Charles Seely
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Charles Seely (3 October 1803 – 21 October 1887) was a 19th century British politician, who served as a Member of Parliament for Lincoln from 1847 to 1848 and again from 1861-1885, during which time he was one of the longest-seated MP's.[1]
He was born in Lincoln and was the Deputy Lieutenant for Lincolnshire. He played host to the Italian revolutionary hero Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1864, when Garibaldi visited London and his estate at Brook House on the Isle of Wight. Garibaldi stayed at Brook House from April 3-11th 1864, during which time he was also joined by Mazzini, the Italian writer and politician whose efforts helped bring about the modern Italian state. During this time Garibaldi raised funds for his Italian campaigns. On 11th April Garibaldi left Brook House with Charles Seely and travelled from Southampton to London, where he was greeted by crowds estimated at half a million people according to The Illustrated London News. Garibaldi stayed several days at Charles Seely's house in London at 20 Prince's Gate Hyde Park, where a reception was hosted for him on April 19th. The next day he left Prince's Gate and traveled to the Guildhall where he was given the Freedom of the City of London.
Charles Seely made his fortune in the Industrial Revolution through a contract with the Navy for Pig Iron, which was used in the 19th Century as ballast for ships. He was Chairman of the House of Commons committee on Admiralty Reform in 1868. In a Vanity Fair Spy cartoon, 1878, on notable people of the day, he was noted as a "Statesman". He later diversified his fortune into acquiring coal mines and property. By 1900 the family estates in the Isle of Wight comprised almost the entire west side of the island.
In the 1870's he commissioned Myles Birket Foster-[1], the famous English Victorian artist, to paint 50 watercolours of Venice.
His parents were Charles Seely (1768-1809) and Ann Wilkinson of Lincoln. He married Mary Hilton in 1831. Four other members of his family became Members of Parliament and played prominent roles in politics during the 19th and 20th century:
- His grandson, the Secretary of State for War (1912-1914), Major General John Edward Bernard Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone.
- His grandson Sir Charles Seely, 2nd Baronet.
- His great-grandson the Joint Under-Secretary of State for Air (1941-1945) Sir Hugh Seely 3rd Baronet, and 1st Baron Sherwood.
- His eldest son Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet.
His great-grandson David Peter Seely, 4th Baron Mottistone was the Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight and its last Governor.
[edit] External links
- Seely family estates at the UK National Registry of Archives
- The Isle of Wight Record Office holds a complete listing of the Seely family land holdings in the Isle of Wight
[edit] Sources
- Burke's Peerage and Baronetage 107th Edition Volume III [2]
- Seely Baronetcy family crest [3]
- Seely Baronets
- The London Illustrated News 1864
- Istituto Internazionale di Studi, Rome, Italy. Chronology of life of GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI [4]
- John Edward Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone, Dictionary of National Biography, 1941-1950
- Vanity Fair, 1878, Spy Cartoon of Charles Seely
- Galloper Jack by Brough Scott, published by Macmillan in 2004 (ISBN 0-333-98938-4).
- Wight Life April/May 1975 article on The Seely Family and their Island Homes [5]
- University of London & History of Parliament Trust[6]
- Garibaldi e le donne, con documenti inediti
By Giacomo Emilio Curàtulo[7] & [8]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Delaet Waldo Sibthorp William Rickford Collett |
Member of Parliament for Lincoln 2-seat constituency (with Charles Delaet Waldo Sibthorp) 1847–1848 |
Succeeded by Charles Delaet Waldo Sibthorp Thomas Benjamin Hobhouse |
| Preceded by George Fieschi Heneage Gervaise Tottenham Waldo Sibthorp |
Member of Parliament for Lincoln 2-seat constituency to 1885 (with George Fieschi Heneage, to 1862; John Bramley-Moore, 1862–1865; Edward Heneage, 1865– 1868;John Hinde Palmer, 1868–1974; Edward Chaplin, 1874–1880; John Hinde Palmer, 1880–1884; Joseph Ruston, 1884–1885) 1861–1885 |
Succeeded by Frederick Harold Kerans |
