Roger Elliott

Major General Roger Elliott (c. 1665 – 16 May 1714 ^[1]) was one of the earliest British Governors of Gibraltar. A member of the Eliot family, his son Granville Elliott became the first Count Elliott and his nephew George Augustus Eliott also became a noted Governor and defender of Gibraltar.

Early life

Roger Elliott was born, possibly in

By 1680, Roger was an Ensign in the Tangier Regiment of Foot, and was wounded on 27 October fighting the local Moors. In 1681, he was suspended by Colonel Percy Kirke^[2] for duelling with Ensign Bartholomew Pitts, later being cashiered for this offence. He was sent back to England in 1682 with a letter begging for his readmission into His Majesty's Service, and he was reinstated as an Ensign in his old Company on 8 March 1683. In 1684 he returned to England. In 1685, the Tangier Regiment was renamed the Queen Dowager's Regiment of Foot, and he probably fought against the Monmouth Rebellion.

In 1687, he became a first lieutenant in the

On 5 March 1704, he raised his own regiment – Colonel Elliott's Regiment of Foot. Officers were commissioned on 10 April that year at St James'. On 2 July 1704, again on campaign with the Duke of Marlborough, he fought and was wounded at the Battle of Schellenberg. It is possible that he fought at the Battle of Blenheim on 13 August 1704. However, he certainly did not lead the cavalry at this battle, as has been maintained by other biographies – this was led by General Sir John 'Salamander' Cutts.

Gibraltar

In March 1705, Colonel Elliott's Regiment of Foot embarked for Spain and served at

Elliott returned to England and leased Byfeld House in Church Road, Barnes, Surrey. He married, and had a small family. However, he never fully recovered from his wounds and died relatively early.

Family

On 4 March 1712 at St Peter upon Cornhill, London, Roger married Charlotte Elliot (c.1692 - c.1753), the daughter of William 'the Laceman' Elliot (c.1690 - 1728) of Brugh and Wells, a rich London merchant, and his wife Eleanor Tankard (1664–1745). They had two children:

1. Granville Elliott (7 October 1713 – 10 October 1759), 1st Count Elliott, who married firstly Jeanne Thérèse du Han (1707–48) and secondly Elizabeth Duckett (1724–1804).
2. Catherine (Kitty) Elliott (18 September 1714 – 15 January 1757), who married firstly c. 7 or 9 August 1736 Westminster to Charles Boyle (of Araglin Bridge, co Cork, related to the
   Dean of Elphin and a younger brother of John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley
   (1687 - 1728)

Mary Elliott, who married Garrett Fitzmaurice in Ireland, claimed to be a natural daughter of Roger Elliott.[4]^[5]

Roger Elliott never fully recovered from his various wounds and died at Byfeld House on 16 May 1714. He was buried 21 May in the cemetery of

His will was probated on 16 November 1714^[6] but his estate took longer to resolve because of the difficulties previously mentioned. The eventual resolution was mostly due to the involvement of his father-in-law, William 'the Laceman' Elliot, who sought to expedite his daughter's remarriage to Captain Thomas Burroughs.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

His widow remarried on 15 July 1715 at St James, Westminster to Captain Thomas Burroughs (died before 1728). She died before 1753.

References

• Jessica and Laura Eliot's Archive