George Smith (30 April 1765 – 26 December 1836) was a British Member of Parliament (MP), banker and director of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. He was the fifth son of Abel Smith, a wealthy

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

banker and Member of Parliament. Four of his brothers were also members of parliament and one,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, was raised to the peerage as

Baron Carrington Baron Carrington is a title that has been created three times, once in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Ireland and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. History The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1643 in favou ...

. A portion of the family wealth was devoted to buying control of two

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

Wendover Wendover is a market town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road a ...

and

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

, and Carrington kept the seats here almost exclusively for use by various members of the Smith family until his power was ended by the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

. Smith entered Parliament in 1791 as member for

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 c ...

, and also represented

and

in a parliamentary career spread over forty years.

Family and legacy

Smith lived at

Selsdon Selsdon is an area in South-East London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was in the historic county of Surrey. It is located south of Coombe and Addiscombe, west o ...

in Surrey. He married Frances Mary Mosley (bap. 24 March 1773, d. 5 July 1844), daughter of Sir John Parker Mosley, 1st Baronet, and Elizabeth Bayley. They had 9 sons and 6 daughters: * George Robert Smith MP (of Selsdon Park) (1793–1869) m. Jane Maberly (1800–1879, the daughter of John Maberly). *Oswald Smith (of Blendon Hall) (1794–1863) m.

Henrietta Mildred Hodgson Henrietta Mildred Hodgson (6 January 1805 – 19 November 1891) was an English lady with both British royal and American presidential genealogical connections. Life and family Born on 6 January 1805 in London Henrietta Mildred was the daughte ...

(1805–1891). *John Henry Smith (of Purley Bury) (1795–1887). *Thomas Charles Smith (1797–1876). *Edward Peploe Smith (1803–1847) m.1 Henrietta Bailey, m.2 Harriet Chester. *Arthur Smith (1804–1831). *Edmund Smith (1809–1873) m. Hester Lushington (1816–1888). *Mosley Smith (1810–1869). *Alfred Smith, of Kingswood (1815–1886) m. Mary Wigram (1821–1869). *Frances Mary Smith (1796–1867) m. Robert Mosley Master, "the Clogging Parson",

Archdeacon of Manchester The Archdeacon of Manchester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England in Greater Manchester. The archdeaconry of Manchester, unusually, was established (on 29 September 1843) a few years before the Diocese of Manchester (on 1 S ...

. *Georgina Elizabeth Smith (1801–1828) m. Rev. Edward Serocold. *Emily Smith (1806–1879) m. Rev. Charles Mayne. *Catherine Smith (1807–1870) m. Edward Wigram. *Sophia Sarah Smith (1812–1883) m. Rev. William Wigram. *Augusta Mary Smith (1816–1892) m. Rev. Lewis Deedes. His memorial in All Saints Church,

Sanderstead Sanderstead is a village and medieval-founded church parish at the southern end of Croydon in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, and formerly in the historic county of Surrey, until 1965. It takes in Purley Downs and S ...

, states: His family were

slave owners The following is a list of slave owners, for which there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name. A * Adelicia Acklen (1817–1887), at one time the wealthiest woman in Tennessee, she inhe ...

, his son George Robert Smith placing a claim to be compensated for the freedom of 461

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, worth £17,945 10s 3d, the largest claim made in Croydon.

References

*
www.thepeerage.com

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, George 1765 births 1836 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1790–1796 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

Directors of the British East India Company