Charles FitzRoy MP (1764 - 1829)

Born 17 Jul 1764 in London, England

Ancestors

Husband of Frances (Mundy) FitzRoy — married 20 Jun 1795 (to Aug 1797) in St George Hanover Square, Middlesex, England

Descendants

Died 20 Dec 1829 at age 65 in London, England

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Biography

Charles FitzRoy MP is Notable.

Birth & Ancestry

Charles Fitzroy was born the second son of Augustus Henry Fitzroy and Ann (Liddell) Fitzpatrick, the Duke and Duchess of Grafton, on 17 Jul 1764 in London, England.^[1] He is a fifth great-grandson of James Stuart King James VI of Scotland and I of England, Scotland, France and Ireland.

Marriage & Children

On Friday, 20 Jun 1795, Charles married Frances Mundy, eldest daughter of Edward Miller Mundy, Esq. of Shipley, Derby.^[2] They had one child, Charles Augustus in 1796.

Lady Frances died in 1797 and was buried in Euston, Suffolk, England on 15 Aug 1797.^[3]

His second marriage was to the impeccably-pedigreed Lady Frances Stewart, eldest daughter of the Earl of Londonderry, sister to Lord Castlereagh, and niece to the Earl of Camden. Their marriage was 17 Mar 1799 in Mount Stewart, Londonderry, Ireland.^[4][5][6] Their union produced four more children:

1. George FitzRoy
2. Frances (FitzRoy) Rice-Trevor
3. Robert FitzRoy
4. Emily Elizabeth FitzRoy, who spent the last years of her young life with her widowed father at Wicken before her death in 1827.

The Second Lady Frances died in 1810 and was buried in Euston, Suffolk, England on 24 Feb 1810.^[7]

Military Career

Charles began his military career fresh out of Cambridge in 1782 as a lowly ensign, the bottom-most rank of junior officers whose primary responsibility was to carry the colors, or banner, of his unit.

At a time when a young man with money and connections—say, the second son of a Duke—could buy his way to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel within a few months, Charles opted to start at the bottom and work his way through the ranks. In this act he was exceptional in the most literal sense. Only about 2% of the officer corps were nobility and of those, only around 5% opted to work, rather than purchase, their way to the top. Only in 1795, when the Duke of York took command of the forces, was the promotion system regulated in that an officer had to serve two years at his rank to be considered for promotion.

He was promoted to Lieutenant General in August 1805, ^[8] and ultimately to General in July 1821. ^[9]

Death & Burial

Lord General Charles Fitzroy died at his home in Berkeley Square, London, England on the morning of 20 Dec 1829.^[10] He was interred in St John the Evangelist churchyard in Wicken, South Northamptonshire, England on 30 Dec 1829.

His will, written by his own hand 12–13 Oct 1829, was proved 30 Dec 1830.^[11]

Timeline

1774–1776 : Attended Harrow School

1781 : Graduated Trinity College

1782 : Appointed Ensign in the 3rd foot guards

1784 : Achieved Master of Arts of Trinity College at Cambridge

1787 : Appointed Captain in the 43rd foot

1788 : Equerry to the Duke of York

1793–1794: Served with the brigade of guards in Flanders

1795 : Feb - Appointed Aide-de-camp to King George III as a Colonel.

1795 : 20 Jun - First marriage to Frances Mundy in London

1797 : 9 Aug - Death of first wife

1798 : Promoted to Major General

1799 : Second marriage to Lady Frances Anne Stewart

1804 : 24 Jul - Ordered to Weymouth to attend the King

1805 : Promoted to Lieutenant General

1805 : 5 Jul - Birth of Robert at Ampton Hall

1806 : November - Voted Althorp & Cartwright

1808 : 18 Feb - Birth of second daughter, Emily Elizabeth, at Ampton, Bury St Edmund

1810 : 9 Feb - Death of second wife

1821 : Promoted to General

1827 : Apr - Death of daughter Emily Elizabeth

1829 : 12–13 Oct - Writing of will

1829 : 20 Dec - Death at Berkeley-square

1829 : 29 Dec - Will proved

1829 : 30 Dec - Interment at Wicken

Sources

1. ↑ Birth announcement: "Births." The Scots Magazine (Midlothian, Scotland : Jul 1764) page 55, 1:2 The British Newspaper Archive (accessed 20 Jul 2023).
2. ↑ Announcement of 1st Marriage: "Married." The Kentish Gazette (Kent, England : 30 Jun 1795) page 3, 4:4 The British Newspaper Archive (accessed 20 Jun 2023).
3. ↑ Death of 1st wife: "England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JZSP-ZTT : 17 April 2023), Charles Fitzroy in entry for Frances Fitzroy, 1797.
4. ↑ License, 2nd marriage (with image): "Ireland, Betham Genealogical Abstracts, 1179-1830", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6JXR-LTMD : 27 October 2022), Lord Charles Fitzroy, 1799.
5. ↑ 2nd marriage (with image): "Ireland, Diocesan and Prerogative Marriage License Bonds Indexes, 1623-1866", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WG4Z-WS6Z : 3 December 2019), Lord Charles Fitzroy, 1799.
6. ↑ Announcement of 2nd Marriage: "Married." Aris's Birmingham Gazette. (Warwickshire, England : 25 Mar 1799) page 3, 2:5 The British Newspaper Archive (accessed 20 Jul 2023).
7. ↑ Death of 2nd wife: "England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JZZC-LY2 : 18 April 2023), Charles Fitzroy in entry for Frances, 1810.
8. ↑ Promotion to Lieut. Gen.: IPSWICH, Aug. 29. The British Press. 29 August 1805. 3:3. Digital image. The British Newspaper Archive (Accessed 11 Jan 2024)
9. ↑ Promotion to General: Supplement to the London Gazette The Evening Star. London : 20 July 1821, 4:2. The British Newspaper Archive (accessed 11 Jan 2024)
10. ↑ Death announcement: "Died." London Sun. (London, England : 23 Dec 1829) page 4, 6:6 The British Newspaper Archive (accessed 20 Jul 2023).
11. ↑ Probate announcement: The London Packet and New Lloyd's Evening Post. (London, England : 1 Jan 1830) page 1, 2:6 The British Newspaper Archive (accessed 20 Jul 2023).

• Timeline: Venn, J. A., Litt. D., F.S.A., President of Queens' College. Alumni cantabrigienses; a biographical list of all known students, graduates and holders of office at the University of Cambridge, from the earliest times to 1900. Part II, from 1752 to 1900; Volume II, Chalmers–Fychte. Cambridge University Press, 1944. Digital images. Biodiversity Heritage Library. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/61038107 : accessed 11 Jan 2024.
• Wikipedia biography [1]
• Thepeerage.com [2]
• History of Parliament online 1790-1820: FITZROY, Lord Charles I (1764-1829), of Wicken, Northants
• Riden, Philip and Insley, Charles, eds. "Wicken: The estate under the Mordaunts and Douglas-Pennants," A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 5, the Hundred of Cleley. (London : Victoria County History, 2002), 413-438 British History Online (accessed 25 Jul 2023).
• Urban, Sylvanus, Gent. "Obituary.—Gen. Lord Charles Fitzroy," The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle. From January to June 1830. Volume C. (Being the twenty-third of a new series.) Part the first.( J.B. Nichols, London : 1830) Google Books pp.78–79 (accessed 25 Jul 2023).