Samuel Edwards (c. 1668 – 1738) of

Frodesley Frodesley is a tiny village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire, and is situated partly within the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 256. The populatio ...

, Shropshire, was a British government official and Whig politician who sat 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. ...

from 1722 to 1738 Edwards was the son of John Edwards of

Pentre Pentre is a village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward near Treorchy in the Rhondda valley, falling within the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's name is taken from the Welsh word Pentref, which translates as ...

, Montgomeryshire. In 1697, he was a minor official at the

Exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government reven ...

. He married Rebecca Godolphin, daughter of John Godolphin of

Doctors' Commons Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildi ...

, London on 24 November 1699 and afterwards kept a close connection with the Godolphin family. Early in 1700 he was promoted to deputy

teller of the Exchequer The Teller of the Receipt of the Exchequer was an office in the English Exchequer. The Tellers of the Exchequer received any money to be paid into the Exchequer, noted the amount in a book, and sent a copy of the entry, called a Teller's Bill, to ...

under Francis Godolphin who was a teller of the receipt. He kept his position under subsequent holders of the office. He was appointed trustee for keeper of Windsor Great Park in 1709 and held other offices including cashier and paymaster of Exchequer bills, and director in several lotteries. He married as his second wife, Elizabeth Jones, daughter of a Shropshire clergyman in September 1723. Edwards acquired land in Shropshire at Frodesley and on

Wenlock Edge Wenlock Edge is a limestone escarpment near Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England and a site of special scientific interest because of its geology. It is over long, running southwest to northeast between Craven Arms and Much Wenlock, and is roughl ...

, near Wenlock. He was elected Whig

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 of ...

for Wenlock in a contest at the 1722, probably on the joint interests of William Forester and Lord Bradford. He was re-elected MP for Wenlock in 1727 and 1734. He consistently voted with the Government. Edwards died, aged 70, on 12 June 1738,. He left two sons by his first wife of whom Godolphin was Mayor of Shrewsbury in 1730.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Samuel 1660s births Date of birth missing 1738 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 People from Much Wenlock