Charles Alexander Rainsford FRS (1728 - 1809)

Born 3 Feb 1728 in West Ham, Essex, England

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Miles) Rainsford — married 18 Jul 1775 in Saint George, Hanover Square, Westminster, London, England

Husband of Ann Cornwallis More (Molyneux) Rainsford — married 16 Feb 1789 in Bath, Somerset, England

Descendants

Died 24 May 1809 at age 81 in Kings Square, London, England

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Biography

This profile is part of the Rainsford Name Study.

Charles Rainsford FRS was born in England.

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General Charles Rainsford (3 February 1728 – 24 May 1809) was a distinguished and loyal General in the British Army.

Birth and Baptism

Charles Alexander Rainsford was born on 3 Feb 1728 at West Ham, Essex, England, the only son of Francis Rainsford and Isabella Bale.^[1][2] He was baptised on 16 Feb 1726 at All Saints, West Ham, Essex, England.^[3]

Education

Charles Alexander Rainsford was educated at Great Claxton, Essex by a clerical friend of his father.

Marriage 1

Charles Alexander Rainsford firstly married Elizabeth Miles (1758-1781) on 18 Jul 1775 at Saint George, Hanover Square, Westminster, London, England.^[4] They had three children during their marriage;

• Child: William Henry Rainsford Rainsford-213
• Child: Julia Ann Rainsford Rainsford-214
• Child: Josephina Rainsford Rainsford-215

Marriage 2

Charles Alexander's second marriage, on 16 Feb 1789 at St James, Bath, Somerset, England, was to Ann Cornwallis (d. 1 February 1798), youngest daughter of Sir William More Molyneux of Loseley Park, Guildford. They had no children during their marriage.^[5][6]

• In Mar 1744 he was appointed second cornet in General Bland's Dragoons, through the influence of his uncle, Charles Rainsford who was deputy lieutenant of the Tower of London.
• On 1 May 1745 he was appointed ensign in the Coldstream Guards, and with them was ordered home on the news of the Jacobite rebellion.
• During 1751 Charles was gazetted Lieutenant by the leader of the Coldstream Guards.
• In 1773 he was elected M.P. for Maldon, Essex, by Lord Rochford's influence.
• In Mar 1774, Charles was appointed to the Dragoons through the influence of his uncle, Charles Rainsford.
• In 1776 he was raising mercenary troops in Germany for the War of American Independence.
• 1776-1796 - Governor of Chester.
• 1777-1782 - King George III's aide-de-camp.
• 1780 - Commander of the troops stationed in Hyde Park and then at Blackheath against the Gordon Riots.
• In 1782 Rainsford and Benedict Chastanier reached out to kindred Illuminist groups in Berlin and Paris by publishing a brochure in French about degrees of the Universal Society.
• 1783 Rainsford and William Bousie, an Anglo-French merchant, began corresponding with the Parisian lodge of the Philaléthes, preparatory to the Philaléthes convention in Paris in April 1785 to review the rites of many para-Masonic and esoteric societies.

https://books.google.com/books?id=oxucY4KtLocC&lpg=PT177&ots=vAvJdPlUe4&dq=degrees%20of%20universal%20society%2C%20charles%20rainsford&pg=PT177#v=onepage&q=degrees%20of%20universal%20society,%20charles%20rainsford&f=false

• On 28 Mar 1793 The Times newspaper, London, reported the presentation of Colonel Sheriff by General Rainsford, to the King.^[7]
• 1794-1795 Charles Rainsford was sent to be Robert Boyd's second-in-command at Gibraltar on the outbreak of Britain's war with Revolutionary France, and he took over after Boyd's death as Governor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Siege_of_Gibraltar

• 1796 - Returning home he was made a General and Governor of Cliff Fort, Tyenmouth. He saw no further active service.
• In 1806 General Charles Rainsford was living at 18 St Annes Court, Soho Court, London, England. His occupation was listed as General in the British Army.^[8]

Death, Burial and Probate

General Charles Rainsford died on 24 May 1809, aged 81, at 29 Soho Square, London, England. He was buried in a vault in the chancel of the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London, alongside his first wife, his father, and his uncle Charles.^[9] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/202399322/charles-rainsford

Probate was granted on 23 Jun 1809 at London, England.^[10] To his daughter Julia Ann Rainsford Kenyon.

Writing and Legacy

General Charles Rainsford left 40 volumes of manuscript which were purchased by the British Museum.

Those manuscripts that related to the War of American Independence were printed in "Proceedings of the New York Historical Society" in 1778.

Fellow of Royal Society (FRS) - named 1779.

Society of Antiquities of London - Home Member 24 Apr 1792. https://books.google.com/books?id=9RtIAQAAMAAJ&lpg=PA6&ots=Io0LohsX22&dq=Genl%20Charles%20Alexander%20Rainsford%20FRS&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q=Genl%20Charles%20Alexander%20Rainsford%20FRS&f=false

Borough of Malden https://books.google.com/books?id=Taw7DVGrbRcC&lpg=PA346&ots=5n8eL1QcHg&dq=alderman%20Francis%20Raynesford%20-1770&pg=PA346#v=onepage&q=alderman%20Francis%20Raynesford%20-1770&f=false

Research Notes

Rainsford, Charles (1728–1809), army officer, born at West Ham, Essex, on 3 February 1728, was the second son of Francis Rainsford (d. 1770), an alderman of Maldon, Essex, and influential in its parliamentary elections, and his wife, Isabella, daughter of William Bale of Foston, Derbyshire. He was educated at Great Clacton, Essex, by a clerical friend of his father, and in March 1744 was appointed second cornet in General Bland's 3rd dragoons through the influence of his uncle, Charles Rainsford (d. 1778), deputy lieutenant of the Tower of London. The regiment was then serving in the War of the Austrian Succession, in Flanders against the French; Rainsford joined it at once, and carried the standard at the battle of Fontenoy on 30 April 1745. On 1 May he was appointed ensign in the Coldstream Guards, and with them was ordered home on the news of the Jacobite rising. In 1751 he was gazetted lieutenant with the rank of captain, and when James O'Hara, second Baron Tyrawley (1690–1773), became colonel of the Coldstream Guards (April 1755), he made Rainsford successively adjutant to the battalion, major of brigade, and aide-de-camp. Rainsford was private secretary to Tyrawley, governor of Gibraltar (1756–7); he returned in 1760, and in 1761 was promoted captain and lieutenant-colonel, given a company, and sent to serve under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick in Germany.

In 1762, when Spain threatened to invade Portugal, Rainsford again accompanied Tyrawley thither as aide-de-camp, and was shortly afterwards appointed brigadier-general and chief engineer in Portugal; he fortified many strongholds there. He was ordered home in 1763, and promoted second major in the Grenadier Guards. From 1766 to 1780 he was equerry to William, duke of Gloucester, brother of George III, and became his confidant. He commanded the army detachment at the king's bench prison, Southwark, following the May 1768 riot, and wrote of ‘the difficulties the military are subject to in cases of riot, when not supported by the civil authority’ (Hayter, 33).

A professional soldier, Rainsford ranked his parliamentary involvement beneath his army career, and regarded the former as a means of advancing the latter. From December 1772 to 1774 he was, with Gloucester's permission, through the influence of William Nassau de Zuylestein, fourth earl of Rochford, and pending the election of Rochford's nephew and heir, a safe stopgap MP for the freeman franchise borough of Maldon, Essex. Bamber Gascoyne, the other Maldon MP, wrote in November 1773 that Rainsford was ‘a creature of the Duke of Gloucester, no fortune’ and ‘cannot be of consequence enough to hurt us when elected’ (Namier, 346). Rainsford voted with the government and apparently did not speak in the house. A friend of the Percy family, he was through the influence of Algernon Percy, Lord Lovaine (brother of Hugh Percy, second duke of Northumberland), from February 1787 to December 1788 MP for the burgage borough of Bere Alston, Devon. He vacated the seat, presumably over the Regency Bill, on which Lovaine sided with the government, but Gloucester and Northumberland with the opposition. Northumberland recompensed him by returning him for Northumberland's burgage ‘pocket borough’, Newport, Cornwall, of which he was MP from 1790 to 1796. He followed his patron's line in voting for Grey's resolution on Ochakov (12 April 1791). In May 1796 he wrote that if parliament had been going to continue longer he would have ‘begged leave to vacate my seat’ (Thorne, 5.6), and he declined a seat in the next parliament. He took little part in parliamentary proceedings.

Promoted colonel in the army in August 1774, Rainsford was governor of Chester from 1776 to 1796. During 1776 and 1777 he was employed in raising troops in Germany for the American war, and in 1777 was appointed aide-de-camp to George III and in August promoted major-general. During the Gordon riots in June 1780 he commanded the camp established in Hyde Park and later at Blackheath. He provided cavalry escorts for infantry detachments sent from his Hyde Park camp, so that they could act in concert, while keeping a strong force to guard the camp with its supplies and six cannon. From May 1781 until his death he was colonel of the 44th regiment. In 1782 he was sent to take command of the garrison at Minorca, but before his arrival it surrendered to the Spaniards in February. He was promoted lieutenant-general in November 1782.

On the outbreak of the revolutionary war in February 1793, Rainsford was sent as second in command to Gibraltar, where he commanded following the death of Sir Robert Boyd and remained until March 1795. He was promoted general in May 1796 and appointed governor of Cliff Fort, Tynemouth, in the same year; he saw no further active service. He married, first, on 18 July 1775 Elizabeth (1758–1781), daughter of Edward Miles, and they had one son, Colonel William Henry Rainsford (bap. 1776, d. 1823), and two daughters, Julia Anne and Josephina; the latter, for whom Sir Joseph Yorke stood godfather, died in infancy. Rainsford married, second, on 16 February 1789 Ann Cornwallis (d. 1 Feb 1798), youngest daughter of Sir William More Molyneux of Loseley Park, Guildford; they had no children.

Rainsford had varied interests. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society on 13 May 1779; he was also a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and a member of a society for making discoveries in Africa and of various benevolent institutions. He dabbled in alchemy, and was a Rosicrucian and a freemason. Rainsford died at his house, 29 Soho Square, London, on 24 May 1809. He was buried in a vault in the chancel of the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London, with his father, his uncle Charles, and his first wife.

Rainsford left nearly forty volumes of manuscript, which were purchased by the British Museum (BL, Add. MSS 23644–23680) and are an important historical source. They include autobiographical memoranda, papers, and letters referring to Portugal, 1762–4, to Gibraltar, 1793–6, and to raising of German mercenaries, 1776–8, a narrative of the expedition to the Mediterranean, 1781–2, correspondence with Lord Amherst, the duke and duchess of Northumberland, and others, papers on freemasonry, magnetism, and alchemical processes, copies of the correspondence and papers of Lord Tyrawley, and Rainsford's journal of his travels with the duke of Gloucester. The papers on the raising of German mercenaries for the American War of Independence were printed in the Proceedings of the New York Historical Society (1879).

A. F. Pollard, rev. Roger T. Stearn Sources : BL, Rainsford papers, Add. MSS 23644–23680 · GM, 1st ser., 79 (1809), 486 · L. B. Namier, ‘Rainsford, Charles’, HoP, Commons, 1754–90 · R. G. Thorne, ‘Rainsford, Charles’, HoP, Commons, 1790–1820 · P. Morant, The history and antiquities of the county of Essex, 2 vols. (1768) · The record of the Royal Society of London, Royal Society (1992) · T. Hayter, The army and the crowd in mid-Georgian England (1978) · A. Babington, Military intervention in Britain: from the Gordon riots to the Gibraltar incident (1990) · J. Black, Britain as a military power, 1688–1815 (1999) · G. Rudé, The crowd in history, 1730–1848 (1964) Archives: BL, corresp. and papers, Add. MSS 23644–23680 · Wellcome L., alchemical notes and papers | PRO, corresp. with F. J. Jackson, FO 353 · RA, corresp. with Ozias Humphrey

A Charles Rainford with the title Genl Lieut paid taxes on propery in King's Square in Westminster in the late 1790s.

Kings Square in the 1700s was a prestigious place to live. William Thomas Beckford was born on 29 September 1760 in his family's London home at 22 Soho Square. In the 1770s, the naturalist Joseph Banks who had circumvented the globe with James Cook, in 1778, Banks was elected president of the Royal Society and his home became a kind of scientific salon hosting scientists visiting from around the world. His library and herbarium containing many plants gathered during his travels were open to the general public, between 1778 and 1801 the Square was home to the infamous White House brothel at the Manor House,21 Soho Square

Kings Square=Soho Square Soho Square was in its early years one of the most fashionable places to live in London. It was originally called Kings Square, for King Charles II, a statue of Charles II was carved by Danish sculptor Caius Gabriel Cibber in 1681 and placed at the centre of the Square.

• 1780 Shepherd Street Westminster Tax"England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1J-VFXH : 13 March 2018), Rainford, 1780; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.

• 1791 King Square West Tax Watch Rates 1791-1792 Poor Rates 1791-1792 Land Tax 1792 "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-42FL : 13 March 2018), Rainford, 1791; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.

• 1791 King Square West Tax Watch Rates 1791-1792 Poor Rates 1791-1792 Land Tax 1792 "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-4JXV : 13 March 2018), Rainford, 1791; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.

• 1792 King Square South" Land Tax 1792 Rector'S Rates 1792-1794 Land Tax 1793-1794 Watch Rates 1792-1793 "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-4GZD : 13 March 2018), Rainford, 1792; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.

• 1792 King Square North Land Tax 1792 Rector'S Rates 1792-1794 Land Tax 1793-1794 Watch Rates 1792-1793" England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900 Name: Rainford Titles and Terms: Genl Lieut Event Type: Tax Assessment Event Place: , , Westminster, Middlesex, England Event Date: 1792 Address: King Square North Note: Land Tax 1792 Rector'S Rates 1792-1794 Land Tax 1793-1794 Watch Rates 1792-1793

• 1792 Tax King Square East Land Tax 1792 Rector'S Rates 1792-1794 Land Tax 1793-1794 Watch Rates 1792-1793 "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-41SB : 13 March 2018), Rainford, 1792; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.

• 1797 Westminster Tax "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-CHNR : 13 March 2018), Chas Alexr Rainford, 1797; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.

• 1798 King Square West Tax Paving Rates 1798-1800 Poor Rates 1798-1803 "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-ZZ3T : 13 March 2018), Charles Rainford, 1798; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.

• 1798 King Square North Tax Paving Rates 1798-1800 Poor Rates 1798-1803"England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-ZZ3T : 13 March 2018), Charles Rainford, 1798; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.

• 1801 Westminster Tax Watch Rates 1801-1805 Paving Rates 1803 Land Tax 1803-1804 Poor Rates 1805 "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-8HHS : 13 March 2018), Chas Rainford, 1801; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.

• 1801 Stableyard Westminster Watch Rates 1801-1805 Paving Rates 1803 Land Tax 1803-1804 Poor Rates 1805"England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-8MLZ : 13 March 2018), Charles Rainford, 1801; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.

Burial: The Chapel Royal of Saint Peter ad Vincula (Saint Peter in chains) remains a place of worship for about 150 residents within the Tower of London. Ad vincula means in chains and commemorates St Peter's imprisonment in Jerusalem. The chapel was dedicated some time before the Tower was regularly used as a state prison and at first it lay just west of the tower. The chapel was in existence already before the end of the 12th century. It was destroyed and rebuilt a few times. A number of high-born and eminent persons were spared the indignity of public execution on Tower Hill and were beheaded behind the walls of the Tower on the Green just in front of the Chapel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Peter_ad_Vincula https://thechapelsroyalhmtoweroflondon.org.uk/welcome/the-chapel-of-st-peter-ad-vincula

Links to Research Resources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rainsford
• Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-20, 22.

Sources

1. ↑ London, England: Oxford University Press; Volume: Vol 16; Page: 626
2. ↑ Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-20, 22.
3. ↑ Baptism, Marriage and Burial Register; Service of Church: Registers of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials; Incumbent; West Ham, All Saints; Parish Records;1681-1746.
4. ↑ Westminster, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935.
5. ↑ Somerset, England, Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-1914.
6. ↑ Surrey, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812.
7. ↑ 28 Mar 1793 The Times (London, England).
8. ↑ UK, Poll Books and Electoral Registers, 1538-1893.
9. ↑ UK and Ireland, Find a Grave® Index, 1300s-Current. Find a Grave, database and images: accessed 04 November 2023), memorial page for Gen. Charles Rainsford (3 Feb 1728–24 May 1809), Find a Grave Memorial ID 202399322, citing Chapel of Saint Peter-ad-Vincula, Wapping, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Greater London, England; Maintained by mcpjm (contributor 49327049). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/202399322/charles-rainsford.
10. ↑ England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858.

• "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1J-VFXH : 13 March 2018), Rainford, 1780; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.
• "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-4GZD : 13 March 2018), Rainford, 1792; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.
• "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-41SB : 13 March 2018), Rainford, 1792; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.
• "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-41RB : 13 March 2018), Rainford, 1792; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.
• "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-4PTD : 13 March 2018), Chas Rainford, 1792; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.
• "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-CHNR : 13 March 2018), Chas Alexr Rainford, 1797; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.
• "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-ZHFZ : 13 March 2018), Chas Raimford, 1798; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.
• "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-ZZ3T : 13 March 2018), Charles Rainford, 1798; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.
• "England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV1X-8HHS : 13 March 2018), Chas Rainford, 1801; from database by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Tax Assessment, , , Westminster, Middlesex, England, Westminster City Archives, London.
• Lieut Chas Alexr Rainford

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