Josias Du Pré (1721–1780) was a London merchant, a 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 ...

and

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized ...

Life

Du Pré was born in South Carolina, the son of Cornelius Dupré. He joined the civil service of the East India Company in 1752, as a factor, and rose through a succession of positions. He spent a period in England in the 1760s, and married there. He purchased the

Wilton Park Estate The Wilton Park Estate is located in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. History The Wilton Park estate once belonged to the monks of Burnham Abbey. It is mentioned in 1412, with John Amond as farmer. In 1702, it was acquired by the Basill family, ...

near Beaconsfield in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

from the Basil family in 1760, or around 1770.'Parishes: Beaconsfield', A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 3 (1925), pp. 155-165. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42542 Date accessed: 20 April 2012. Du Pré was Governor of Madras from 1770 to 1773. He was mostly preoccupied with the construction of fortifications there. His authority was circumscribed: Eyre Coote, the military commander, and Sir John Lindsay who had overall command in the East Indies, left him little room in which to operate. Once back in England he commissioned

Richard Jupp Richard Jupp (1728 – 17 April 1799) was an 18th-century English architect, particularly associated with buildings in and around London. He served for many years (c. 1755 – 1799) as surveyor to the British East India Company. Works His wor ...

to build a mansion at Wilton Park. Known as the "White House", it was completed in 1779. Du Pré at the end of his life became a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

, owing the honour to his appointment two decades earlier of

Alexander Dalrymple Alexander Dalrymple (24 July 1737 – 19 June 1808) was a Scottish geographer, hydrographer, and publisher. He spent the greater part of his career with the British East India Company, starting as a writer in Madras at the age of 16. He s ...

as his deputy. He died at Wilton Park in 1780.

Family

He married Rebecca Alexander, daughter of Nathaniel Alexander and sister of James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon, another

nabob A nabob is a conspicuously wealthy man deriving his fortune in the east, especially in India during the 18th century with the privately held East India Company. Etymology ''Nabob'' is an Anglo-Indian term that came to English from Urdu, poss ...

Du Pré Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon Du Pré Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon (14 December 1777 – 8 April 1839), styled The Honourable Du Pré Alexander from 1790 to 1800 and Viscount Alexander from 1800 to 1802, was an Irish peer, landlord and colonial administrator, and was the se ...

, son of the first Earl, was named after Josias. Of the children of Josias and Rebecca: *

James Du Pré James Du Pré (1778–1870), of Wilton Park Estate, Wilton Park, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, was an English politician. He was the son of Josias Du Pre (1721-1780), former List of colonial Governors and Presidents of Madras, Governor of Mad ...

was a Member of Parliament.historyofparliamentonline.org, ''Du Pré, James (1778–1870), of Wilton Park, Beaconsfield, Bucks''.
/ref> * Eliza married Colonel Brice, and then Rev. John Blackwood, son of Sir John Blackwood, 2nd Baronet. * Rebecca married Sir Philip Grey Egerton, 9th Baronet;

Sir Philip Grey Egerton, 10th Baronet Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, 10th Baronet FRS (13 November 1806 – 5 April 1881) was an English palaeontologist and Conservative politician from the Egerton family. He sat in the House of Commons variously between 1830 and his death in ...

, was their son. Du Pré's sister Esther married Paul Porcher, and was mother of the MP

Josias Porcher Josias Du Pré Porcher (''ca.'' 1761 – 4 May 1820) was an English politician. After following his uncle into the service of the British East India Company, he became wealthy and returned to England, although he was frustrated in an attempt to o ...

.historyofparliamentonline.org, ''Porcher, Josias Du Pré (?1761–1820), of Hillingdon House, Mdx. and Winslade House, Devon''.
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Pre, Josias 1721 births 1780 deaths Merchants from London Directors of the British East India Company Governors of Madras Fellows of the Royal Society 18th-century English merchants