. Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset, and Lady Charlotte, daughter of

Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton and 6th Duke of Brandon (15 July 1740 – 16 February 1819) was a Scottish peer and politician. Background and education Hamilton was the second son of the 5th Duke of Hamilton, by his third wife, Ann ...

. He was baptized on 16 February 1805 at St. George's, Hanover Square, London. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and Christ Church, Oxford.

Political career

Somerset sat as

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 bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

as Lord Seymour for

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based in the town (east and west) ...

between 1830 and 1831 and for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...

between 1834 and 1855. He served under

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...

as a

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of th ...

between 1835 and 1839, as Joint Secretary to the Board of Control between 1839 and 1841 and as

Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department This article lists past and present Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State serving the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom at the Home Office. Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782–present *April 1782: Evan Nepean *April 1 ...

between June and August 1841 and was a member of

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

's first administration as

First Commissioner of Woods and Forests The Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues were established in the United Kingdom in 1810 by merging the former offices of Surveyor General of Woods, Forests, Parks, and Chases and Surveyor General of the Land Revenues of the Crown into ...

between 1849 and 1851, when the office was abolished. He served on the

Royal Commission on the British Museum The Royal Commission on the British Museum (RCBM) was set up to review the activities of the British Museum particularly in relation to its Library. The Commission was set up following an approach made by a number of eminent scientists to Lord Jo ...

(1847–49). In August 1851 he was appointed to the newly created office of

First Commissioner of Works The First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and subsequent to 1922, within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ir ...

by Russell. In October of the same year, he entered the cabinet and was sworn of the Privy Council. He remained First Commissioner of Works until the government fell in February 1852. Somerset succeeded his father in the dukedom in 1855 and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. He did not serve in

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

's first administration, but when Palmerston became Prime Minister for the second time in 1859, Somerset was appointed

, with a seat in the cabinet. He held this post until 1866, the last year under the premiership of Russell. He refused to join

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

's first ministry in 1868, but gave independent support to the chief measures of the government. He was made a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in 1862 and in 1863 he was created Earl St. Maur, of

Berry Pomeroy Berry Pomeroy is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England, east of the town of Totnes. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Ipplepen, Marldon, Torbay (unitary authority), Stoke Gab ...

in the County of Devon. "St. Maur" was supposed to have been the original form of the family name and "Seymour" a later corruption. From some time in the early 19th century until 1923, "St. Maur" was used as the family name, but since 1923 the dukes have again used the familiar "Seymour". Somerset was also the author of ''Christian Theology and Modern Scepticism'' (1872), and ''Monarchy and Democracy'' (1880). Between 1861 and 1885 he served as

Lord Lieutenant of Devon The Office of the Lord Lieutenant was created during the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547), taking over the military duties of the Sheriffs and control of the military forces of the Crown. From 1569 there was provision for the appointment of Depu ...

Family

Somerset married in Grosvenor Square, London, on 10 June 1830, Jane Georgiana Sheridan, who was the "Queen of Beauty" at the

Eglinton Tournament of 1839 Eglinton can refer to: People * Earl of Eglinton, a title in the Peerage of Scotland * Geoffrey Eglinton (1927–2016), British chemist *Timothy Eglinton, a British biogeoscientist * William Eglinton (1857–1933), a British spiritualist medium a ...

. The Somersets had two sons and three daughters: * Lady Jane Hermione Seymour (1 January 18324 April 1909) she married Sir Frederick Ulric Graham, of Netherby, 3d Baronet on 26 October 1852. They had eight children including the Countess of Verulam and the Duchess of Montrose *Lady Ulrica Frederica Jane Seymour (12 January 183326 or 28 January 1916) she married Rt. Hon. Lord Henry Frederick Thynne on 1 June 1858. They had six children. * Edward Adolphus Ferdinand Seymour, Earl St. Maur (17 July 183530 September 1869) he had two illegitimate children with Rosina Swan. *Lord Edward Percy Seymour (19 August 184120 December 1865) was a diplomat and died after being mauled by a bear *Lady Helen Guendolen Seymour (184614 August 1910) she married Sir John William Ramsden, 5th Baronet on 2 August 1865. They had four children. Lady Guendolen inherited the Bulstrode estate. The Duchess of Somerset died in December 1884. Somerset survived her by less than a year and died in November 1885, aged 80, and was buried with her in St James's Churchyard in

Gerrards Cross Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in south Buckinghamshire, England, separated from the London Borough of Hillingdon at Harefield by Denham, south of Chalfont St Peter and north bordering villages of Fulmer, Hedgerley, Iver Heath and ...

, Buckinghamshire. As his two sons had both died in his lifetime, the family titles (except the Earldom of St. Maur, which became extinct) devolved on his younger brother,

Archibald Seymour, 13th Duke of Somerset Archibald Algernon Henry St. Maur, formerly Seymour, 13th Duke of Somerset, etc. (30 December 1810 – 28 Berkeley Square, London, Oct 1891) was the son of Edward St. Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset and Lady Charlotte Douglas-Hamilton. He was als ...

. The 12th Duke left his London residence, Somerset House in

Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from ...

, to his eldest daughter Lady Hermione Graham.''

Notes & Queries Notes & Queries is a weekly column in ''The Guardian'' newspaper which publishes readers' questions together with (often humorous) answers submitted by other readers. The column first appeared on 13 November 1989, and was the idea of leader wr ...

'', vol. 133 (1916),
p. 318 (snippet)
/ref>

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset, Edward Seymour, 12th Duke Of 1805 births 1885 deaths

512 __NOTOC__ Year 512 ( DXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paulus and Moschianus (or, less frequently, year ...

Knights of the Garter First Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Totnes UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs who inherited peerages UK MPs who were granted peerages Lord-Lieutenants of Devon

Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset Edward Adolphus Seymour (later St. Maur), 12th Duke of Somerset, etc., (20 December 180428 November 1885), styled Lord Seymour until 1855, was a British Whig aristocrat and politician, who served in various cabinet positions in the mid-19th ce ...

Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies People associated with the British Museum Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Okehampton Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria People educated at Eton College