Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton, PC (27 October 177412 May 1848), of The Grange in Hampshire, of Ashburton in Devon and of

Buckenham Tofts Buckenham Tofts (or Buckenham Parva; Little Buckenham) is a now deserted historic parish and manor in Norfolk, England, situated about 7 miles north of Thetford, and since 1942 situated within the Stanford Training Area, a 30,000-acre military t ...

near

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24, ...

in Norfolk, was a British

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

and

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

, and a member of the

Baring family The Baring family is a Germans, German and British people, British family of merchants and bankers. In Germany, the family belongs to the ''Bildungsbürgertum'', and in England, it belongs to the Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. History The fa ...

. Baring was the second son of Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, and of Harriet, daughter of William Herring.

Early life

Alexander was born on 27 October 1774. He was the second son born to Harriet Herring (1750–1804) and Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet (1740–1810). Among his siblings was Maria (the mother of

Francis Stainforth The Reverend Francis John Stainforth (1797Who Was Who in British Philately
, Ass ...

Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet (12 June 1772 – 3 April 1848), was a British banker and Member of Parliament. Early life Baring was born on 12 June 1772. A member of the Baring family, he was the eldest son of Harriet (née Herring) Baring an ...

Henry Baring Henry Baring (18 January 1777 – 13 April 1848) was a British banker and politician. He was the third son of Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, the founder of the family banking firm that grew into Barings Bank. His grandfather Johann Baring em ...

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 o ...

for

Bossiney Bossiney ( kw, Boskyny, meaning ''Cyni's dwelling'') is a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is north-east of the larger village of Tintagel which it adjoins: further north-east are the Rocky Valley and Trethevy. Until 1832 ...

and

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

), and George Baring (who founded the Hong Kong trading house of Dent & Co.). His father, alongside his uncle, John Baring, established the London merchant house of John and Francis Baring Company, which eventually became

Barings Bank Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London, and one of England's oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by Francis Baring, a British-born member ...

. His paternal grandparents were Elizabeth Vowler and

Johann Baring Johann Baring (born 15 November 1697 in Bremen Duchies of Bremen and Verden, died 1748 in West Country, England), later anglicised to ''John Baring'', was a German-British merchant. He came to England in 1717 as an immigrant, as the apprentice ...

, a wool merchant who emigrated to England in 1717 from Germany and established the family in England. His maternal grandfather was merchant William Herring of Croydon and among his mother's family was her cousin,

Thomas Herring Thomas Herring (169323 March 1757) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757. Early life and education He was the son of John Herring, rector of Walsoken in Norfolk, who had previously been vicar of Foxton, near Cambridge, and his wife, ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

Career

Alexander was brought up in his father's business, and became a partner at Hope & Co. He was sent to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

for various land deals, and formed wide connections with wealthy American families. In 1807 Alexander became a partner in the family firm, along with his brothers

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 A ...

and Henry, and the name was changed to Baring Brothers & Co. When

Henry Hope Henry Hope (1735–1811) was an Amsterdam merchant banker born in Braintree, Massachusetts. He emigrated to the Netherlands to join the family business Hope & Co. at a young age. From 1779, Henry became the manager of Hope & Co. and he participat ...

died in 1811, the London offices of Hope & Co. merged with Baring Brothers & Co.

Political career

Baring sat in 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 1806 and 1826, for

Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had ...

between 1826 and 1831, for

between 1831 and 1832 and North Essex between 1832 and 1835. He regarded politics from the point of view of the business man and opposed the orders-in-council for "the restrictions on trade with the United States in 1812," and, in 1826, the act for the suppression of small banknotes as well as other reform. He accepted the post

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...

in the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...

's projected ministry of 1832; but afterwards, alarmed at the men in parliament, declared "he would face a thousand devils rather than such a House of Commons." After the Panic of 1847, Baring headed an external bimetallist movement hoping to prevent the undue restriction of the currency. Baring was

Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an important office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between ...

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Excheque ...

's government and, on Peel's retirement in 1835, was raised to the peerage as Baron Ashburton, of Ashburton, in the County of Devon, a title previously held by

John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton (18 October 1731 – 18 August 1783), of Spitchwick the parish of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Devon, was an English lawyer and politician, born in Ashburton in Devon, who served as Solicitor-General from 1768 ...

. In 1842 he was again sent to America, and the same year concluded the

Webster–Ashburton Treaty The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty that resolved several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies (the region that became Canada). Signed under John Tyler's presidency, it r ...

. A compromise was settled concerning the north-east boundary of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

, the extradition of certain criminals was arranged, each state agreed to maintain a squadron of at least eighty guns on the coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

for the suppression of the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, and the two governments agreed to unite in an effort to persuade other powers to close all slave markets within their territories. Despite his earlier attitude, Lord Ashburton disapproved of Peel's free trade and opposed the Bank Charter Act of 1844. Ashburton was a trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

, a privy councillor and D.C.L. He published, besides several speeches, ''An Enquiry into the Causes and Consequences of ... Orders in Council'' (1808), and ''The Financial and Commercial Crisis Considered'' (1847).

Slave holder

Baring was the recipient of compensation when slavery was abolished in the 1830s. He received compensation for nearly 500 slaves across four estates. He was compensated at Spring Garden in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was ...

to the tune of over £3,400. He was also compensated to the tune of more than £6,500 on three estates in

St Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

.''Legacies of British Slave-ownership'' University College of London https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/-1411131717 Retrieved 15 September 2021.

Personal life

On 23 August 1798, Ashburton married Ann Louisa Bingham (1782–1848), daughter of

Ann Willing Bingham Ann (or Anne) Willing Bingham (August 1, 1764May 11, 1801) was an American socialite from Philadelphia. Early life She was the eldest daughter of thirteen children born to Anne (née McCall) Willing and Thomas Willing, the first president of t ...

and William Bingham of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, who served as a

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 power ...

and was one of the richest men in America, having made his fortune during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

through trading and ownership of

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s. Her maternal grandfather was

Thomas Willing Thomas Willing (December 19, 1731 – January 19, 1821) was an American merchant, politician and slave trader who served as mayor of Philadelphia and was a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress. He also served as the first pre ...

, the president of the

First Bank of the United States First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

. Together, they had nine children: *

Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton William Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton, (June 1799 – 23 March 1864) was a British businessman and a Whig politician who later became a Tory. Background and education William Bingham Baring was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in J ...

(1799–1864), who married

Lady Harriet Mary Montagu Harriet Mary Baring, Baroness Ashburton (née Lady Harriet Montagu) (14 May 1805 – 4 May 1857) was a socialite and hostess. She was born in 1805 to George Montagu, 6th Earl of Sandwich and Louisa Montagu, Countess of Sandwich. She married W ...

, eldest daughter of George Montagu, 6th Earl of Sandwich. * Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton (1800–1868), who married Hortense Maret (–1882), daughter of Hughes-Bernard Maret, 1st Duke of Bassano,

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister i ...

. * Harriet Baring (1804–1892), married

Henry Thynne, 3rd Marquess of Bath Henry Frederick Thynne, 3rd Marquess of Bath (24 May 1797 – 24 June 1837), styled Lord Henry Thynne until January 1837 and Viscount Weymouth between January and March 1837, was a British naval commander and politician. Background Thynne was th ...

. * Frederick Baring (1806–1868), Rector of

Itchen Stoke Itchen Stoke and Ovington () is an English civil parish consisting of two adjoining villages in Hampshire, England, west of Alresford town centre in the valley of the River Itchen, north-east of Winchester, and south-east of Itchen Abbas. Itc ...

, married Frederica Ashton on 24 April 1831. * Anne Eugenia Baring (died 1839), married Humphrey St John-Mildmay. * Alexander Baring (1810–1832), who died on board HMS ''Alfred'' in the Mediterranean. * Arthur Baring (1818–1838), who died unmarried. * Louisa Emily Baring (died 1888) * Lydia Emily Baring (died 1868) Ashburton died on 12 May 1848 at

Longleat Longleat is an English stately home and the seat of the Marquess of Bath, Marquesses of Bath. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan prodigy house, it is adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of War ...

, in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. His widow died several months later on 5 December 1848.

Descendants

Through his eldest son, he was a grandfather of Mary Florence Baring (1860–1902), who married

William Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton William George Spencer Scott Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton, KG (23 April 1851 – 15 June 1913), known as Lord William Compton from 1877 to 1887 and as Earl Compton from 1887 to 1897, was a British peer and Liberal politician. Early li ...

. Through his second son, he was a grandfather of

Alexander Baring, 4th Baron Ashburton Alexander Hugh Baring, 4th Baron Ashburton, (4 May 1835 – 18 July 1889) was a British landowner and Conservative Party politician. Early life Baring was the son of Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton (1800–1868), and his wife Hortense Euge ...

(1835–1889), and Maria Anne Louisa Baring (1833–1928), who married

William FitzRoy, 6th Duke of Grafton William Henry Fitzroy, 6th Duke of Grafton (5 August 1819 – 21 May 1882), styled Viscount Ipswich until 1847 and Earl of Euston between 1847 and 1863, was a British peer and Liberal Party politician. He was born in London and educated at H ...

Quotes

Of this great mercantile family the

Duke of Richelieu Duke of Richelieu (french: duc de Richelieu) was a title of French nobility. It was created on 26 November 1629 for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (known as Cardinal Richelieu) who, as a Roman Catholic clergyman, had no issue to pass it dow ...

wittily remarked; "There are six main powers in Europe; Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Prussia and Baring-Brothers!" (Vicary Gibbs, from the "Complete Peerage" 1910).

References

Attribution: * *

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashburton, Alexander Baring, 1st Baron 1774 births 1848 deaths British people of German descent Baring, Alexander English bankers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Masters of the Mint History of banking Baring, Alexander Baring, Alexander Baring, Alexander Baring, Alexander Baring, Alexander Baring, Alexander Baring, Alexander Baring, Alexander Baring, Alexander UK MPs who were granted peerages Baring, Alexander Baring, Alexander

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

Presidents of the Board of Trade Alexander 1 Peers of the United Kingdom created by William IV British slave owners Recipients of payments from the Slavery Abolition Act 1833