Charles Augustus Ellis, 6th Baron Howard de Walden and 2nd Baron Seaford (5 June 1799 – 29 August 1868), was a British diplomat and politician.

Lineage

Ellis was the son of

Charles Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford Charles Rose Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford (19 December 1771 – 9 July 1845) was a British politician, sugar planter, and slave holder. John Ellis and Charles' early life Charles was the second son of John Ellis of Jamaica, who acquired a signific ...

and his wife, the Honourable Elizabeth Hervey, daughter of

John Hervey, Lord Hervey Captain John Augustus Hervey, Lord Hervey, RN (1 January 1757 – 10 January 1796) was a British diplomat.Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, (1 August 1730 – 8 July 1803), was an 18th-century Anglican prelate. Elected Bishop of Cloyne in 1767 and translated to the see of Derry in 1768, Hervey served as Lord Bishop of Derry until ...

, the "Earl-Bishop" of Derry. Educated at

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, ...

, He succeeded his great-grandfather Lord Bristol in the barony of Howard de Walden on 8 July 1803, aged four. Ellis became the 6th Lord Howard de Walden in 1807, a title that descended to him through his mother's line, and when his father died in 1845, he became the 2nd Lord Seaford. Although his family’s wealth initially derived from sugar plantations in Jamaica, it was his marriage to the Duke of Portland’s daughter that ultimately saved the family from bankruptcy.

Jamaican planter

Ellis inherited all his father's property in Jamaica, including sugar estates in Montpelier, Jamaica, Caymanas Park, Shettlewood and Crawle. Although the Ellis family wealth was built on these, after 1832 they were in decline. Charles Augustus was raised in England and does not seem to have visited Jamaica before 1846 when he took his wife, Lucy and son Frederick. Sugar production had fallen dramatically and in 1855 was abandoned and replaced with cattle rearing. The slaves on his properties were emancipated in 1832, and their wages were very low. In an attempt to improve profits on his plantations, Ellis further reduced wages paid to the newly-emancipated slaves, which met with resistance and resulted in a strike. He actively encouraged workers from Europe, notably Portugal and Germany, but the plantations remained unprofitable.

Political and diplomatic career

Lord Howard de Walden became an

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

and Lieutenant in the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

on 24 April 1817. He served as Joint Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 26 May 1824 to 9 June 1828, during which time he acted as Attaché to Lord Stuart de Rothesay on a mission to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

in Brazil (January 1826). This role allowed him to move into international diplomacy, as he served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the court of Stockholm, Sweden, from 2 October 1832, to the court of Lisbon,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, from 22 November 1833, and at Brussels, Belgium, from 10 December 1846. Lord Howard de Walden was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 22 July 1838 and a Grand Cross of the Portuguese

Order of the Tower and Sword The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...

in 1841. He succeeded in the barony of Seaford on the death of his father in July 1845.

Family

Lord Howard de Walden married Lady Lucy Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (c. 181329 July 1899), daughter of

William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland, (24 June 1768 – 27 March 1854), styled Marquess of Titchfield until 1809, was a British politician who served in various positions in the governments of George Canning and Lord Go ...

, at All Souls' Church in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...

on 8 November 1828. She and her elder sister jointly inherited in 1879 the Duke of Portland's London Estate in Marylebone which had become extremely valuable. Her sister died childless and so the estate became part of the Howard de Walden inheritance. They had seven children: * Frederick George Ellis, 7th Baron Howard de Walden (9 August 1830November 1899). * Harriette Georgina Ellis (3 September 1831 – 16 April 1906). She married in 1875

Michelangelo Caetani ''This article contains material translated from the Italian Wikipedia's version of this page.'' Michelangelo Caetani, Duke of Sermoneta and Prince of Teano (Rome, 20 March 1804 – Rome, 12 December 1882), was a notable political figure, goldsmi ...

, 13th Duke of

Sermoneta Sermoneta is a hill town and ''comune'' in the province of Latina (Lazio), central Italy. It is a walled hill town, with a 13th-century Romanesque cathedral called Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and a massive castle, built by the Caetani f ...

. * Hon. William Charles Ellis (22 July 1835 – 20 June 1923). * Hon. Charles Arthur Ellis (December 1839 – 30 March 1906). * Hon. John Charles Ellis (29 September 1841 – 8 November 1886). * Hon. Evelyn Henry Ellis (9 August 1843 – 5 September 1913). Ellis was an early patron of Daimler launches and cars and first

distance Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects or points are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two counties over"). ...

motorist in England: Southampton to Malvern, July 1895 on a 3½hp Daimler-engined French Panhard & Levassor car. His cousin, Sir Arthur Ellis (British Army officer)'s post as an equerry to the Prince of Wales directly led to the adoption of Daimler cars as official royal transport. He was the last member of the Ellis family to run the family's sugar estates in Montpelier, Jamaica.Barry Higman, ''Montpelier'' (Kingston: University of the West Indies Press, 1998), p. 67. * Augustus Charles William Ellis (5 February 1846 – 22 April 1882). Lord Howard de Walden died in August 1868 in Belgium, aged 69, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Frederick George Ellis, 7th Baron Howard de Walden. Lady Lucy Joan Howard de Walden died in July 1899 in St. James House, West Malvern, Worcestershire .

References

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