Sir Francis William Sykes, 2nd Baronet (12 November 1767 – 7 March 1804)''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953: 'Sykes of Basildon'. was an English baronet and politician. He was elected at a by-election in 1794 as

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 ...

(MP) for Wallingford, in the interest of his father

Sir Francis Sykes, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Sykes, 1st Baronet (1732–1804) was an English country landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1771 and 1804. He was sometime Governor of Kasimbazar in India, being styled an English nabob by his peers. ...

, of

Basildon Park Basildon Park is a country house situated 2 miles (3 kilometres) south of Goring-on-Thames and Streatley in Berkshire, between the villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon. It is owned by the National Trust and is a Grade I listed buildin ...

. He did not seek re-election in

1796 Events January–March * January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.) * February 1 – The capital ...

. In 1797 he was

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 colonel. ...

of the

Berkshire Militia The Royal Berkshire Militia was an auxiliary military regiment in the county of Berkshire in Southern England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands, in 1572 and their service during the Armada Crisis and in the English Civil War, th ...

, then stationed at

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 ...

. Considering that a letter signed 'Trim' that had appeared in ''Farley's Bristol Journal'' reflected badly on his conduct, he discovered that 'Trim' was a Mr C.F. Williams. Meeting Williams in

College Green College Green or The College Green may refer to: * College Green, Adelaide outdoor venue at the University of Adelaide * College Green, Bristol, England * College Green (Dartmouth College), New Hampshire, primarily known as "the Green" * College ...

, Sykes asked if he was the author and if the letter referred to Sykes. Williams accepted that it did, whereupon Sykes struck him several times. A few days later they met for a duel. Standing at 10 paces' distance, they fired at each other four times (during which Sykes was slightly wounded in the foot and Williams in the groin) before their seconds intervened. It was settled that Williams should publish a letter of apology and that Sykes should apologise to him in College Green before witnesses.

Emma Elizabeth Thoyts Emma Elizabeth Thoyts (1860–1949), aka Mrs. John Hauntenville Cope, was an English palaeographer, amateur historian, and genealogist. Biography Emma Elizabeth Thoyts was born in Bryanston Square, Marylebone in Middlesex on 8 July 1860, the ...

, ''History of the Royal Berkshire Militia (Now 3rd Battalion Royal Berks Regiment)'', Sulhamstead, Berks, 1897/Scholar Select, ISBN 978-1-37645405-5, pp. 141–2, 149, 318–9. On 10 November 1798 he married Mary Anne, eldest daughter of the Hon Major Henniker and grand-daughter of

John Henniker, 1st Baron Henniker John Henniker, 1st Baron Henniker (15 June 1724 – 18 April 1803), known previously as John Henniker then as Sir John Henniker, 2nd Baronet, from 1782 to 1800, was a British merchant and Member of Parliament. Life He was the son of John Hennik ...

. Sykes resigned from the Berkshire Militia on 24 August 1799 and moved to Germany. On 27 February 1804 his wife died of

Scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was in a docu ...

and having nursed her he too died of the disease on 7 March, two months after succeeding his father in the baronetcy. The couple (and their infant son who had also died) were brought back to Basildon Park for burial. They left three children: * Sir Francis William Sykes, 3rd Baronet, born 8 August 1799, died 6 April 1843 * Rev William Sykes, born 25 September 1800, died 3 June 1875 * An unmarried daughter

References

1767 births 1804 deaths Royal Berkshire Militia officers Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1790–1796 Infectious disease deaths in Germany Deaths from streptococcus infection {{GreatBritain-baronet-stub