George (Beckford) Pitt-Rivers (1810 - 1866)

Ancestors

Husband of Susan Georgiana Leveson-Gower — married 2 Feb 1833 in British Embassy, Paris, France

Descendants

Died 28 Apr 1866 at age 55 in 15 Portman Square, London, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Roger Churm [send private message]

Biography

George Beckford was a member of the aristocracy in England.

George Pitt-Rivers was a British peer and politician.^[1]

George Beckford was born 16 July 1810, the eldest son and heir of William Horace Beckford, and the Frances Rigby, daughter and heir of Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Hale Rigby, of Mistley Hall, Essex, and his wife Frances Rumbold. George's father was the second but eldest surviving son of Peter Beckford, of Steepleton Iwerne, county Dorset, and Hon. Louisa Pitt.^[2]

By special remainder, William Horace Beckford, succeeded his uncle George Pitt, as 3rd Baron Rivers of Sudeley Castle, on 20 July 1828, and by Royal Licence, dated 26 November 1828, for himself and his issue male the surname of Pitt-Rivers and for the rest of his issue the surname of Pitt, instead of Beckford.^[2]

George was educated at Harrow from 1821-1826, and matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford on 5 June 1828. He succeeded his father as 4th Baron Rivers of Sudeley Castle, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, on 23 January 1831.^[2]

He married on 2 February 1833 at the British Embassy, Paris, Lady Susan Georgiana Leveson-Gower, the eldest legitimate daughter of George Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville, and his wife, Lady Harriet Elizabeth Cavendish.^[2]

They had 13 children. The four sons all suffered from a lung disease, and only the youngest briefly survived him to inherit the barony.^[3]; ^[2]

1. Hon. George Horace Pitt-Rivers, born 20 March 1834, eldest son and heir but died aged 16, 20 December 1850;
2. Hon. Susan Harriet Pitt, born 28 May 1835, married 30 July 1872, Edmund Oldfield, Esquire, Barrister at Law;
3. Hon. Fanny Georgiana Pitt, born 26 December 1836, married Duke of Leeds;
4. Hon. Granville Beckford Pitt-Rivers, born 25 July 1838, succeeded his brother George Horace as heir 20 December 1850, but died 20 August 1855, aged 17;
5. Hon. Blanche Caroline Pitt, born 20 June 1840;
6. Hon. Alice Charlotte Pitt, born 27 December 1841, married 26 April 1865, Captain William Arbuthnot, 14th Hussars;
7. Hon. Mary Emma Pitt, born 7 October 1843, a Maid of Honour to the Queen;
8. Hon. William Frederick Pitt-Rivers, born 21 October 1845, succeeded his brother Granville Beckford as heir, but died 8 July 1859 aged 13;
9. Hon. Margaret Grace Pitt, born 24 May 1847;
10. Henry Peter Pitt-Rivers, born 7 April 1849, succeeded his father as 5th Baron Rivers of Sudeley Castle 28 April 1866, but like the rest of his brothers, died in his teens on 17 March 1867, aged 17;
11. Hon. Gertrude Emily Pitt, born 18 February 1852;
12. Hon. Constance Elizabeth Pitt, born 24 June 1854.

George and his wife died within two days of each other; he on 28 April 1866 of heart disease at 15 Portman Square, London, and his wife at the same place, on 30 April 1866 of congestion of the lungs. They were both buried at Steepleton, Dorset on 5 May 1866. His will was dated 3 July 1862 and proved 23 June 1866 at under £90,000.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "George Pitt-Rivers, 4th Baron Rivers," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pitt-Rivers,_4th_Baron_Rivers (accessed March 24, 2017).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Cokayne, George Edward, 1949. The completer peerage: or a history of the House of Lords and all its members from the earliest times, 2nd ed. Vol. 11, revised and edited by Geoffrey H. White. London: St Catherine Press. Digital image, London: ABC Publications, 2003. pp. 30-33.
3. ↑ Lodge, Edmund, 1874. The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at present existing. 43rd ed. London: Hurst & Blackett. pp. 433-434. Digital image, Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/peeragebaronetag00lodg