Sir Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett (24 August 1849 – 18 January 1902) was an American-born British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...

from 1880 to 1902.

Early life

Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, to Ellis Bartlett of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Sophia Ashmead of Philadelphia. He was the elder brother of

William Burdett-Coutts William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett Burdett-Coutts (20 January 1851 – 28 July 1921), born William Lehman Ashmead-Bartlett, was an American-born British Conservative politician and social climber who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1921 ...

, and, through their father, they claimed to be descended from

Richard Warren Richard Warren (c. 1585c.1628) was one of the passengers on the Pilgrim ship ''Mayflower'' and a signer of the Mayflower Compact. Early life Richard Warren married Elizabeth Walker, at Great Amwell, Hertfordshire, on 14 April 1610. Elizabeth ...

, one of the passengers on the ''Mayflower''. Shortly after the death of his father in 1852 his mother moved the family to England, where he went to school at Torquay, before entering

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

in 1867 (after a short time at

St Mary Hall, Oxford St Mary Hall was a medieval academic hall of the University of Oxford. It was associated with Oriel College from 1326 to 1545, but functioned independently from 1545 until it was incorporated into Oriel College in 1902. History In 1320, ...

). He graduated with first class honours in Law and History in 1871, and was called to the bar in 1877. He was for a while one of HM's Inspectors of Schools.

Politics

Ashmead-Bartlett was elected 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 of ...

(MP) for

Eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, in the 1880 general election. In 1882 his caricature by "Spy" was published in the British weekly magazine Vanity Fair (21 October 1882) under the title "The Patriotic League". The Eye constituency was redefined under the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885, and in the general election of 1885 he ran for, and won, Sheffield Ecclesall constituency, which he held until his death in 1902. He served as

Civil Lord of the Admiralty The Civil Lord of the Admiralty formally known as the Office of the Civil Lord of Admiralty also referred to as the Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty was a member of the Board of Admiralty who was responsible for managing the Royal N ...

in the governments of

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...

from 1885 to February 1886 and August 1886 to 1892. He was knighted in the

1892 Dissolution Honours The 1892 Dissolution Honours List was issued in August 1892 following the general election of that year. The recipients of honours are displayed as they were styled before their new honour. Earl and Marquess *The Right Honourable Lawrence, E ...

. During the 1890s Ashmead-Bartlett championed the cause of

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

against the administration of the

South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...

. In late 1899, during the

Second Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

, he travelled to South Africa to lobby the British Commander, Lord Roberts, for a position. In March Lord Roberts sent him to Swaziland to meet the Queen Regent. During this meeting the Queen Regent requested British protection for Swaziland. It is unclear if he initiated this request.

Personal life

In 1874 he married Frances Christina Walsh. His eldest son by this marriage,

Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett (11 February 1881 – 4 May 1931) was an English war correspondent during the First World War. Through his reporting of the Battle of Gallipoli, Ashmead-Bartlett was instrumental in the birth of the Anzac legend which ...

, was a war correspondent who became famous for his reporting of the Battle of Gallipoli.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashmead-Bartlett, Ellis Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Bachelor Lords of the Admiralty Politicians awarded knighthoods 1849 births 1902 deaths Politics of Sheffield Politicians from Brooklyn UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Alumni of St Mary Hall, Oxford Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Presidents of the Oxford Union American emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom