Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire
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George III | |
---|---|
Prime Minister | Lord North |
Preceded by | The Viscount Weymouth |
Succeeded by | Office abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Fairford, Gloucestershire | 30 May 1718
Died | 7 October 1793 | (aged 75)
Nationality | British |
Spouse(s) | (1) Lady Margaretta FitzGerald (d. 1766) (2) Mary Stawell (1726–1780) |
Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire,
Best known in North America as the Earl of Hillsborough, he served as
Background
Born in
Political career
Hill, known retrospectively as Downshire, was returned to Parliament for
In 1751, he was created Earl of Hillsborough in the Peerage of Ireland. In 1754, he was made
For nearly two years, between 1763 and 1765, Lord Hillsborough was President of the Board of Trade and Plantations under George Grenville, and after a brief period of retirement he filled the same position in 1766, and then that of joint Postmaster General, under the Earl of Chatham. From 1768 to 1772, Hillsborough was Secretary of State for the Colonies and also President of the Board of Trade. Both in and out of office, Hillsborough opposed all concessions to the American colonists, but he favoured the project for a union between England and the Kingdom of Ireland. On his retirement in 1772, he was created Earl of Hillsborough in the Peerage of Great Britain.
In 1779 he served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department, remaining until 1782. He was the last person to serve in this position, because the Secretaries of State were reorganized.
In 1789, he was made Marquess of Downshire in the Irish peerage.
Family and legacy
Lord Downshire married firstly Lady Margaretta, daughter of
After her death in 1766, he married secondly Mary Bilson-Legge, 1st Baroness Stawell, daughter of Edward, 4th Baron Stawell, and widow of Henry Bilson-Legge, in 1768. She died in 1780.
Lord Downshire died on 7 October 1793, aged 75, and was succeeded by his son from his first marriage, Arthur.
In the United States, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, the town of Hillsborough, New Hampshire, within the county, the town of Hillsborough, North Carolina, and Hillsborough County, Florida, were named after the Marquess. Hillsborough, California, named for Hillsborough, New Hampshire, is an indirect namesake.
In Canada, Hillsborough Bay, on Prince Edward Island, and the village of Hillsborough, New Brunswick, were named in Downshire's honour.
References
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/13317. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ The English peerage, Volume 1. p. 408.
- ^ "Sir Joshua Reynolds Lady Talbot exhibited 1782". Tate.
Bibliography
- Murdoch, Tessa, ed. OCLC 1233305993. See pp. 125–8 and 137–45 for transcripts of the inventories of Wills Hill's house at Hillsborough in 1746 and of his later house, Hillsborough Lodge, in 1777.
External links
Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
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