Thomas Eustace Smith
Encyclopedia
Thomas Eustace Smith was an English shipping magnate and Liberal Party
politician. He was elected at the 1868 general election
as the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Tynemouth and North Shields
, having stood unsuccessfully in Dover
at the 1865 general election
. He was re-elected in Tynemouth and North Shields at the 1874
and 1880 elections
, and retired from the House of Commons when the constituency was abolished at the 1885 general election
.
His father William Smith of Benton
was a ropemaker. Thomas Eustace Smith married Martha Mary Dalrymple, known as an art patron, in 1855. They had six daughters and four sons. Through Ashton Wentworth Dilke
, who married the eldest daughter Maye (Margaret), Martha (known also as Ellen) came to meet his brother Charles Dilke. The implications of the sex scandal involving Charles Dilke that later came to court (in the form of the divorce case between Donald Crawford and his wife Virginia, another of their daughters) later undermined the Smiths' social position, since there were broad hints of adultery between Ellen and Charles Dilke.
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician. He was elected at the 1868 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1868
The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...
as the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Tynemouth and North Shields
Tynemouth and North Shields (UK Parliament constituency)
Tynemouth and North Shields was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1832 and 1885...
, having stood unsuccessfully in Dover
Dover (UK Parliament constituency)
Dover is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
at the 1865 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1865
The 1865 United Kingdom general election saw the Liberals, led by Lord Palmerston, increase their large majority over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives to more than 80. The Whig Party changed its name to the Liberal Party between the previous election and this one.Palmerston died later in the same...
. He was re-elected in Tynemouth and North Shields at the 1874
United Kingdom general election, 1874
-Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
and 1880 elections
United Kingdom general election, 1880
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
, and retired from the House of Commons when the constituency was abolished at the 1885 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
.
His father William Smith of Benton
Benton
-United States:*Benton, Alabama*Benton, Arkansas*Benton, California*Benton, Illinois*Benton, Indiana*Benton, Iowa*Benton, Kansas*Benton, Kentucky*Benton, Louisiana*Benton, Maine*Benton, Missouri*Benton, New Hampshire*Benton, New York...
was a ropemaker. Thomas Eustace Smith married Martha Mary Dalrymple, known as an art patron, in 1855. They had six daughters and four sons. Through Ashton Wentworth Dilke
Ashton Wentworth Dilke
Ashton Wentworth Dilke was a British traveller and radical Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1883.He was the younger son of Sir Charles Dilke, 1st Baronet, and was educated privately before being admitted to Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1868...
, who married the eldest daughter Maye (Margaret), Martha (known also as Ellen) came to meet his brother Charles Dilke. The implications of the sex scandal involving Charles Dilke that later came to court (in the form of the divorce case between Donald Crawford and his wife Virginia, another of their daughters) later undermined the Smiths' social position, since there were broad hints of adultery between Ellen and Charles Dilke.