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Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st
Marquess of Hertford, 2nd Lord Conway, (1718-1794)
Born 5 July 1718 Lindsey House, Chelsea
Died 14 June 1794 Putney, Surrey
Buried Arrow
Married 29 May 1741
Lady Isabella Fitzroy,
daughter of Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, 3rd Earl of Arlington
and Lady Harriet Beaufort Somerset
Born 19 July 1726
Died 10 November 1782 London
Buried Arrow, co Warwick
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The first few years after his father's death were spent chiefly in
Italy and Paris. On his return to England he took his seat, as 2nd Baron
Conway, among the Peers in November 1739. On the 29th of May 1741 he married
Lady Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of the Duke of
Grafton, and they became the parents of thirteen children.
In August 1750 he was created Viscount Beauchamp and Earl of Hertford.
In 1755, according to Walpole, "The Earl of Hertford, a man of unblemished
morals, but rather too gentle and cautious, to combat so presumptuous a
court, was named Ambassador to Paris." However, due to the demands of the
French, the journey was suspended.
From 1751 to 1766 he was Lord of the Bedchamber to George II and George
III. In 1756 he was made a Knight of the Garter and, in 1757, Lord-Lieutenant
and Guardian of the Rolls of the County of Warwick and City of Coventry.
In 1763 he became Privy Councillor and, from October 1763 to June 1765,
was a successful ambassador in Paris. In the autumn of 1765 he became Viceroy
of Ireland where, as an honest and religious man, he was well-liked.
An anonymous satirist in 1777 described him as "the worst man in His
Majesty's dominions", and also emphasised Hertford's greed and selfishness,
adding "I cannot find any term for him but avaricious." However, this anonymous
attack does not seem to be justified.
In 1782 when she was only fifty-six, his wife died after having nursed
their grandson at Ditton where she caught a violent cold. According to
Walpole, "Lord Hertford's loss is beyond measure. She was not only the
most affectionate wife, but the most useful one, and
almost the only person I ever saw that never neglected or put off or
forgot anything that was to be done. She was always proper, either in the
highest life or in the most domestic."
In July 1793 he was created Earl of Yarmouth and Marquess of Hertford.
He enjoyed this elevation for almost a year until his death at the age
of seventy-six, on 14 July 1794, at the house of his daughter, the Countess
of Lincoln. He died as the result of a mortification following on a slight
hurt he received while riding.
Source: Leo van de Pas |
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