Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton
Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton (25 June 1737 – 21 March 1797)[1] was a British Army officer who served in the Seven Years' War and a politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1759 to 1780 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Southampton.
The second son of Lord Augustus FitzRoy and a grandson of the 2nd Duke of Grafton, FitzRoy joined the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards as an ensign in 1752. He fought at the Battles of Minden and Kirchdenkern during the Seven Years' War and rose to the ranks of Captain in 1756 and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1758.
He was a Groom of the Bedchamber from 1760 to 1762 and Whig MP (later Tory from 1770 to 1783 and thereafter a Whig again) for Orford from 1759 to 1761, for Bury St Edmunds from 1761 to 1774 and for Thetford from 1774 to 1780. On leaving the post of Queen Charlotte's Vice-Chamberlain in 1780 (a post he had held since 1768), he was created Baron Southampton on 17 October 1780[2] and was succeeded by his eldest son, George, upon his death in 1797.
Family[]
On 27 July 1758, FitzRoy married Anne Warren, the daughter and co-heir of Adml. Sir Peter Warren and a descendant of the Schuyler family, the Van Cortlandt family, and the Delancey family, all from British North America. They later had eleven children, among which:
- George FitzRoy, 2nd Baron Southampton;
- Charles FitzRoy (5 September 1762 – 18 October 1831), romantically linked to King George III's daughter Princess Amelia;
- Hon. Henry FitzRoy (13 September 1765 – 19 March 1794), married Lady Anne Wesley;
- Hon. Georgiana FitzRoy, married William Ponsonby.
- Lt.-Gen. (12 December 1773 – 19 June 1837), married firstly a daughter of Sir Simon Clarke, 7th Baronet and secondly his cousin, a daughter of Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton[3]
Legacy[]
Fitzroy Road on the west side of Manhattan was named after Charles Fitzroy. The road follows the route of present-day Eighth Avenue. It was named for Fitzroy after land along its route was given to his father-in-law. The street was decommissioned in the 1830s.[4] In memory of this road, the luxury condominium building at 514 West 24th Street is named The Fitzroy.[5]
References[]
- ^ Buried at St James's Church, Piccadilly, on 30 March 1797. Source: The Register Book for Burials. In the Parish of St James in Westminster in the County of Middlesex. 1754-1812. 30 March 1797.
- ^ "No. 12122". The London Gazette. 26 September 1780. p. 2.
- ^ "Obituary - Lt.-Gen. FitzRoy. - Gen. Sir H. T. Montresor". The Gentleman's Magazine. 8: 313. 1837. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
- ^ "Old Fitzroy Road" New York Times 11 July 1920 https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/07/11/112663105.pdf
- ^ http://www.fitzroy.nyc/[bare URL]
External Links[]
- Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1889). . Dictionary of National Biography. 19. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- 1737 births
- 1797 deaths
- Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain
- Peers of Great Britain created by George III
- Grenadier Guards officers
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
- British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War
- British MPs 1754–1761
- British MPs 1761–1768
- British MPs 1768–1774
- British MPs 1774–1780
- FitzRoy family
- 14th King's Hussars officers
- 3rd The King's Own Hussars officers
- Peerage of Great Britain baron stubs
- Great Britain MP (1707–1800) for England stubs