Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 7th Baronet (9 May 1849 – 19 April 1924) was a British baronet and soldier.

Early life

Born Thomas George Hesketh, he was the second son of

Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 5th Baronet Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 5th Baronet (11 January 1825 – 20 August 1872) was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1862 to 1872. Early life Hesketh was the only son of Sir Thomas Hesketh, 4th Baronet ...

, and Lady Anna Maria Isabella Fermor, daughter of Thomas Fermor, 4th Earl of Pomfret. In 1867 he and his father assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Fermor and in 1876 he succeeded his elder brother as 7th

Baronet of Rufford Baron Hesketh, of Hesketh in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1935 for Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet, who had previously briefly represented Enfield in the House of Com ...

Career

Fermor-Hesketh was commissioned as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

. In January 1879 he started a world cruise in his newly constructed steam auxiliary yacht ''Lancashire Witch''. After he left Madeira en route to Montevideo news arrived there of the British defeat at the

Battle of Isandlwana The Battle of Isandlwana (alternative spelling: Isandhlwana) on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zulul ...

in the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...

. The news eventually caught up with him at Sandy Point ( Punta Arenas) in late March and he immediately set sail for Natal via the Falklands. He offered his services to the army and became ADC to Redvers Buller, becoming involved in mounted action at the

Battle of Ulundi The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi (Zulu:''oNdini'') on 4 July 1879 and was the last major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War. The British army broke the military power of the Zulu nation by defeating the main Zulu army ...

. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the

4th (2nd Royal Lancashire Militia) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * Fourth (album), ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * The Fourth (1972 film) ...

in 1881, and continued in that role until his death. After the war Sir Thomas continued his world cruise and in 1880 was instrumental in the attempted rescue at sea off the coast of Mexico of a number of citizens of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In recognition of this, he was honoured by the city, and at a party in his honour. In 1881 he was appointed high Sheriff of Northamptonshire.

Personal life

Emile Wauters - Portrait of Florence Sharon, Lady Fermor-Hesketh

While in San Francisco, Sir Thomas came to the attention of the San Francisco heiress Florence Emily Sharon (1858–1924). Florence was the daughter of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

William Sharon, who had made an enormous fortune in the gold, silver, banking and hotel business in California and Nevada. The first United States Senator from Nevada, Sharon was also the wealthiest man in the state. By the early 1880s, his empire was such that he was the largest single tax payer in California. The two were married on 22 December 1880 at the

Ralston Hall Ralston Hall Mansion located in Belmont, California, was the country house of William Chapman Ralston, a San Francisco businessman, a founder of the Bank of California, and a financier of the Comstock Lode. It is an opulent Italianate Villa, mo ...

Mansion of Belmont, California, Together, they had two sons: * Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh (1881–1944), who also married an American heiress, Florence Louise Breckinridge, a daughter of John Witherspoon Breckinridge (son of

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

) and the former Louise (née Tevis) (a daughter of banker Lloyd Tevis). After her parents divorced, her mother married Frederick W. Sharon, the brother of Sir Thomas' wife. * Frederick Fermor-Hesketh (1883–1910), who went missing in 1910. When his father-in-law died in 1885, he left the bulk of his estate to his daughter Florence. When her brother Frederick died, the whole of the Senator's fortune passed to she and the Fermor-Hesketh family. They lived in Rufford Hall,

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administr ...

, Lancashire. Fermor-Hesketh died on 19 April 1924 aged 74, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, who in 1935 was elevated to the peerage as

Baron Hesketh Baron Hesketh, of Hesketh in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1935 for Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet, who had previously briefly represented Enfield in the House of Com ...

. Lady Fermor-Hesketh died after falling down the stairs while visiting

Euston Hall Euston Hall is a country house, with park by William Kent and Capability Brown, located in Euston, a small village in Suffolk located just south of Thetford, England. It is the family home of the Dukes of Grafton. The Hall Euston first appears ...

in September 1924.

Legacy

Hesketh Island, Kachemak Bay,

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its sou ...

, Alaska was named after Sir Thomas following his visit to the area in his yacht ''Lancashire Witch'' in 1880.

References

External links

Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 7th Baronet Hesketh of Rufford (1849-1924), on his horse 'Captain Jack'
by A. Jules Imschoot. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fermor-Hesketh, Thomas George 1849 births 1924 deaths High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Rifle Brigade officers