George Villiers (1759 - 1827)

George Villiers (23 November, 1759 - 21 March, 1827) was the youngest son of Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon and Charlotte Capell. His maternal grandparents were William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex and Jane Hyde. He was Member of Parliament for Warwick from 1792 to 1802.

Heir to an Earldom

He was a younger brother of Thomas Villiers, 2nd Earl of Clarendon and John Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon. At the time of his birth, the senior Thomas Villiers was a prominent politician and member of the British Whig Party but only held the title Baron Hyde of Hindon in the County of Wiltshire.

On 14 June, 1776, Thomas Villiers was created Earl of Clarendon. The title was previously held by the Hyde family, ancestors of his wife but had been extinct since 1753. The revival of the title made George third-in-line heir to an Earldom.

His father died on 11 December, 1786. His older brother Thomas succeeded him as Earl of Clarendon. The 2nd Earl had not married and had no children at the time. His heir was his younger brother John. George was second-in-line heir to the Earldom.

Thomas Villiers died on 7 March, 1824. He had never married and was childless at the time of his death. John Villiers succeeded him as the 3rd Earl of Clarendon. John was married to their maternal first cousin Maria Eleanor Forbes, daughter of Admiral John Forbes and Mary Capell. But their only child Lady Mary Harriet Villiers was a daughter and not eligible to succeed to the Earldom. At this point George became the first-in-line heir to his brother.

George predeceased his brother on 21 March, 1827. Lady Mary died on 20 January, 1835, leaving the 3rd Earl childless. When the Earl himself died on 22 December, 1838, he was succeeded by the eldest son of George as George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon.

Marriage and children

On 17 April, 1798, George married Theresa Parker. She was a daughter of John Parker, 1st Baron Boringdon and his second wife Theresa Robinson. Her maternal grandparents were Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham and Frances Worsley. They had seven children:

*George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (12 January, 1800 - 27 June, 1827).
*Thomas Hyde Villiers (24 January, 1801 - 3 December, 1832). A Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1826 to his death.
*Charles Pelham Villiers (3 January, 1802 - 16 January, 1898). A Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1835 to his death.
*Lady Maria Theresa Villiers (c. 1803 - 9 November, 1865). Married first novelist Thomas Henry Lister and secondly politician George Cornewall Lewis.
*Edward Ernest Villiers (23 March, 1806 - 30 October, 1843). He married Elizabeth Charlotte Liddell, daughter of Thomas Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth. Their daughter Edith Villiers married Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton.
*Henry Montagu Villiers (4 January, 1813 - 9 August, 1861). Bishop of Durham from 1860 to his death.
*Augustus Algenon Villiers (14 April, 1817 - 13 July, 1843). A Lieutenant of the Royal Navy.

ource

*Burke's Peerage
*

External links

* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p2914.htm#i29135 His profile in Peerage.com]