Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford
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Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, 2nd Earl Gower (4 August 1721 – 26 October 1803) was a British politician.
[edit] Family
He was a son of John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower and his wife Lady Evelyn Pierrepont. His maternal grandparents were Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull and his first wife Lady Mary Feilding. Mary was a daughter of William Feilding, 3rd Earl of Denbigh and his wife Mary King.
His father was a prominent Tory politician who became the first major Tory to enter government since the succession of George I of Great Britain, joining the administration of John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville in 1742.
[edit] Career
Gower himself was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. In 1744, the younger Gower was elected to parliament. With the death of his elder brother in 1746, he became known by the courtesy title of Viscount Trentham until he succeeded his father as Earl Gower in 1754.
Gower was associated with the faction of the Duke of Bedford, who was his brother-in-law, and as a member of that faction was given many governmental positions. Following Bedford's death in 1771, Gower became leader of the group, and as Lord President in the administration of Frederick North, Lord North was a key supporter of a hard-line policy towards the American colonists.
Gower was frustrated by what he saw as the North administration's inept handling of the American Revolutionary War, and he resigned from the cabinet in 1779. When North resigned in March 1782, Gower was approached to form a ministry, but he refused, and he refused subsequent overtures from both Lord Shelburne and the Fox-North coalition to enter the government. Instead, he became a key figure in bringing about the fall of the Fox-North coalition, and was rewarded with the position of Lord President once again in the new administration of William Pitt the Younger. Although he soon exchanged this office for that of Lord Privy Seal, and gradually began to withdraw from public affairs, he remained a cabinet minister until his retirement in 1794. In 1786, he had been created Marquess of Stafford as a reward for his services.
Stafford died at Trentham Hall in 1803.
[edit] Marriages and children
Stafford married three times.
- He married first in 1744 Elizabeth Fazakerley, a daughter of Nicholas Fazakerley. Elizabeth died of smallpox two years later.
- In 1748 he married again to Lady Louisa Egerton, daughter of the Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater (and Bedford's niece). She died in 1761. They were parents to four children:
- George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland (9 January 1758 – 19 July 1833).
- Louisa Leveson-Gower (d. 29 July 1827. She married Sir Archibald MacDonald, 1st baronet.
- Margaret Caroline Leveson-Gower (d. 27 January 1824). She married Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle and was mother of George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle.
- Anne Leveson-Gower (16 November 1832). She married Edward Harcourt, Archbishop of York.
- He married a third time in 1768 to Lady Susannah Stewart. She was a daughter Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway. They were parents to four children:
- Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville (12 October 1773–8 January 1846).
- Georgiana Augusta Leveson-Gower (d. 24 March 1806). She married William Eliot, 2nd Earl of St Germans.
- Charlotte Sophia Leveson-Gower (d. 12 August 1854). She married Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort and was mother of Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort.
- Susan Leveson-Gower (d. 26 May 1838). She married Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby.
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Andrew Hill and Marquess of Carnarvon |
Member for Bishop's Castle with Andrew Hill 1744–1747 |
Succeeded by: Samuel Child and John Lytton |
| Preceded by: Lord Perceval and Charles Edwin |
Member for Westminster with Sir Peter Warren 1747-53, Edward Cornwallis 1753-62 1747–1754 |
Succeeded by: Edward Cornwallis and Sir John Crosse |
| Preceded by: Thomas Anson and Henry Vernon |
Member for Lichfield with Thomas Anson 1754 |
Succeeded by: Thomas Anson and Henry Vernon |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by: The Duke of Marlborough |
Lord Privy Seal 1755–1757 |
Succeeded by: The Earl Temple |
| Preceded by: The Duke of Dorset |
Master of the Horse 1757–1760 |
Succeeded by: The Earl of Huntingdon |
| Preceded by: The Duke of Marlborough |
Lord Chamberlain 1763–1765 |
Succeeded by: The Duke of Portland |
| Preceded by: The Earl of Northington |
Lord President 1767–1779 |
Succeeded by: The Earl Bathurst |
| Preceded by: The Viscount Stormont |
Lord President 1783–1784 |
Succeeded by: The Lord Camden |
| Preceded by: The Duke of Rutland |
Lord Privy Seal 1784–1794 |
Succeeded by: The Earl Spencer |
| Honorary Titles | ||
| Preceded by: The Earl Gower |
Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire 1755–1800 |
Succeeded by: Earl Gower |
| Custos Rotulorum of Staffordshire 1755–1799 |
||
| Preceded by: Sir Thomas Robinson |
Master of the Great Wardrobe 1760–1763 |
Succeeded by: The Lord Le Despencer |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by: New creation |
Marquess of Stafford 1786–1803 |
Succeeded by: George Leveson-Gower |
| Preceded by: John Leveson-Gower |
Earl Gower 1754–1803 |
|
