Edward John Sartoris (30 May 1814 – 23 November 1888) was a

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landowner and

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politician of French ancestry.

Early life

The eldest son of Peter Urban Sartoris (1767-1833) of Sceaux, near

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and his wife Matilda, the daughter of the Scottish-American banker John Tunno (1746-1819), Edward was born in London and educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a 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 college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. In 1842, he married the opera singer

Adelaide Kemble Adelaide Kemble (13 February 18154 August 1879) was an English opera singer of the Victorian era, and a member of the Kemble family of actors. She was the younger sister of Fanny Kemble, the famous actress and anti-slavery activist. Her father wa ...

. The family initially leased Knuston Hall near

Irchester Irchester is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, two miles (3 km) south-east of Wellingborough and two miles south-west of Rushden. The population of the village at the 2011 Census was 5,706 and estimated in 2019 at 5,767. ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. In 1863, on the death of his maternal uncle Edward Tunno, he inherited estates at

Warnford Warnford is a village and civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. The parish covers 1283 hectares (3170 acres). The population in 2019 was estimated at 220. The village lies on the A32 in the upper valley of the ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

and

Llangennech Llangennech (()) is a village and community in the area of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales, which covers an area of . It is governed by Llangennech Community Council and Carmarthenshire County Council. Llangennech is also the name of the count ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

. The Welsh estate included large coal deposits.

Member of parliament

The County of Carmarthenshire was represented in the

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by two

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. For many years prior to 1868 elections had been uncontested, with both MPs being

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. The members were effectively chosen by the powerful Campbell family, Earls Cawdor. The Second Reform Act of 1867 had greatly increased the franchise, allowing large numbers of working-class men to vote for the first time. This, along with difficulties in the Conservative Party over candidate selection, led the Carmarthenshire Liberals to decide to contest the 1868 general election. Rather than choosing a member of the landed gentry, the party chose Sartoris as their candidate. As a relative newcomer to the area he benefitted from being seen as an "outsider", not subject to the traditional land owning interests. He was also based in the rapidly industrialising

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

district, the only part of the county where there was population growth. With an efficient party machine, largely organised by non-conformist clergymen of the district, Sartoris secured a spectacular victory, his 3,280 votes easily winning the first seat in the constituency. The Conservative Party learnt from their defeat, at the next election in 1874 Earl Cawdor's eldest son, Viscount Emlyn, regained the seat from Sartoris.

Later life

Sartoris retired to his Hampshire estate, Warnford Park, in 1874. Their children were: * Greville Edward (1843-1873) * Mary (May) Theodosia (1845-1925) m. Henry Evans Gordon (1842–1909), a Member of the

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and brother of the MP William Evans-Gordon She was the subject of several paintings and drawings by family friend Lord Leighton. * Algernon Charles Frederick (1851-1893) m. Ellen (Nellie) Wrenshall Grant (1855-1922) on 21 May 1874 in the East Room of the

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. He was a justice of the peace for the county, and an enthusiastic sportsman and yachtsman. In 1878 his yacht ''May'' won the Hamble River Regatta. He died in Hampshire in November 1888 aged 74. He was a cousin of the French politician Henri Greffulhe, and a nephew of Edward Rose Tunno.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sartoris, Edward 1888 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Year of birth uncertain 1814 births People from Irchester People from the City of Winchester