Early life and education

He was the second son of Stephen Weston

Stephen Weston

-Life:He was born at Farnborough. He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, where he was admitted in 1683, graduated B.A. in 1687, M.A. in 1690, and became a Fellow. He was an assistant-master at Eton from about 1690, and second master, 1693 to 1707. He was Fellow of Eton in...

 [q. v.], bishop of Exeter

Bishop of Exeter

The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The incumbent usually signs his name as Exon or incorporates this in his signature....

. He was born at Eton

Eton, Berkshire

Eton is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The parish also includes the large village of Eton Wick, 2 miles west of the town, and has a population of 4,980. Eton was in Buckinghamshire until...

 in 1703, and was educated at Eton College

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 and at King's College, Cambridge

King's College, Cambridge

King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....

, where he was admitted in 1719, graduating B.A. in 1723 and M.A. in 1727.

Horace Walpole states that he went in 1725 to Bexley

Bexley

Bexley is an South East London]] in the London Borough of Bexley, London, England. It is located on the banks of the River Cray south of the Roman Road, Watling Street...

 in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

 with his cousins, ‘the four younger sons of Lord Townshend

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend Bt, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman. He served for a decade as Secretary of State, directing British foreign policy...

, and with a tutor, Edward Weston … and continued there some months.’ Next summer he had the same education at Twickenham, ‘and the intervening winters he went every day to study under Mr. Weston at Lord Townshend's’ (Cunningham, Walpole Letters, vol. i. p. lxi). The first date is probably a misprint for 1723, as Walpole was under Weston's charge in July 1724 (Hist. MSS. Comm. 10th Rep. App. p. 239), and certainly remained so until September 1726 (ib. p. 240).

Career

Weston was secretary to Lord Townshend during the king's residence at Hanover in 1729, and, on his retirement from office, lost ‘a very generous friend and patron.’ In May 1730 he offered his services to Lord Harrington

William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington

William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, PC was a British statesman and diplomat.He was a younger son of John Stanhope of Elvaston, Derbyshire, and a brother of Charles Stanhope , an active politician during the reign of George I. His ancestor, Sir John Stanhope , was a half-brother of Philip...

, and when that peer was made secretary of state for the northern department, Weston became under-secretary, remaining in that position until 1746. He was appointed on 8 Sept. 1741 editor of the ‘London Gazette,’ with a salary of 500l. per annum, and held that post until his death. In November 1746 Harrington went to Ireland as lord lieutenant, and Weston accompanied him as chief secretary, and was created a privy councillor for Ireland. He remained there until 1751, and then through ill-health went into retirement for ten years. He had purchased from his relative, Mr. Rossiter, the parish of Somerby

Somerby (Juxta Bigby), Lincolnshire

Somerby is a hamlet in the civil parish of Searby cum Owmby, about east of the town of Brigg, Lincolnshire, England. It lies in the Lincolnshire Wolds, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, nestled between the villages of Bigby and Searby....

, and the greater part of the next parish of Searby

Searby, Lincolnshire

Searby is a village in the civil parish of Searby cum Owmby, nestled between the villages of Somerby and Grasby, about south east of the town of Brigg, and about north east of the town of Caistor, Lincolnshire, England...

, in Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

. He lived at Somerby Hall as did many of his decedents up until the 1930's. It was demolished in 1964.

At Lord Bute

John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute

John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute KG, PC , styled Lord Mount Stuart before 1723, was a Scottish nobleman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain under George III, and was arguably the last important favourite in British politics...

's earnest request, Weston, ‘a very able, worthy, good man,’ returned in March 1761 to his old post in the northern department. He was a clerk of the signet, and was allowed to perform his duties by deputy (Home Office Papers, 1760–5, p. 100). In August 1762 he received a grant for thirty-one years of the office of alnager in Ireland, and next August resigned it, on receiving a pension of 500l. per annum for the same period (ib. pp. 251, 376). On 1 Sept. in that year he was appointed one of the commissioners to execute the office of privy seal (ib. p. 237). In July 1763 he addressed a letter to George Grenville on his ill-health and his sole reward ‘of 275l. per annum, with the honourable title of gazetteer’ in the secretary's department. He then served under Lord Halifax

George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax

George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, KG, PC was a British statesman of the Georgian era.-Early life:...

 in the southern department, and recommended the issue of a general warrant against John Wilkes

John Wilkes

John Wilkes was an English radical, journalist and politician.He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives...

 (Nichols, Lit. Anecdotes, ii. 280). Next May his health broke down, and he retired from office, a pension of 750l. per annum being granted to him for his services. He died at Buxton

Buxton

Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...

, Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

 on 15 July 1770, and was buried at St Margarets' church, Somerby, Lincolnshire, where a monument records his memory.

Family

He married, early in 1730, Penelope, granddaughter of Bishop Patrick, and eldest daughter and coheiress of the Rev. Symon Patrick of Dalham

Dalham

Dalham is a small settlement in Suffolk, England. It is west of the town of Bury St Edmunds.-Dalham Hall:In 1901 the estate of Dalham Hall was bought by Cecil Rhodes...

, Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, by Anne, daughter of Thomas Fountayne of Melton

Melton, East Riding of Yorkshire

Melton is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated about west of Kingston upon Hull city centre and lies to the north of the A63 road.With Welton and Wauldby, it forms the civil parish of Welton....

, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

. His second wife was Anne, younger daughter of John Fountayne of Melton. Both his wives were nieces of Mrs. Sherlock, wife of Thomas Sherlock

Thomas Sherlock

Thomas Sherlock was a British divine who served as a Church of England bishop for 33 years. He is also noted in church history as an important contributor to Christian apologetics.-Life:...

, bishop of London

Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...

. Weston had several children. Anne one of his daughters married Sir Jacob Wolff

Wolff Baronets

The Wolff Baronetcy, of Town Hill in Southampton in the County of Southampton, was a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 27 October 1766 for Jacob Wolff by King George III. He had already been created a Baron of the Holy Roman Empire in 1761 by Emperor Leopold II and had...

.

Works

Junius, under the impression that Weston was the author of ‘A Vindication of the Duke of Grafton,’ assailed him in his tenth letter, calling him ‘comptroller of the salt office, a clerk of the signet, and a pensioner on the Irish establishment;’ but Weston denied the authorship. He also disclaimed in 1769 a pamphlet entitled ‘The Political Conduct of the Earl of Chatham.’

1. ‘The Englishman directed in the Choice of his Religion’ (anon.), 1740; 4th edit. (anon.) 1767.
2. ‘The Country Gentleman's Advice to his Son on coming of age’ (anon.), 1755.
3. ‘The Country Gentleman's Advice to his Neighbours’ (anon.), 1755; 3rd edit. by Edward Weston; with letter to bishop of London, 1756; 4th edit., with second addition to letter, 1756.
4. ‘Family Discourses by a Country Gentleman’ (anon.), 1768; 2nd edit. by the late Edward Weston, 1776. The second edition was edited by his son, Charles Weston, prebendary of Durham. Weston wrote on the Jew bill (1753), and replied to Bishop Warburton (Letters to Hurd, 1759, in 2nd edit. pp. 280, 284).

He was a good classical scholar, and composed a Latin ode on the marriage of George III. The long epitaph in Fulham churchyard on Bishop Sherlock was drawn up by him.