Edward James Eliot
Edward James Eliot | |
---|---|
British Parliament for Liskeard | |
In office 1784–1797 | |
Baron Eliot | |
In office 1804–1797 | |
Preceded by | Edward Craggs-Eliot |
Succeeded by | John Eliot |
Personal details | |
Born | 24 August 1758 Cornwall |
Died | 20 September 1797 |
Spouse | Lady Harriot Pitt |
Parents |
|
Alma mater | Pembroke College, Cambridge |
Edward James Eliot (24 August 1758 – 20 September 1797) was an English Member of Parliament.
Life
Eliot was born in Cornwall, the son of Catherine (c.1735–1804), daughter and heir of Edward Elliston of Gestingthorpe, Essex, an East India Company captain, and Edward Craggs-Eliot (1727–1804), politician, created Baron Eliot in 1784.[1]
He went to
On 24 September 1785 he married Harriot Pitt, the younger daughter of
After Harriot's death, Eliot moved to Broomfield, near Clapham, where he came into contact with the Clapham Sect of evangelical reformers, whose cause he espoused. He had been a friend of William Wilberforce for some years, and the pair of them had accompanied Pitt to France. Now he found himself living close to Wilberforce and other leading members of the group dubbed 'the Saints'. He began to take an active part in their reforming causes, including the abolition of the slave trade, prison reform and poor relief, the Proclamation Society, and Bishop Porteus' Sunday Observance bill. He was active in lobbying the cause of the Clapham Sect in parliament and acted as a mediator between Wilberforce and Pitt in their campaigns.
The 1792 Slave Trade Bill passed the House of Commons mangled and mutilated by the modifications and amendments of Pitt, Earl of Mornington, Edward James Eliot and the Attorney General, it lay for years, in the House of Lords.[3][4]
In 1793, having resigned from the Treasury on health grounds, Eliot was appointed joint commissioner for Indian affairs. He became an investor in the
Eliot died at Port Eliot, Cornwall on 17 September 1797, and was buried at St Germans on 26 September 1797. (True Briton, London Newspaper, Tuesday, 26 Sept 1797. The church record for EJE's burial was apparently entered belatedly, when his burial date was entered as 3 October 1797. His true death date can be found on the silver plaque at St Germans Church.)[5] He had remained close to Pitt and Wilberforce, who both lamented his passing. His brother John succeeded to the barony and in 1815 was created Earl of St Germans.[1]
References
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64114. Retrieved 28 December 2019. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Eliot, Edward James (ELT775EJ)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Parliamentary History. Corbett. 1817. p. 1293.
- ^ Journal of the House of Lords. H.M. Stationery Office 1790. 1790. p. 391 to 738.
- ^ "Edward James Eliot (1758 - 1797)".