Pompeo Batoni - Sir Sampson Gideon and an unidentified companion - Google Art Project

Sampson Eardley, 1st Baron Eardley FRS (10 October 1744 – 25 December 1824), known as Sir Sampson Gideon from 1759 until 1789, was the son of Sampson Gideon (1699–1762), a Jewish banker in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

who advised the British government in the 1740s and 1750s, and his wife Jane (died 1778), daughter of Charles Ermell of London.Article on Sampson Gideon (1699–1762) by Edgar Samuel.

Biography

The younger Sampson Gideon (as he then was) was educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

and

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, on 21 May 1759, under his father's influence though aged only 14 years. His father had lobbied for the same honour for himself from the prime minister, the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle u ...

, but was denied it on account of his own religion, as he remained a practising Jew. The younger Sampson Gideon and his two sisters, on the contrary, whose mother was Christian, were baptised and brought up in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. He served as

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 ...

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

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

from 1770 to 1780,

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

from 1780 to 1784,

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

from 1784 to 1796, and Wallingford from 1796 to 1802. He was elected as a Bailiff to the board of the

Bedford Level Corporation The Bedford Level Corporation (or alternatively the Corporation of the Bedford Level) was founded in England in 1663 to manage the draining of the Fens of East Central England. It formalised the legal status of the Company of Adventurers previously ...

in 1767, a position he held until his death. On 17 July 1789 he legally changed his surname to that of Eardley. and in the same year he was created an Irish peer, with the title of Baron Eardley, of Spalding in the County of Lincoln. An Irish peerage carried no seat in the British

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

and thus did not disqualify him from membership of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

. In November 1789 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS) and he was also

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FSA). Lord Eardley was the first Provincial Grand Master of Cambridgeshire

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, appointed in 1796, until his death. His two sons predeceased him, and the peerage became extinct on Lord Eardley's death, at 10 Marina Parade,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

, 1824, aged 80. He was buried at

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies nort ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. His daughter the Honourable Charlotte Elizabeth married Sir Culling Smith, 2nd Baronet, and their son Sir Culling Smith assumed the surname of Eardley in lieu of Smith in 1847 (see

Eardley baronets The Smith, later Eardley Baronetcy, of Hadley in the County of Middlesex, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 December 1802 for Culling Smith. He was the son of Thomas Smith, a London merchant. The second Ba ...

). Charlotte's and Sir Culling Smith's daughter Maria Charlotte married Reverend Eardley Childers Walbanke-Childers and was the mother of politician

Hugh Childers Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (25 June 1827 – 29 January 1896) was a British Liberal statesman of the nineteenth century. He is perhaps best known for his reform efforts at the Admiralty and the War Office. Later in his career, as Chancellor ...

Personal life

In 1766, he married Maria Wilmot, the daughter of Sir John Eardley Wilmot,

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other ...

from 1766 to 1771 and his wife Sarah Rivett, with whom he had five children; * Maria Marowe Eardley (22 November 1767 – 5 September 1834), married Gregory William Eardley-Twisleton-Fiennes, 14th

Baron Saye and Sele Baron Saye and Sele is a title in the Peerage of England held by the Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes family. The title dates to 1447 but it was recreated in 1603. Confusion over the details of the 15th-century title has led to conflicting order for t ...

, had issue * Charlotte Elizabeth Gideon (1768 – 15 September 1820), married Sir Culling Smith, 2nd Baronet, had issue * Sampson Eardley (20 December 1770 – June 1824), died unmarried * Selena Gideon (born 1772), married Colonel John Walbanke-Childers, had issue * William Eardley (1774–1805), died unmarried

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eardley, Sampson 1744 births 1824 deaths People educated at Tonbridge School People educated at Eton College Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III English people of Portuguese-Jewish descent Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 Jewish British politicians Tory MPs (pre-1834) Culling Smith Eardley family Members of Parliament for Coventry