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

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

landowner and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

ancestry.

Early life

The eldest son of

Peter Urban Sartoris Peter Urbanus Sartoris (alias Pierre-Urbain Sartoris in French or Urbain Sartoris) was a Swiss banker, born around 1767 in Geneva, who died in Paris November 30, 1833. He had offices in London and Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine as well. Biography The ...

(1767-1833) of Sceaux, near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

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. 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 ...

. 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 county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

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

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. ...

by two

members 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 ...

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

Conservatives 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 in ...

. The members were effectively chosen by the powerful Campbell family, Earls Cawdor. The

Second Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 (known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act) was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first ...

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, Carmarthen. ...

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 A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a Title#Aristocratic titles, title used in certain European countries for a nobility, noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-he ...

, 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

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

and brother of the MP

William Evans-Gordon Major Sir William Eden Evans Gordon (8 August 1857 – 31 October 1913)''The Times'', 3 November 1913 p. 11''d'' was a British MP who had served as a military diplomat in India. As a political officer on secondment from the British Indian Arm ...

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 The East Room is an event and reception room in the Executive Residence, which is a building of the White House complex, the home of the president of the United States. The East Room is the largest room in the Executive Residence; it is used for ...

of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

. He was a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

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 Henri Greffulhe (29 July 1815 – 8 April 1879) was a French politician. He was made a Senator for life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out o ...

, and a nephew of

Edward Rose Tunno Edward Rose Tunno (1794–1863) was a Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bossiney, Cornwall, 1826–1832. He had homes at Llangennech, near Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales; Boverton Castle, Llantwit Major, Glamorganshire, Wal ...

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