Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill (British Army officer)
Encyclopedia
Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill (3 December 1794 – 28 April 1840) was a British nobleman, the second son of George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough
.
Spencer-Churchill entered the British Army
in 1811, served in Spain
and France
. He transferred from the 85th Foot to the 75th Foot as a Captain
in 1824. He purchased a Lieutenant-Colonelcy in 1827 and sold his commission in 1832. From 1818 until 1820, he also represented St. Albans in the House of Commons
.
He married Ethelred Catherine Benett on 24 August 1827 and had three children:
Spencer-Churchill was returned to Parliament in 1830 as member for the family borough of Woodstock
, but went out in 1832 when the representation of that borough was reduced by the Great Reform Act. He replaced his elder brother, the Marquess of Blandford
, in 1835, but having joined the Whigs
was defeated in the election of 1837. Lord Charles was previously a Tory
and, unlike his brother, did not support Reform.
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough FSA , styled Marquess of Blandford until 1817, was a British peer and collector of antiquities and books.-Background and education:...
.
Spencer-Churchill entered the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1811, served in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He transferred from the 85th Foot to the 75th Foot as a Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
in 1824. He purchased a Lieutenant-Colonelcy in 1827 and sold his commission in 1832. From 1818 until 1820, he also represented St. Albans in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
.
He married Ethelred Catherine Benett on 24 August 1827 and had three children:
- Susan Spencer-Churchill (d. 2 February 1898), married Rev. Hon. John Horatio Nelson, son of Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl NelsonThomas Nelson, 2nd Earl NelsonThomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson, born Thomas Bolton , was the 2nd Earl Nelson.He was the son of Thomas Bolton and Susannah Nelson, daughter of the Rev. Edmund Nelson and was educated at Norwich High School and St Peter's College, Cambridge, graduating MA in 1814. He was the nephew of Admiral...
, and had issue - Lt.-Col. Charles Henry Spencer-Churchill (1828–1877), British Consul in Syria and author
- John Kemys George Thomas Spencer-Churchill (27 December 1835 – 9 August 1913), married Edith Maxwell Lockhart, aunt of the novelist Jean RhysJean RhysJean Rhys , born Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams, was a mid 20th-century novelist from Dominica. Educated from the age of 16 in Great Britain, she is best known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea , written as a "prequel" to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.-Early life:Rhys was born in Roseau, Dominica...
- two other daughters
Spencer-Churchill was returned to Parliament in 1830 as member for the family borough of Woodstock
Woodstock (UK Parliament constituency)
Woodstock, sometimes called New Woodstock, was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Woodstock in the county of Oxfordshire and the surrounding countryside and villages, and elected two Members of Parliament from its re-enfranchisement in 1553 until 1832...
, but went out in 1832 when the representation of that borough was reduced by the Great Reform Act. He replaced his elder brother, the Marquess of Blandford
George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough DCL , styled Earl of Sunderland until 1817 and Marquess of Blandford between 1817 and 1840, was a British peer...
, in 1835, but having joined the Whigs
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
was defeated in the election of 1837. Lord Charles was previously a Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
and, unlike his brother, did not support Reform.