George Frederick Beltz, KH (9 August 1774 – 23 October 1841) was an English genealogist, appointed

Lancaster Herald Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an English officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The title of Lancaster Herald first occurs in 1347 at Calais, and to begin with this officer was a servant to the noble house of Lancaster. As a ...

in 1822.

Life

Beltz was the second of seven children of George Nicholas Beltz of St George's, Bloomsbury, a coal merchant, and Elizabeth Gutteridge (died 1796). From at least 1797 to 1816 he worked in the office of the

Garter King of Arms The Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ...

. He became gentleman usher of the scarlet rod of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

and Brunswick Herald in 1814, in succession to Sir

Isaac Heard Sir Isaac Heard ( 1730 – 29 April 1822) was a British officer of arms who served as appointed Garter Principal King of Arms, from 1784 until his death in 1822 the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms in London. In this role, h ...

. In 1813, he was secretary to the mission sent to invest

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...

with the

Order 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 C ...

, and in 1814 he performed a similar office at the investiture of

Francis I of Austria Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

. After being

Portcullis Pursuivant Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The office is named after the ''Portcullis chained Or'' badge of the Beauforts, which was a favourite device of King Henry VII. King Henry's ...

from 1817 to 1822, he was appointed

. In 1826, he was made a companion of the

Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order The Royal Guelphic Order (german: Königliche Guelphen-Orden), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name ...

, of which order he was honoured with knighthood in 1836. Beltz, who was an executor for the widow of

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...

, wrote a memoir of Mrs. Garrick in the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' for November 1822, and he contributed papers on archaeological subjects to the ''Gentleman's Magazine'' (1822), to the ''

Retrospective Review The ''Retrospective Review'' was an English periodical published from 1820 to 1828. It was founded by Henry Southern, who edited it to 1826, as well as contributing. From 1827 to 1828 Nicholas Harris Nicolas was co-editor with Southern. It conce ...

'' (1823), and the volumes, xxv., xxvii., and xxviii. of the ''Archæologia'' of the Society of Antiquaries (1833–39). Many of the elaborate pedigrees in Sir R. C. Hoare's ''History of Wiltshire'' were compiled by him. In 1834, he published, in an octavo volume, ''A Review of the

Chandos Peerage The Dukedom of Chandos is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. First created as a barony by Edward III in 1337, its second creation in 1554 was due to the Brydges family's service to Mary I during Wyatt's rebellion, wh ...

Case''. In 1841, he published ''Memorials of the Order of the Garter, from its Foundation to the Present Time.'' He was engaged in this work during many years, and only survived its publication by a few months. He was attacked by his last illness while on a tour on the continent, and died at

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

on 28 October 1841, aged 67, and was interred in the cemetery of the parish of St. Peter there.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Beltz, George Frederick 1774 births 1841 deaths English officers of arms British diplomats