George Smith (1765–1836)

George Smith (30 April 1765 – 26 December 1836) was a British Member of Parliament (MP), banker and director of the East India Company.

He was the fifth son of Abel Smith, a wealthy Nottingham banker and Member of Parliament. Four of his brothers were also members of parliament and one, Robert, was raised to the peerage as Baron Carrington. A portion of the family wealth was devoted to buying control of two pocket boroughs, Wendover and Midhurst, and Carrington kept the seats here almost exclusively for use by various members of the Smith family until his power was ended by the Great Reform Act.

Smith entered Parliament in 1791 as member for Lostwithiel, and also represented Midhurst and Wendover in a parliamentary career spread over forty years. He is an ancestor of the current British monarchy via Frances Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne

Family and legacy

Smith lived at Selsdon in Surrey. He married Frances Mary Mosley (bap. 24 March 1773, d. 5 July 1844), daughter of Sir John Parker Mosley, 1st Baronet, and Elizabeth Bayley.^[2] They had 9 sons and 6 daughters:

George Robert Smith MP (of Selsdon Park) (1793–1869) m. Jane Maberly (1800–1879, the daughter of John Maberly).
Oswald Smith (of Blendon Hall) (1794–1863) m. Henrietta Mildred Hodgson (1805–1891).
John Henry Smith (of Purley Bury) (1795–1887).
Thomas Charles Smith (1797–1876).
Edward Peploe Smith (1803–1847) m.1 Henrietta Bailey, m.2 Harriet Chester.
Arthur Smith (1804–1831).
Edmund Smith (1809–1873) m. Hester Lushington (1816–1888).
Mosley Smith (1810–1869).
Alfred Smith, of Kingswood (1815–1886) m. Mary Wigram (1821–1869).
Frances Mary Smith (1796–1867) m. Robert Mosley Master, "the Clogging Parson", Archdeacon of Manchester.
Georgina Elizabeth Smith (1801–1828) m. Rev. Edward Serocold.
Emily Smith (1806–1879) m. Rev. Charles Mayne.
Catherine Smith (1807–1870) m. Edward Wigram.
Sophia Sarah Smith (1812–1883) m. Rev. William Wigram.
Augusta Mary Smith (1816–1892) m. Rev. Lewis Deedes.

His memorial in All Saints Church, Sanderstead, states:

GEORGE SMITH ESQUIRE
OF SELSDON BROTHER OF ROBERT, LORD CARRINGTON FOR NEARLY FORTY YEARS A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND A DIRECTOR OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY BORN APRIL XXX MDCCLXV DIED DECEMBER XXVI MDCCCXXXVI IN HIM UNUSUAL MEEKNESS AND SIMPLICITY WERE UNITED WITH UNCOMPROMISING PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE AND HONOR THE PURITY OF HIS CHARACTER BOTH IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE WAS UNIVERSALLY ACKNOWLEDGED AND RESPECTED AND HIS BENEVOLENCE WAS FELT BY ALL AROUND HIM HIS WIDOW AND THIRTEEN SURVIVING SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO INSCRIBE THIS MONUMENT TO HIS MEMORY ARE CONSOLED BY THE RECOLLECTION OF HIS PIETY HIS HOPE AND TRUST IN GOD AND HIS CONSTANT ENDEAVOR TO DISCHARGE THE DUTIES OF HIS STATION AS A SERVANT OF CHRIST. KEEP INNOCENCY AND TAKE HEED UNTO THE THING THAT IS RIGHT:
FOR THAT SHALL BRING A MAN PEACE AT THE LAST.

His family were slave owners, his son George Robert Smith placing a claim to be compensated for the freedom of 461 slaves, worth £17,945 10s 3d, the largest claim made in Croydon.^[3]

References

^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.223, Smith/Carington, Baron Carrington; p.145, Smith, Baron Bicester, both descendants of the banker Abel Smith II (1717–1788)
^ Edward J. Davies, "Some Connections of the Birds of Warwickshire", The Genealogist, 26(2012):58–76.
^ "Croydon's biggest slave owner was ancestor of the Queen". 9 June 2020.

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by George Smith

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Viscount Valletort Reginald Pole-Carew	Member of Parliament for Lostwithiel 1791–1796 With: Reginald Pole-Carew	Succeeded by Hans Sloane William Drummond
Preceded by Charles Long Sylvester Douglas	Member of Parliament for Midhurst 1800–1801 With: Charles Long	Succeeded by Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Parliament of Great Britain	Member of Parliament for Midhurst 1801–1806 With: Charles Long 1801–1802 Samuel Smith 1802 Edmund Turnor 1802–1806	Succeeded by John Smith William Wickham
Preceded by John Smith Charles Long	Member of Parliament for Wendover 1806–1830 With: Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope 1806–1807 Francis Horner 1807–1812 Abel Smith 1812–1818 Robert Smith 1818–1820 Samuel Smith 1820–1830	Succeeded by Samuel Smith Abel Smith
Preceded by John Smith Abel Smith	Member of Parliament for Midhurst 1830–1831 With: John Abel Smith	Succeeded by George Robert Smith Martin Tucker Smith

[1] Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.223, Smith/Carington, Baron Carrington; p.145, Smith, Baron Bicester, both descendants of the banker Abel Smith II (1717–1788)

[2] Edward J. Davies, "Some Connections of the Birds of Warwickshire", The Genealogist, 26(2012):58–76.

[3] "Croydon's biggest slave owner was ancestor of the Queen". 9 June 2020.

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