William Eliot, 2nd Earl of St Germans (1 April 1767 – 19 January 1845), known as William Elliot until 1823, was a British diplomat and politician. Eliot was born at

Port Eliot Port Eliot in the parish of St Germans, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, is the ancestral seat of the Eliot family, whose present head is Albert Eliot, 11th Earl of St Germans. Port Eliot comprises a stately home with its own church, which ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

, the third son of

Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot (London, 8 July 1727 – 17 February 1804, Port Eliot, Cornwall) was an English official and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1748 to 1784, when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Eliot ...

and his wife Catherine (née Elliston). He was educated at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

, taking an M.A. in 1786. He served as an officer with the East Cornwall Militia. From November 1791 until 1793 he was a Secretary of Legation at

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, from 1793 to 1794 Secretary of Embassy and Minister Plenipotentiary at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

and from 1796 Minister Plenipotentiary to the

Elector Palatine The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kin ...

and to the Diet of Ratisbon. Eliot also sat as Tory

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 St Germans from 1791 to 1802 and for

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...

from 1802 to 1823. He served as a

Lord of the Admiralty This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was ...

from 1800 to 1804, as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is a vacant junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affai ...

from 1804 to 1805 and as one of the

Lords Commissioners of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

from 1807 to 1812. In 1823 he succeeded his elder brother as second Earl of St Germans and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

Family

Lord St Germans married four times. *In November 1797 at

Trentham, Staffordshire Trentham () is a suburb of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in North Staffordshire, England, south-west of the city centre and south of the neighbouring town of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is separated from the main urban area by open space and by the Tre ...

to Lady Georgiana Augusta Leveson-Gower (13 April 1769 – 24 March 1806). Georgiana was the daughter of

Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, KG PC (4 August 172126 October 1803), known as Viscount Trentham from 1746 to 1754 and as The Earl Gower from 1754 to 1786, was a British politician from the Leveson-Gower family. Background ...

. They had one son and three daughters: ** Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans (29 August 1798 – 7 October 1877) - Lady Jemmima Cornwallis, dau.of

Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis (19 October 1774 – 9 August 1823), styled Viscount Brome until 1805, was a British Tory politician. He served as Master of the Buckhounds between 1807 and 1823. Background Cornwallis was the only s ...

**Lady Caroline Georgina Eliot (27 July 1799 – April 1865) **Lady Susan Caroline Eliot (12 April 1801 – 15 January 1835) -

Henry Lygon, 4th Earl Beauchamp General Henry Beauchamp Lygon, 4th Earl Beauchamp DL (5 January 1784 – 8 September 1863), styled The Honourable Henry Lygon from 1806 until 1853, was a British Army officer and politician. Background Beauchamp was the third son of William Ly ...

**Lady Charlotte Sophia Eliot (28 May 1802 – 8 July 1839) *On 13 February 1809 at

Heytesbury Heytesbury is a village (formerly considered to be a town) and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies on the north bank of the Wylye, about southeast of the town of Warminster. The civil parish includes most of the small neig ...

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 ...

, to Letitia A'Court (9 August 1778 – 10 January 1810), with no issue. *On 7 March 1812 at the Earl of Powis' House, Berkeley Square, London, to Charlotte Robinson (1790 – 3 July 1813), with no issue. *On 20 August 1814 at Walton, Warwickshire, to Susan Mordaunt (d. 5 February 1830), with no issue. He died at Port Eliot in 1845 and was succeeded by his eldest son.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Germans, William Eliot, 2nd Earl of Saint Germans, William Eliot, 2nd Earl of Saint Germans, William Eliot, 2nd Earl of Saint Germans, William Eliot, 2nd Earl of Saint Germans, William Eliot, 2nd Earl of Saint Germans, William Eliot, 2nd Earl of Earls of St Germans Eliot, William, 2nd Earl of St Germans Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for St Germans British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for St Germans UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 Saint Germans, E2 Younger sons of barons William Eliot Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Netherlands Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liskeard