George Smith (30 April 1765 – 26 December 1836) was a British Member of Parliament (MP), banker and director of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. He was the fifth son of Abel Smith, a wealthy

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

banker and Member of Parliament. Four of his brothers were also members of parliament and one,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, was raised to the peerage as Baron Carrington. A portion of the family wealth was devoted to buying control of two

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act of 1832, which had a very small electo ...

s, Wendover and

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester District in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother (Western), River Rother, inland from the English Channel and north of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first reco ...

, and Carrington kept the seats here almost exclusively for use by various members of the Smith family until his power was ended by the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

. Smith entered Parliament in 1791 as member for

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; ) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 census. The Lostwi ...

, and also represented

and Wendover in a parliamentary career spread over forty years. He is an ancestor of the current British monarchy via Frances Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne

Family and legacy

Smith lived at

Selsdon Selsdon is a village in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was in the historic county of Surrey. It now has the character of a suburb and sits at a high e ...

in Surrey. He married Frances Mary Mosley (bap. 24 March 1773, d. 5 July 1844), daughter of Sir John Parker Mosley, 1st Baronet, and Elizabeth Bayley. They had 9 sons and 6 daughters: * George Robert Smith MP (of Selsdon Park) (1793–1869) m. Jane Maberly (1800–1879, the daughter of John Maberly). *Oswald Smith (of Blendon Hall) (1794–1863) m. Henrietta Mildred Hodgson (1805–1891). *John Henry Smith (of Purley Bury) (1795–1887). *Thomas Charles Smith (1797–1876). *Edward Peploe Smith (1803–1847) m.1 Henrietta Bailey, m.2 Harriet Chester. *Arthur Smith (1804–1831). *Edmund Smith (1809–1873) m. Hester Lushington (1816–1888). *Mosley Smith (1810–1869). *Alfred Smith, of Kingswood (1815–1886) m. Mary Wigram (1821–1869). *Frances Mary Smith (1796–1867) m. Robert Mosley Master, "the Clogging Parson", Archdeacon of Manchester. *Georgina Elizabeth Smith (1801–1828) m. Rev. Edward Serocold. *Emily Smith (1806–1879) m. Rev. Charles Mayne. *Catherine Smith (1807–1870) m. Edward Wigram. *Sophia Sarah Smith (1812–1883) m. Rev. William Wigram. *Augusta Mary Smith (1816–1892) m. Rev. Lewis Deedes. His memorial in All Saints Church,

Sanderstead Sanderstead is a village and medieval-founded church parish at the southern end of Croydon in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, and formerly in the historic county of Surrey, until 1965. It takes in Purley Downs and S ...

, states: His family were slave owners, his son George Robert Smith placing a claim to be compensated for the freedom of 461

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, worth £17,945 10s 3d, the largest claim made in Croydon.

References

*
www.thepeerage.com

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, George 1765 births 1836 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1790–1796 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 George Directors of the British East India Company