Robert George William Trefusis, 17th Baron Clinton (1764 – 1797) of
Trefusis in Cornwall and
Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe
Heanton Satchville was a historic Manorialism, manor in the parish of Petrockstowe, North Devon, England. With origins in the Domesday manor of Hantone, it was first recorded as belonging to the Yeo family in the mid-14th century and was then ...
in Devon, was an English
peer.
He was the son of Robert Cotton Trefusis and his wife, Hon. Anne St John, and great-great-grandson of Francis Trefusis, whose wife Bridget was in remainder to the
barony of Clinton through her mother Lady Arabella Rolle, daughter of
Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln
Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln, KB (1599 – 21 May 1667), styled Lord Clinton until 1619, was an opponent of Charles I during and preceding the English Civil War.
Family
The eldest son of the 3rd Earl of Lincoln and Elizabeth Knyve ...
. Trefusis succeeded to the barony in 1791 on the death of his third cousin
George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford
George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford (2 April 1730 – 5 December 1791), was a British administrator, politician, and peer.
Life
Lord Orford was the only child of the 2nd Earl of Orford and his wife Margaret Rolle, who was Baroness Clinton in ...
.
Marriage
In 1786 he married Albertina Marianna Gaulis (d. 1798), daughter of Jean Abraham Rodolph Gaulis (d. 1788) of
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
, Switzerland, an important magistrate of that city. He is described as "notaire juré, conseiller, secrétaire baillival, banneret de la Cité". In 1779 he resigned as "secrétaire baillival" after 40 years' service and requested that his son J. Juste Gaulis should succeed him, who had seconded for him during the last three years of his term. The request was successful as the son was appointed to the position in 1780. Her mother was Jeanne-Louise-Dorothée Porta, from another prominent Lausanne family. Her eldest brother was Abram Frederic Louis Juste Gaulis, a member of the
Grand Council of Vaud
The Grand Council of Vaud () is the legislature of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a unicameral legislature. The Great Council has 150 seats, with members elected every five years.
In May 1981, Marguerite ...
and the heir and custodian of the Château de
Colombier-sur-Morges, near Lausanne. Another brother was Charles Gaulis (died in Germany 23 August 1796), who fathered a child by
Mary Jane de Vial (later Clairmont). Charles Gaulis Clairmont, who grew up as stepbrother to
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
, ended up as Chair of English literature at
Vienna University
The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
Among the children of Albertina and Robert Trefusis were:
* Robert Cotton St John Trefusis, 18th Baron Clinton (28 April 1787 – 1 October 1832), married Marie Charlotte Mederacke.
* Hon Marianne Conventry Trefusis (31 May 1789 – 3 March 1806)
* Hon Anne Matilda Tefusis (28 June 1790 – 24 February 1876), married Edward George Moore, and was the mother of the
6th Earl Mount Cashell (1829–1915)
*
Charles Rodolph Trefusis, 19th Baron Clinton (9 November 1791 – 10 April 1866)
* Captain George Rolle Walpole Trefusis
[For more on George Rolle Walpole Trefusis see: ] RN (8 April 1793 – 1 March 1849)
* Hon Louisa Barbara Trefusis (29 December 1795 – 20 November 1885), Lady Rolle after her marriage to Sir John Rolle.
Sources
*Thorne, R.G., biography of ''Trefusis, Hon. Charles Rodolph (1791-1866), of Trefusis, Cornw.'' (his son), published in ''
History of Parliament
The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in ...
: House of Commons 1790-1820'', ed. R. Thorne, 198
*
Rosemary Lauder, Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, pp. 65–74, ''Fane-Trefusis''.
*
Vivian, J.L., ''The Visitations of Cornwall: comprising the
Heralds' Visitations of 1530, 1573 & 1620; with additions by J.L. Vivian'', Exeter, 1887, pp. 463–8, pedigree of "Trefusis of Trefusis
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Robert Trefusis, 17th Baron
1764 births
1797 deaths
17