Sir Egerton Leigh, 1st Baronet (11 October 1733 – 15 September 1781), was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

colonial

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

, who served as HM Attorney-General of South Carolina. A

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

, Sir Egerton fled South Carolina permanently for England in 1774.

Biography

A scion of the ancient Leighs of West Hall, High Legh,

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 ...

, he was the eldest son of Peter Leigh, High Bailiff of Westminster, and Elizabeth ''née'' Latus. Educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

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 ...

, he emigrated to

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after his father became Chief Justice of South Carolina. Leigh qualified as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and served as a Member of Council and a

Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the Vice-Admiralty Court, before becoming Surveyor-General of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. He was appointed Attorney-General of South Carolina by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

in 1765 and, on 15 May 1773, was created a

Baronet 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 ...

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

d "of South Carolina, America". In addition to his judicial appointments, Leigh bought tobacco plantations and was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

of the Moderns Lodges. Elected and then re-elected as Provincial Grand Master of South Carolina in 1772, he hosted a rather large celebration in Charleston for his election. Following an adultery scandal and pledging his continued loyalty to the Crown, his credibility was ruined so no masonic meetings were held, but by default Leigh remained Provincial Grand Master for nine years until he was finally succeeded by John Deas in 1781. In 1756 he married Martha Bremar (died 1801) and they had 13 children, including: Martha Leigh who married Nathan Garrick, nephew of

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

; Elizabeth Leigh who married

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Friedrich Wilhelm von der Malsburg; Harriet Leigh who married Captain James Burnett, RM, younger brother of Sir Thomas Burnett of Leys, 6th Baronet; the Revd Sir Egerton Leigh, 2nd Baronet (1762–1818); Sir Samuel Leigh, KJ (1770–1796), author of "''Munster Abbey, a Romance: Interspersed with Reflections on Virtue and Morality''" and father of Sir Samuel Egerton Leigh, 3rd Baronet (born 1796);www.burkespeerage.com
/ref> and, Thomas Leigh a plantation owner in Georgetown County, where he remained settled after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

References

External links

''Cracroft's Peerage'' online. Accessed 9 December 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh, Sir Egerton, 1st Baronet 1733 births 1781 deaths People from Cheshire People educated at Westminster School, London British barristers South Carolina attorneys general 401

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

External links