William Paston, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth FRS (1654 – 25 December 1732) of Oxnead, Norfolk and Turnham Green, Chiswick, Middlesex was a British peer and politician.
The Earl of Yarmouth | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Norwich | |
| In office 1678–1683 Serving with Francis Corie, Augustine Briggs | |
| Preceded by | Christopher Jay Francis Corie |
| Succeeded by | Robert Paston Sir Nevill Catlin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Paston 1654 |
| Died | 25 December 1732 (aged 77–78) Epsom, Surrey |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Relations | Sir William Paston, 1st Baronet (grandfather) |
| Children | 4, including Charles Paston, Lord Paston |
| Parent(s) | Robert Paston, 1st Earl of Yarmouth Rebecca Clayton |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Early life
editBorn in 1654, he was the eldest surviving son of six sons and three daughters of Robert Paston, 1st Earl of Yarmouth and his wife, Rebecca, née Clayton and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Yarmouth in 1683, inheriting his estate and Oxnead Hall.[1]
His paternal grandparents were the antiquarian and arts collector Sir William Paston, 1st Baronet of Oxnead and, his first wife, Lady Katherine Bertie (a daughter of the 1st Earl of Lindsey). His maternal grandfather was Sir Jasper Clayton, a haberdasher from London.[2]
Career
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Paston was elected as a Tory Member of Parliament for Norwich from 1678. In 1679, when his father was made an earl, William adopted the style of Lord Paston. He continued to represent Norwich until he inherited his father's title.[1]
He converted to Roman Catholicism and in February 1687, James II appointed him Treasurer of the Household. He was also appointed joint Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire and Custos Rotulorum of Wiltshire in 1688.[1]
He reconverted to Anglicanism in 1689, but refused to swear allegiance to William and Mary when they came to the throne that year, subsequently losing all his offices.[1]
Suspected of Jacobitism, he was imprisoned twice, but was admitted to the House of Lords in 1696. He was briefly Vice-Admiral of Norfolk in 1719.[1]
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1722.[3]
Personal life
editIn 1671, he had married the widowed Charlotte Jemima Henrietta Maria Howard (née FitzRoy) (c. 1650–1684), the illegitimate daughter of Charles II and Elizabeth Killigrew Boyle,[4] wife of Francis Boyle (afterwards Viscount Shannon in Ireland). With her first husband, dramatist James Howard,[5] she had a daughter, Stuarta Werburge Howard, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Mary II who died unmarried. Before her death in London on 28 July 1684, they had four children who survived childhood, though only one survived him:
- Charles Paston, Lord Paston (1673–1718), who married Elizabeth Pitt.[6][a]
- Lady Charlotte Paston (1675–1736), who married Thomas Herne of Haveringland Hall, Norfolk, son of Clement Herne, in 1703. After his death, she married Maj. Thomas Weldron, son of Walter Weldon, in 1732.[7]
- Lady Rebecca Paston (1681–1726), who married Sir John Holland, 2nd Baronet, MP for Norfolk who was a grandson of Sir John Holland, 1st Baronet.[8]
- Hon. William Paston (1682–1711), a Captain in the Royal Navy who died unmarried.[2]
Charlotte was buried at Westminster Abbey. After her death, he married another wealthy widow, Hon. Elizabeth Wiseman (née North) (1647–1730) in March 1687.[9] The widow of Sir Robert Wiseman, she was a daughter of Dudley North, 4th Baron North and sister to Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford, Roger North, and John North.[10]
Lady Yarmouth died in 1830 and Lord Yarmouth died, heavily in debt, on 25 December 1732 at Epsom, Surrey, aged seventy-eight. As his sons, his brothers and their male heirs had predeceased him, his titles became extinct. His heavily mortgaged estate had to be sold.[citation needed]
Descendants
editThroug his eldest son Charles, he was a grandfather of Hon. Elizabeth Paston (d. 1724), who also predeceased Lord Yarmouth.[2]
Through his daughter, Lady Charlotte, he was a grandfather of Paston Herne, whose illegitimate daughter, Anne Herne, married Sir Everard Buckworth (later Buckworth-Herne), 5th Baronet, and was the mother of Sir Buckworth Buckworth-Herne-Soame, 6th Baronet.[2]
References
edit- Notes
- Sources
- ^ a b c d e "PASTON, Hon. William (c.1654-1732), of Oxnead, Norf. and Turnham Green, Chiswick, Mdx". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 1289.
- ^ "Fellows details". Royal Society. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ^ David Hilliam, Monarchs, Murders and Mistresses, p. 239 ISBN 978-0752452357
- ^ Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 256.
- ^ Henning, B. D. (1983). "PASTON, Charles, Lord Paston (1673-1718), of Oxnead Hall, Norf". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660-1690. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ George Edward Cokayne, editor, The Complete Baronetage, 5 volumes (no date (c. 1900); reprint, Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983), volume IV, page 170.
- ^ Hayton, D. W. "HOLLAND, Sir John (c.1669-c.1724), of Quidenham Hall, Norf". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ^ Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (23 September 2004), "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Elizabeth Wiseman in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. ref:odnb/69890, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/69890, retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (23 September 2004). "Elizxabeth Wiseman in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. ref:odnb/69890. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/69890. Retrieved 9 May 2023. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
External links
edit- John Miller, Paston, Robert, first earl of Yarmouth (1631–1683), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 26 May 2008