Sir Thomas Shirley, 1st Baronet (30 December 1727 – 18 February 1800

George Edward Cokayne George Edward Cokayne (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911) was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standard ...

, ''The Complete Baronetage'', volume V (Exeter, 1906
page 252
/ref>) 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 governor and military officer. The son of

William Shirley William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organizing the succ ...

, a politically well-connected colonial administrator who served for many years as governor of the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

, Shirley entered the military, serving in the Louisbourg expedition his father organised in 1745. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

he served on

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

and in the 1761

Capture of Belle Île The Capture of Belle Île was a Kingdom of Great Britain, British amphibious expedition to capture the Kingdom of France, French island of Belle Île off the Brittany coast in 1761, during the Seven Years' War. After an initial British attack was ...

. Shirley succeeded his father as

Governor of the Bahamas This is a list of governors of the Bahamas. The first English settlement in the Bahamas was on Eleuthera. In 1670, the king granted the Bahamas to the lords proprietors of the Province of Carolina, but the islands were left to themselves. The lo ...

in 1768, and was appointed

Governor of Dominica This article lists the governors and other administrators of Dominica (where known), during its time as a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain (1761–1778; 1784–1800), the Kingdom of France (1778–1784), and the United Kingdom (1800–1978). ...

in 1774, a post he held until the island was captured in 1778 by French forces during the

American War of Independence 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 ...

. He was thereafter (1781) named Governor of the Leeward Islands, and awarded a baronetcy in 1786 as " Shirley of Oat Hall" . He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 18 October 1793 and general on 8 January 1798. He died in

Bath, England Bath ( RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, west of London and southeast of Bristol. The city becam ...

in 1800 and was buried in

Bath Abbey The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictines, Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in the 7th century, i ...

. Fort Shirley in

Cabrits National Park Cabrits National Park is on a peninsula at the north end of the Caribbean island of Dominica, north of Portsmouth, Dominica, Portsmouth. The park protects tropical forest, coral reefs and wetlands. There are hiking trails and an English garrison c ...

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

, was named for him, as was Shirley Heights in

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

, then-capital of the Leewards. Shirley is often incorrectly described as having been born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, or in 1769. He was, however, born prior to his father's departure for Massachusetts.Schutz, p. 4

Notes

References

''Essex Review''''History of the British West Indies''
* (listed birthdate of 1769 is in all likelihood incorrect, given other facts about his life, such as the 1774 birth of his son) * Schutz, John A. ''William Shirley, King's Governor of Massachusetts'' (1961) * Shirley, Evelyn Philip. ''Stemmata Shirleiana'' (1873) (Sir Thomas Shirley is a
pages 322-323
* Sugden, John. ''Nelson: A Dream of Glory, 1758-1797'' (2005) 1727 births 1800 deaths British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War British Army generals Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British governors of the Bahamas Governors of Dominica Governors of the Leeward Islands English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada Shirley baronets British military personnel of the Seven Years' War {{UK-mil-bio-stub

See also

Notes

References