Robert George William Trefusis, 17th Baron Clinton (1764 – 1797) of Trefusis in Cornwall and

Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe Heanton Satchville was a historic manor in the parish of Petrockstowe, North Devon, England. With origins in the Domesday manor of Hantone, it was first recorded as belonging to the Yeo family in the mid-14th century and was then owned succ ...

in Devon, was an English peer. He was the son of Robert Cotton Trefusis and his wife, Hon. Anne St John, and great-great-grandson of Francis Trefusis, whose wife Bridget was in remainder to the barony of Clinton through her mother Lady Arabella Rolle, daughter of

Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln, KB (1599 – 21 May 1667), styled Lord Clinton until 1619, was an opponent of Charles I during and preceding the English Civil War. Family The eldest son of the 3rd Earl of Lincoln and Elizabeth Knyve ...

. Trefusis succeeded to the barony in 1791 on the death of his third cousin

George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford (2 April 1730 – 5 December 1791) was a British administrator, politician, and peer. Life Lord Orford was the only child of the 2nd Earl of Orford and his wife Margaret Rolle, Baroness Clinton in her own rig ...

Marriage

In 1786 he married Albertina Marianna Gaulis (d. 1798), daughter of Jean Abraham Rodolph Gaulis (d. 1788) of

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, Switzerland, an important magistrate of that city. He is described as "notaire juré, conseiller, secrétaire baillival, banneret de la Cité". In 1779 he resigned as "secrétaire baillival" after 40 years' service and requested that his son J. Juste Gaulis should succeed him, who had seconded for him during the last three years of his term. The request was successful as the son was appointed to the position in 1780. Her mother was Jeanne-Louise-Dorothée Porta, from another prominent Lausanne family. Her eldest brother was Abram Frederic Louis Juste Gaulis, a member of the

Grand Council of Vaud The Grand Council of Vaud (french: Grand Conseil de Vaud) is the legislature of the canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a unicameral legislature. The Great Council has 150 seats, with members elected every five years. The last electi ...

and the heir and custodian of the Château de Colombier-sur-Morges, near Lausanne. Another brother was Charles Gaulis (died in Germany 23 August 1796), who fathered a child by Mary Jane de Vial (later Clairmont). Charles Gaulis Clairmont, who grew up as stepbrother to

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...

, ended up as Chair of English literature at

Vienna University The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public university, public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the Geogra ...

Among the children of Albertina and Robert Trefusis were: * Robert Cotton St John Trefusis, 18th Baron Clinton (1787–1832) * Charles Rudolph Trefusis, 19th Baron Clinton (1791–1866) * Captain George Rolle Walpole TrefusisFor more on George Rolle Walpole Trefusis see: RN (1793–1849).

Sources

*Thorne, R.G., biography of ''Trefusis, Hon. Charles Rodolph (1791-1866), of Trefusis, Cornw.'' (his son), published in ''

History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

: House of Commons 1790-1820'', ed. R. Thorne, 198

* Rosemary Lauder, Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, pp. 65–74, ''Fane-Trefusis''. * Vivian, J.L., ''The Visitations of Cornwall: comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1530, 1573 & 1620; with additions by J.L. Vivian'', Exeter, 1887, pp. 463–8, pedigree of "Trefusis of Trefusis

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Robert Trefusis, 17th Baron 1764 births 1797 deaths Barons Clinton