Edward Ellice (merchant)

For other people named Edward Ellice, see Edward Ellice (disambiguation).

The Rt Hon. Edward Ellice
Painting by Sir Charles William Ross
Personal details
Born	27 September 1783(1783-09-27) London, England
Died	17 September 1863(1863-09-17) (aged 79) Glengarry, Scotland
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Lady Hannah Althea Bettesworth Lady Anne Amelia Leicester
Children	Edward Ellice, Jr.
Alma mater	Marischal College University of St Andrews

Edward Ellice the Elder (27 September 1783 – 17 September 1863), known in his time as the "Bear", was a British merchant and politician. He was a Director of the Hudson's Bay Company and a prime mover behind the Reform Bill of 1832.

Ellice was born on 27 September 1783 in London, England to Alexander Ellice and Ann Russell. His Scottish father and four uncles, having established themselves in the fur trade and other ventures in Schenectady, extended their operations in the 1770s to London and Montreal.

He was educated at Winchester and at Marischal College, Aberdeen, from which he graduated in 1800 with an MA. He became a partner in the firm of Phyn, Ellices and Inglis, which had become interested in the XY Company in Canada. He was sent to Canada in 1803, and in 1804 became a party to the union of the XY and North West Companies. He became a partner in the North West Company, and during the struggle with Lord Selkirk he played an important part.

After his father’s death in 1805, he acquired control of the estate and the family’s commercial empire. He engaged in the Canada fur trade from 1803, and as a result was nicknamed "the Bear". On 30 October 1809 he married Hannah Althea Bettesworth, née Grey, daughter of Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey, and the widow of Captain George Edmund Byron Bettesworth. He had one son by her, Edward.

In 1820, he was, with William and Simon McGillivray, active in bringing about the union of the North West and the Hudson's Bay Companies; and it was actually with him and the McGillivrays that the union was negotiated. He amalgamated the North West, XY, and Hudson's Bay companies in 1821.

He was Member of Parliament for Coventry from 1818 to 1826, and again from 1830 to 1863.^[1] He served as a Secretary to the Treasury, and a whip in Lord Grey's government, 1830-1832. He was Secretary at War from 1832-1834, during which time he proposed that appointments in the army should be made directly from his office. He founded the Reform Club in 1836 and supported Palmerston as premier. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1833.

He was awarded a DCL by St Andrews University. He privately urged French government to send troops into Spain in 1836. He was deputy-governor of the Hudson's Bay Company.

In 1843, he married, secondly, Anne Amelia Leicester, née Keppel, daughter of William Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle and widow of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester. She died in the following year. His only son was Edward Ellice Jr., who also sat in Parliament. His brother General Robert Ellice married Eliza Courtney; one of their grandsons became his son's heir in 1880.

The Ellice Islands, formerly part of the colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands and now the independent nation of Tuvalu, were named after him. The rural municipality of Ellice in Manitoba, Fort Ellice, and Ellice Avenue in Winnipeg^[2] are named after him.

References

1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
2. ^ History in Winnipeg Street Names at the Manitoba Historical Society

• W. Stewart Wallace, ed (1948). The Encyclopedia of Canada, vol. II. Toronto: University Associates of Canada. pp. 287–288. 
• Colthart, James M. (1976). "Edward Ellice". Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. IX. Toronto. ISBN 0-8020-3319-9. http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=4410. 
• Watkin, Edward William. Canada and the States. Forgotten Books. ISBN 1-6062-0892-6. 
• Archival material relating to Edward Ellice (merchant) listed at the UK National Register of Archives
• "Our History: Acquisitions". Hudson's Bay Company. http://www.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/acquisitions/furtrade/nwc.asp. Retrieved 2009-04-12. 

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Joseph Butterworth Peter Moore	Member of Parliament for Coventry 1818-1826 With: Peter Moore	Succeeded by Thomas Bilcliffe Fyler Richard Edensor Heathcote
Preceded by Thomas Bilcliffe Fyler Richard Edensor Heathcote	Member of Parliament for Coventry 1830-1863 With: Thomas Bilcliffe Fyler 1830-1831 Henry Lytton Earle Bulwer 1831-1835 William Williams 1835-1847 George James Turner 1847-1851 Charles Geach 1851-1854 Sir Joseph Paxton 1854-1863	Succeeded by Morgan Treherne Sir Joseph Paxton
Political offices
Preceded by Joseph Planta George Robert Dawson as Secretary to the Treasury	Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1830-1832	Succeeded by Charles Wood
Preceded by Sir John Hobhouse, Bt	Secretary at War 1833-1834	Succeeded by John Charles Herries

Persondata
Name	Ellice, Edward
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 September 1783
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death	17 September 1863
Place of death	Glengarry, Scotland