William Elliot of Wells (1701–1764) was an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official ...

, and

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 o ...

during the reign of

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...

. The son of William Elliot of Wells (1660-1728, known to posterity as the "Laceman", from his trade in gold-embroidered lace from which he made his fortune) and his wife Eleanor née Tankard, the younger William was christened 6 March 1701–2 at

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. Th ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

. Around 1720, he stood as legal guardian to Granville Elliott, the infant son of his elder sister Charlotte Elliot and her recently deceased husband

Roger Elliott Major General Roger Elliott ( 1665 – 16 May 1714 ) was one of the earliest British Governors of Gibraltar. A member of the Eliot family, his son Granville Elliott became the first Count Elliott and his nephew George Augustus Eliott als ...

. He entered the army in 1722 as a cornet in the

Royal Regiment of Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) (RHG) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. Raised in August 1650 at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham by Sir Arthur Haselrigge on the orders of Oliver Cro ...

, and in the following year joined Charles Churchill's Regiment of Dragoons as a captain. While serving under Col. Churchill (1679-1740), Elliot witnessed the will of Churchill's mistress, the celebrated actress Anne Oldfield (1683-1730), and was one of the

pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles o ...

s at her funeral in 1730. Elliot inherited his father's estate of Wells, in Roxburghshire, in 1728. In 1737, Elliot was commissioned as major of the 2nd Troop of

Horse Grenadier Guards The Horse Grenadier Guards, usually referred to ''Horse Grenadiers'' were a series of cavalry troops in the British Household Cavalry between 1687 and 1788, who used grenades and other explosives in battle. Originally attached to the Horse Gua ...

, of which he was made

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

in 1741. He fought at both Dettingen and Fontenoy, but resigned his commission in 1746. His eldest sister's son, George Augustus Eliott (later Lord Heathfield, defender of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

), was one of his subordinate officers in the 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1741, Elliot was elected as a Whig

(MP) for

Calne Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

(which seat he held until 1754). Subsequently, in 1743, he was made one of the equerries to

, and served until the king's death in 1760.

Family

Elliot married – against her father's wishes – Lady Frances de Nassau d’Auverquerque, elder daughter of the

Earl of Grantham Earl of Grantham was a title in the Peerage of England created once on 24 December 1698, along with the titles Viscount Boston, of Boston in the County of Lincoln, and Baron Alford, of Alford in the County of Lincoln, for Henry de Nassau d'Au ...

and Lady Henrietta Butler, daughter of the

Earl of Ossory Earl of Ossory is a subsidiary title held by the Earl of Ormond that was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1528. During King Henry VIII of England's pursuit of Anne Boleyn, who would be his second wife, he arranged for the main claimant to the ...

, at

St Benet Paul's Wharf The Church of St Benet Paul's Wharf is a Welsh Anglican church in the City of London. Since 1556, it has also been the official church of the College of Arms in which many officers of arms have been buried. In 1666 it was destroyed in the Great F ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, on 4 June 1737, with one son: * Henry Elliot, born 17 April 1741 Westminster, who died young. In 1758, Lady Frances would have inherited the Scottish title lordship of Dingwall upon the death of her uncle the Earl of Arran, had this title not been forfeited as a consequence of the 1715

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

of her uncle the

Duke of Ormonde The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldom ...

following his involvement in the

Jacobite risings , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

of that year.Gascoyne et al., ''The Complete Peerage'', vol. 3, pp. 128-29. William Elliot died on 7 June 1764 and was buried in

. Lady Frances Elliot died on 5 April 1772, and was buried with her late husband.

References

*Romney Sedgwick, ed., ''The History of Parliament: The Commons 1715-1754'' (London, 1971). {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, William 1701 births 1764 deaths Military personnel from London British Life Guards officers 10th Royal Hussars officers British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Calne British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 Burials at St James's Church, Piccadilly