George Montagu Bennet, 7th Earl of Tankerville (30 March 1852 – 9 July 1931), was a
British peer
A Peerage is a form of crown distinction, with Peerages in the United Kingdom comprising both hereditary and lifetime titled appointments of various ranks, which form both a constituent part of the legislative process and the British hono ...
,
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
and
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer,
cowpuncher
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
,
circus clown
Circus clowns are a sub-genre of Clown, clowns. They typically perform at circus, circuses and are meant to amuse, entertain and make guests laugh.
Traditional types
There are traditionally three basic types of clowns that appear in the circus: ...
, and
revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Those who lead revival services are known as revivalists (or evangelists). Nineteent ...
singer.
Early life
Bennet was born at
Claridge's Hotel
Claridge's is a 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. The hotel is owned and managed by the Maybourne Hotel Group.
History Founding
Claridge's traces its origins to Mivart's Hotel, which was founded ...
, Brook Street,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
on 30 March 1852. He was the second son of
Charles Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville
Charles Augustus Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (10 January 1810 – 18 December 1899), styled Lord Ossulston between 1822 and 1859, was an Peerage, English peer and Conservative Party (UK), Cons ...
and Olivia Montagu.
His sister, Lady Isa Louise Bennet, was married to
John Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie
John William Maule Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie, (29 January 1847 – 25 November 1887), styled Lord Ramsay between 1874 and 1880, was a Scottish naval commander, courtier and Liberal politician. He served as Secretary for Scotland in Willia ...
. His elder brother, Charles, Lord Ossulton, the heir apparent, died, unmarried, of
cholera
Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
on 29 June 1879, while serving with 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 ...
.
[ George was styled Lord Bennet at the time he became heir apparent.] As the only surviving son, George succeeded his father as Earl of Tankerville
Earl of Tankerville is a noble title drawn from Tancarville in Normandy. The title has been created three times: twice in the Peerage of England, and once (in 1714) in the Peerage of Great Britain for Charles Bennet, 2nd Baron Ossulston. His ...
on the death of the latter on 18 December 1899.
His paternal grandparents were Charles Bennet, 5th Earl of Tankerville
Charles Augustus Bennet, 5th Earl of Tankerville PC, DL (28 April 1776 – 25 June 1859), styled Lord Ossulston until 1822, was a British politician. He served as Treasurer of the Household from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talent ...
and the former Armandine Corisande de Gramont (a daughter of the Antoine VIII, 8th Duke of Gramont
The title of Duke of Gramont (''duc de Gramont'') is a French List of French dukedoms, dukedom and former List of French peerages, peerage. It was created in 1648 for French Marshal Antoine III de Gramont.
History
The family of Gramont was a Kin ...
). His maternal grandparents were George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester
George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester DL (9 July 1799 – 18 August 1855), known as Viscount Mandeville from 1799 to 1843, was a British peer and Tory Member of Parliament.
Early life
George Montagu was born at Kimbolton Castle, Huntingdo ...
and the former Millicent Sparrow (a granddaughter of Arthur Acheson, 1st Earl of Gosford
Arthur Acheson, 1st Earl of Gosford Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (14 January 1807), known as The Viscount Gosford between 1790 and 1806, was an Ireland, Irish Peerage of Ireland, peer of Scottish people, Scottish descent and politicia ...
).
Career
He entered the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
in 1865, was midshipman 1867 to 1869, then left to undergo public school at Radley
Radley is a village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfor ...
from 1869 to 1870. He entered the army, becoming a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade in 1872, eventually serving as aide-de-camp to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland[ from 1876 to 1880.][
He travelled in America in 1892, becoming friends with the two revivalists, Ira D. Sankey and ]Dwight L. Moody
Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 22, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Mas ...
, accompanying them in both America and Britain. He spent some time as a cowpuncher in the western states.
Known as "The Singing Earl," he sang hymns during his revival work, and took part in concerts in the north of England. (His voice is described, confusingly, both as a "rich bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...
" and a "fine tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
"). He studied voice with Giovanni Sbriglia
Giovanni Sbriglia (June 23, 1832 – February 20, 1916), was an Italian tenor and prominent teacher of singing.
A native of Naples, Sbriglia attended the city's music conservatory under Emanuele De Roxas before making his debut, aged 21, at the ...
.
Lord Tankerville made American headlines in January 1912 when he placed his 14-year-old son (and eventual successor) in a Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
school, saying he wanted him to be "educated in a world where every one worked."
Family
Lord Tankerville, who for a time was a clown in the circus, met his future wife, Leonora Sophia van Marter (d. 1949), when he turned a somersault over a sofa in a New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
drawing-room, nearly falling into her lap. They married in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
on 23 October 1895.[ Prior to their marriage, Leonora, a daughter of Dr. James Gilbert van Marter, had been a music teacher in New York.] Together, they had four children (two sons, two daughters):
* Hon. Georgina Bennet (1896–1896), who died in infancy.
* Charles Bennet, 8th Earl of Tankerville (1897–1971), who married Roberta Mitchell (née Nolan) in 1920. They divorced in 1930 and remarried to Violet Pallin in 1930.
* Lady Ida Olivia Sophie Bennet (1898–1900), who died in childhood.
* Hon. George William Bennet (1903–1981), who married Constance Clare Wace in 1929.
Lord Tankerville died at the family seat of Chillingham Castle
Chillingham Castle is a medieval castle in the village of Chillingham, Northumberland, Chillingham in the northern part of Northumberland, England. It was the seat of the Baron Grey of Werke, Grey and Earl of Tankerville#Earls of Tankerville, Th ...
, Northumberland
Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
, 9 July 1931, of the effects of a gastric haemorrhage, aged 79, and was cremated and buried at Chillingham. After his death the Chillingham Estate was broken up,[ and the Countess of Tankerville moved to ]Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, where she died on 15 February 1949.
Descendants
Through his eldest son, he was a grandfather of Charles Augustus Grey Bennet, 9th Earl of Tankerville (1921–1980), who married Virginia Diether and Georgiana Wilson; George Arthur Grey Bennet (1925–2001), who married Hazel Judson; Ian Bennet (b. 1935); and Corisande Bennet (b. 1938), who married Lt. Cdr. Timothy Bain Smith.
References
External links
Portrait of the Countess of Tankerville
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tankerville, George Montagu, 7th Earl of
1852 births
1931 deaths
Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain
Deputy lieutenants of Northumberland
People educated at Radley College
Rifle Brigade officers