Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 7th Baronet
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Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 7th Baronet (9 May 1849-19 April 1924), was a British baronet and soldier.
Born Thomas George Hesketh, he was the second son of Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 5th Baronet, and Lady Anna Maria Isabella Fermor, daughter of William Thomas Fermor, 4th Earl of Pomfret. Through this marriage the Easton Neston estate came into the Hesketh family. In 1867 he and his father assumed by Royal license the additional surname of Fermor and in 1876 he succeeded his elder brother as seventh Baronet of Ruffield. Fermor-Hesketh gained the rank of Lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade and was also an Honorary Colonel in the service of the 4th Battalion, Liverpool Regiment of Militia.
In 1880, Sir Thomas was instrumental in the rescue at sea off the coast of Mexico of a number of citizens of San Francisco. In recognition of this, he was honoured by the city, and at a party in his honour he came to the attention of the San Francisco heiress Florence Emily Sharon (1858-1924). Florence Emily Sharon was the daughter of the Hon. William Sharon (1812-1885), who had made an enormous fortune in the gold, silver, banking and hotel business in California and Nevada. The first United States Senator from Nevada, Sharon was also the wealthiest man in the state. By the early 1880s, his empire was such that he was the largest single tax payer in California. When he died in 1885, he left the bulk of his estate to his daughter Florence Emily Sharon - and this she brought with her to the marriage. The two were married at the Ralston Hall Mansion in Belmont, California, in 1880, and had two sons.
Fermor-Hesketh died on April 19, 1924, aged 74, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Thomas, who in 1935 was elevated to the peerage as Baron Hesketh. Lady Fermor-Hesketh died in September of the same year.
| Baronetage of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Henry Fermor-Hesketh |
Baronet (of Rufford) |
Succeeded by Thomas Fermor-Hesketh |
[edit] References
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
- www.thepeerage.com
