Sir William Curtis, 1st Bt of Cullands Grove, Southgate in the County of Middlesex was born 25 January 1752 in Wapping, Greater London, England, United Kingdom to Joseph Curtis (1714-1771) and Mary Tennant (c1710-c1759) and died 18 January 1829 England, United Kingdom of unspecified causes. He married Anne Constable (1757-1833) 9 January 1776 .
| Sir William Curtis | |
|---|---|
 Sir William Curtis (centre) in an 1809 caricature on the Walcheren Expedition, between military commanders John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham and Marshal Bernadotte |
Sir William Curtis (25 January 1752 – 18 January 1829)[1] was an English businessman, banker and politician. Although he had a long political and business career (the two significantly intertwined), he was probably best known for the banquets he hosted.
Early life
Born in Wapping, London, Curtis was the son of a sea biscuit manufacturer, Joseph Curtis, and his wife Mary Tennant.[2]
The family business was making ship's biscuit and other dry provisions for the Royal Navy. They were also shipowners whose vessels carried convicts to Australia and engaged in South Sea whaling.[3]
Siblings
Geni said "Brother of Timothy Curtis; Reverend Charles Curtis and George Curtis". Timothy married a daughter of Cornelius Wildbore (1711-), a High Sheriff of Nottingham, but neither Geni nor WikiTree shows how those brothers' ancestors might be related to Mary Curtis, Cornelius's wife.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Anna Curtis (1779-1780) | |||
| Emma Curtis (1781-1857) | |||
| William Curtis (1782-1847) | |||
| George Curtis (1784-) | |||
| Timothy Abraham Curtis (1786-1857) | |||
| Charles Berwick Curtis (1795-1876) | |||
| Rebecca Mary Curtis (1799-1848) | |||
Career
A lifelong Tory, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the City of London at the 1790 general election.[4] He held the seat continuously for 28 years until his defeat at the 1818 general election.[5] He was returned to the Commons in February 1819 at a by-election for Bletchingley,[6][7] and at the 1820 general election he was returned again for the City of London.[1][5] He did not contest London again at the 1826 election,[5] when he was returned for Hastings.[8][9] He resigned that seat later the same year.[9]
Sir William Curtis, 1st Baronet as Bonnie Willie. George Cruikshank, 1822.[10]
Curtis was also Alderman of the city, becoming Sheriff of London in 1788 and Lord Mayor in 1795–96. He was known for the lavish banquets he gave at his estate, Cullands Grove. He was created a Baronet of Cullonds Grove in 1802.[11]
Memorial to Sir William Curtis in St George's Church, Ramsgate, Kent
Curtis died in 1829. His estate sale ran for a week, and included 370 dozen bottles of wine, port, claret, East India Madeira, sherry (Wild's), Malaga, Hock, and beer.[12]
Witty sayings
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction has "Reminiscences" of Sir William's wit, recounting:
- 'It has been very much the fashion amongst a class of persons to attribute to Sir W. C. certain bulls (which would be more in place from an alderman of Dublin), and also a vulgarity and ignorance of speech which are by no means consistent with his character and conduct. The worthy and hospitable baronet has a rapid mode of speech, but it is always correct ; and although some eccentricities are mixed up in his composition, he is highly honourable, and has been a very useful member of society, particularly to his London constituents. Among other absurdities he is charged with having given, at public dinners, the following toasts:— "The British tars of Old England." "A speedy peace, and soon." ... At a school dinner, "The three R's—Reading, Writing, and Rithmetic." ...'. He may well have been the inventor of the now well-known "three R's".
Residences
Footnotes (including sources)
| ‡ General |
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| ¢ Children |
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| ¶ Death |
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See also
- Lady Penrhyn, a ship part-owned by Curtis that carried convicts in the First Fleet to New South Wales in 1788.
- Curtis Island, New Zealand, one of the Kermadec Islands named after Curtis by the Lady Penryn.
- Butterworth Squadron, a whaling and maritime fur trading expedition to the Pacific Ocean in 1792, of which Curtis was a principal investor.
References
- ^ a b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 3)
- ^ "Curtis, William (1752–1829), of Culland's Grove, Southgate, Mdx., History of Parliament Online". http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/curtis-william-1752-1829.
- ^ Jane M. Clayton & Charles A. Clayton, Shipowners investing in the South Sea whale fishery from Britain; 1775 to 1815, Hassobury, 2016, p.89.
- ^ , 26 June 1790.
You must specify issue= and startpage= when using {{London Gazette}}. Available parameters: Template:London Gazette/doc/parameterlist
- ^ a b c Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973). Craig, F. W. S.. ed. The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 210–211. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
- ^ , 16 February 1819.
You must specify issue= and startpage= when using {{London Gazette}}. Available parameters: Template:London Gazette/doc/parameterlist
- ^ Stooks Smith, page 545
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 2)
- ^ a b Stooks Smith, page 338
- ^ Sir William Curtis, 1st Bt. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ , 27 November 1802.
You must specify issue= and startpage= when using {{London Gazette}}. Available parameters: Template:London Gazette/doc/parameterlist
- ^ Newby, Herbert W. (1949) "Old" Southgate. London: T. Grove. pp. 17–29.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir William Curtis
- "CURTIS, William (1752-1829), of Culland's Grove, Southgate, Mdx.", The History of Parliament (The History of Parliament Trust), http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/curtis-william-1752-1829, retrieved 2012-02-26
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Nathaniel Newnham |
Member of Parliament for the City of London 1790 – 1800 With: John Sawbridge to 1795 Brook Watson to 1793 Sir Watkin Lewes to 1796 John Anderson from 1793 William Lushington from 1795 Harvey Christian Combe from 1796 |
Succeeded by Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Parliament of Great Britain |
Member of Parliament for the City of London 1801 – 1818 With: William Lushington to 1802 John Anderson to 1806 Harvey Christian Combe to 1817 Sir Charles Price, Bt 1802–12 Sir James Shaw, Bt 1806–18 John Atkins 1812–18 Matthew Wood |
Succeeded by Thomas Wilson |
| Preceded by Matthew Russell |
Member of Parliament for Bletchingley Feb 1819 – 1820 With: George Tennyson Marquess of Titchfield |
Succeeded by Edward Henry Edwardes |
| Preceded by Thomas Wilson |
Member of Parliament for City of London 1826 – 1826 With: George Bridges Thomas Wilson Matthew Wood |
Succeeded by William Thompson |
| Preceded by James Dawkins |
Member of Parliament for Hastings Jun 1826 – Nov 1826 With: Sir Charles Wetherell |
Succeeded by Evelyn Denison |
| Civic offices | ||
| Preceded by Thomas Skinner |
Lord Mayor of London 1795–1796 |
Succeeded by Brook Watson |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New title | Baronet (of Cullands Grove) 1802–1829 |
Succeeded by William Curtis |
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| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Sir William Curtis, 1st Baronet. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |