Sir Abraham Elton, 2nd Baronet (

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

30 June 1679 – 20 October 1742) of Bristol and

Clevedon Court Clevedon Court is a manor house on Court Hill in Clevedon, North Somerset, England, dating from the early 14th century. It is owned by the National Trust and is designated as a Grade I listed building. The house was built and added to over man ...

, Somerset, was a British merchant,

slave trader The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and Slavery and religion, religions from Ancient history, ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The socia ...

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. ...

for

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

between 1724 and 1727, and then for

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

from 1727 until his death in 1742. He also served as the

High Sheriff of Bristol This is a list of Civic Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of the County of the City of Bristol, England. The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The High Sheriff remained first in precedence ...

from 1710 to 1711, and was

Mayor of Bristol The Mayor of Bristol is the head of government of Bristol and the chief executive of the Bristol City Council. The mayor is a directly elected politician who, along with the 70 members of Bristol City Council, is responsible for the strategic ...

for the year 1719 to 1720.

Early life and family

Elton was the eldest son of Abraham Elton (later created the first of the

Elton baronets The Elton Baronetcy, of Bristol, is a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 31 October 1717 for Abraham Elton, Mayor of and Member of Parliament for Bristol from 1722 to 1727. The second Baronet was also Mayor of Bristol an ...

), and his wife Mary Jefferies. His date of birth is not known, but he was

on 30 June 1679. He married Abigail Bayly, the daughter of Zachary Bayly of Charlcot House, near Westbury, Wiltshire and Northwood Park, near Glastonbury, Somerset, on 14 May 1702.

Business career

Elton was a merchant and industrialist, and like his father before him, he served as the

in 1710–11. He invested in slave ships with his brothers, Isaac and Jacob. He was the Master of the

Society of Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which funded the voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a monopoly on sea trading ...

in 1719 and Mayor of Bristol from 1719–20, but in 1720 he was made bankrupt during the "

South Sea Bubble South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

". As soon as he completed his term as Mayor, he left Bristol and travelled to France, and did not return until his father paid off his debts.

Member of Parliament

Clevedon Court Elton returned to England by 1724, and stood in the Taunton by-election of 1724 for the Whigs, as an unexpected late entrant. He was duly elected to serve as a

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

, though one of the other candidates, George Deane, filed a petition against his election. The petition was rejected by a vote of 151 to 104. He only served Taunton until the general election in 1727, when his father vacated his seat in

. At the resulting election, Elton paid his

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

opponent £1,000 to withdraw from the election, allowing him to be returned unopposed. In Parliament, he became a member of the gaols committee. In February 1730 he spoke against the

Royal African Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English mercantile (trade, trading) company set up in 1660 by the royal House of Stuart, Stuart family and City of London merchants to trade along the West Africa, west coast of Africa. It was led by the J ...

’s petition to be spared the cost of maintaining their forts. He often petitioned government on mercantile issues, amongst them: in 1730 for the removal of

duty A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...

on soaps and candles, five separate times for the removal of duty on Irish yarn, and twice against the introduction of slave duties. He was said to have made a "bantering speech" against the proposed Excise Bill of 1733. Elton topped the poll in a contest at the 1734 general election. He continued raising petitions on mercantile issues, and voted with the Opposition in all recorded divisions. He was returned unopposed at the 1741 general election.

Personal life

Upon his father's death on 9 February 1728, Elton became Sir Abraham Elton, 2nd Baronet, and inherited

. Elton died on 20 October 1742, leaving three sons and three daughters. The baronetage passed to his eldest son, who became Sir Abraham Elton, 3rd Baronet but died without issue. The baronetcy then passed to his brother Sir (Abraham) Isaac Elton, 4th Baronet. Another of Elton's sons, Jacob, became a Royal Navy captain but was killed in a sea battle. Elton's daughters Mary and Elizabeth both married.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elton, Abraham 1679 births 1742 deaths British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain High Sheriffs of Bristol Mayors of Bristol English slave traders Members of the Society of Merchant Venturers