Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet (c. 1580 – 5 October 1659) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

between 1601 and 1625. He was an ambassador to Denmark. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, he supported the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

cause.

Origins

Seymour was the son of Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet (d.1613) of

Berry Pomeroy Berry Pomeroy is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England, east of the town of Totnes. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Ipplepen, Marldon, Torbay (unitary authority), Stoke G ...

by his wife Elizabeth Champernowne daughter of Sir Arthur Champernowne, of Dartington Hall.George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage'', Vol. 1 1900
/ref>

Career

In 1601 he was elected Member of Parliament for Penryn. He was knighted at Greenwich on 22 May 1603, and was sent by James I on an embassy to Denmark. In 1604 he was elected MP for Newport. He succeeded the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on the death of his father on 11 April 1613 and became governor of Dartmouth in that year. In 1614, he was elected MP for

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and ...

. He was J.P. for Devon and Vice Admiral of Devon from 1617. In 1621 he was elected MP for

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. He was elected MP for Callington in 1624 and for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

in 1625.

Berry Pomeroy Castle - Ruined interior - geograph

In 1577 he was

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of a regiment of the

Devon Trained Bands The Devon Trained Bands were a part-time militia force recruited from Devonshire in South West England, first organised in 1558. They were periodically embodied for home defence and internal security, including the Spanish Armada campaign in 158 ...

. Seymour became an Admiralty official and privateer and was a Royalist in the civil war. He and his son were captured at Plymouth and

Berry Pomeroy Castle Berry Pomeroy Castle, a Tudor period, Tudor mansion within the walls of an earlier castle, is near the village of Berry Pomeroy, in South Devon, England. It was built in the late 15th century by the Pomeroy family which had held the land since t ...

was destroyed. He had to pay £1,200 to the sequestrators of estates.

Marriage and children

Seymour married Dorothy Killigrew (d.1643), daughter of Sir Henry Killigrew, of Laroch, and his first wife Catherine Cooke at St Margaret's, Lothbury, London on 15 December 1600. She was buried at Berry Pomeroy on 30 June 1643. They had seven children: *

Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet (10 September 1610 – 4 December 1688) of Berry Pomeroy Castle was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1688. He fought for the Royalist cause in the English ...

(1610–1688) * Henry Seymour (1612 - 9 March 1686) *Thomas Seymour, married to Anne Anderson, daughter of Sir Richard Anderson, of Penley,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

by his wife Mary Spencer (1588–1658), daughter of

Robert Spencer, 1st Baron Spencer Robert Spencer, 1st Baron Spencer of Wormleighton KG (157025 October 1627) was an English nobleman, peer, politician, landowner, and MP from the Spencer family. Life He was born in Althorp, Northamptonshire, the son of John Spencer and ...

. *Sir Joseph Seymour (11 October 1643), married to Bridget Anderson, daughter of Sir Richard Anderson, of Penley, Hertfordshire. *Elizabeth Seymour (d. 3 September 1669),CP vol.IV p.333 says she died before 6 Feb 1664. married firstly, as his 2nd wife, to Francis Courtenay (1576–1638), ''de jure'' 4th

Earl of Devon Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the Redvers family (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.), and later by the Courtenay famil ...

of Powderham, by whom she had issue, and married secondly to Sir Amos Meredyth, 1st Baronet, of Ashley,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

(d. 5 December 1669, interred

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral () in Dublin, Ireland is the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, is designated as the local cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glen ...

, 10 December 1669) *Mary Seymour (interred 5 March 1680), married to Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 2nd Baronet, son of Sir John Trelawny, 1st Baronet, and was the mother of Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet,

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

*Margaret Seymour, married to Francis Trelawny, son of Sir John Trelawny, 1st Baronet.

Death and burial

Seymour died at Berry Pomeroy on 5 October 1659.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Edward, 2nd Baronet Year of birth unknown 1659 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for Callington 102 Edward Seymour, 2nd baronet Year of birth uncertain English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 Devon Militia officers Ambassadors of England to Denmark 17th-century English diplomats Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Totnes Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lyme Regis