Sir William Morice, 1st Baronet (c. 1628 – 7 February 1690), of Werrington (then in

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 ...

but now in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

), was an English Member of Parliament.

Origins

Morice was the eldest son of Sir William Morice, a Member of Parliament who assisted in the Restoration of King Charles II, and was knighted and appointed

Secretary of State for the Northern Department The secretary of state for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet (government), Cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain up to 1782. Following this, the Northern Department became the Foreign Office, a ...

in 1660.

Career

The younger William 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 ...

on 20 April 1661. In 1689, he entered 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 ...

as Member of Parliament (MP) for Newport, in Cornwall, but died a year later.

Marriages and children

He married twice: *Firstly to Gertrude Bampfylde, daughter of

Sir John Bampfylde, 1st Baronet Sir John Bampfylde, 1st Baronet (c. 1610 – April 1650) of Poltimore, Devon, Poltimore and North Molton and Tamerton Foliot, all in Devon, was an England, English lawyer and politician. He was one of Devonshire's Roundhead, Parliamentarian lead ...

Poltimore Poltimore is a village, civil parish and former manor in the East Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It lies approximately northeast of Exeter. The parish consisted of 122 households and a population of 297 people during the 20 ...

and

North Molton North Molton is a village, parish and former Manorialism, manor in North Devon, England. The population of the parish in 2001 was 1,047, decreasing to 721 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. An electoral ward with the same name also ...

in Devon, by whom he had three children: ** William Morice (1660–1688) who married Anne Lower, and predeceased his father without issue. **Mary Morice, who married (as his 3rd wife)

Sir John Carew, 3rd Baronet Sir John Carew, 3rd Baronet (6 November 1635 – 1 August 1692) of Antony House, Antony, Cornwall, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons variously between 1660 and 1692. Origins Carew was the thi ...

(1635–1692) of Antony, Cornwall. **Gertrude Morice (d. 1679), who married

Sir Walter Yonge, 3rd Baronet Sir Walter Yonge, 3rd Baronet (1653 – 18 July 1731) of Escot in the parish of Talaton, Devon, was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1679 and 1710. Early life Yonge was bapt ...

*Secondly he married in 1676 Elizabeth Reynell, 4th daughter of Thomas Reynell (d. 1698) of East Ogwell, Devon, MP for Devon in 1656 and MP for Ashburton 1658 and

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

1677.Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p. 644, pedigree of Reynell By her he was the father of: **

Sir Nicholas Morice, 2nd Baronet Sir Nicholas Morice, 2nd Baronet (1681–27 January 1726) of Werrington Park (then in Devon but now in Cornwall) was an English politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1702 to 1726. Early life Morice was the eldes ...

(1690–1715).

Sources

Morice genealogy
*Concise Dictionary of National Biography (1930)

References

1620s births 1690 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for Newport (Cornwall) Morice, William, 1st Baronet English MPs 1689–1690 {{1689-England-MP-stub