Robert Digby (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Robert Digby (20 December 1732 – 25 February 1815) was an officer in the Royal Navy officer who also served briefly as an Member of Parliament (MP).

Career

Digby was the third son of Charlotte Fox and the Hon. Edward Digby (1714-1746), eldest son of William Digby, 5th Baron Digby. He entered the navy aged twelve or thrirteen, and became a Captain at only 23 years old in 1755, rising to the rank of rear admiral in 1789. After serving with the Channel Fleet, he was appointed in 1781 as Admiral of the Red and given the command of the Americas Station.

After the surrender of New York city in 1783, Digby helped to organise the evacuation of some 1500 United Empire Loyalists to the small port of Conway in Nova Scotia. The settlement he led transformed the tiny village into a town, which in 1787 was renamed "Digby". The town's museum was also named the Admiral Digby Museum in his honour.

He was recalled to home waters in 1787, was promoted to Admiral of the Blue, and retired from the navy in 1794.

Family

His father died before inheriting the family's title, Baron Digby (in the peerage of Ireland), and on the death in 1752 of the 5th Baron, the title passed to the admiral's oldest brother Edward. When Edward died in 1757, the title was inherited by their brother Henry, and Robert was elected to succeed Edward as MP for Wells in Somerset, holding the seat from 1757 to 1761. (Because the family's title was in the peerage of Ireland, it did not confer a seat in the House of Lords, and did not disqualify the holder from election to he British House of Commons).

He married Eleanor Jauncey (neé Elliot), daughter of Andrew Elliot, Lieutenant-Governor of New York. They had no children. [ [http://www.thepeerage.com/p5990.htm#i59899 ThePeerage.com: Eleanor Elliot] ]

Notes

References

* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p5990.htm#i59898 ThePeerage.com]
*Rayment-hc

External links

* [http://www.admuseum.ns.ca/ Admiral Digby museum] , in Digby, Nova Scotia