William George Cavendish-Bentinck

William George Cavendish-Bentinck (6 March 1854 – 22 August 1909), was a member of parliament for Penryn and Falmouth between 1886 and 1895, who married into the American Livingston family.[1]

William George Cavendish-Bentinck
Member of Parliament
for Penryn and Falmouth
In office
1886 – 1895
Preceded byDavid James Jenkins
Succeeded byFrederick John Horniman
Personal details
Born6 March 1854
London, England
Died22 August 1909(1909-08-22) (aged 55)
Windsor, Berkshire
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1880)​
Children2
Parents
Relatives
Education
Alma materCambridge University

Early life

Cavendish-Bentinck was born on 6 March 1854 to The Rt. Hon. George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (1821–1891) and Prudentia Penelope Leslie (d. 1896), the daughter of Col. Charles Powell Leslie II (1769–1831). His father, a British barrister, Conservative politician, and cricketer who was also a member of parliament from 1859 to 1891, was the only son of Major-General Lord Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (1781–1828), who was the fourth son of Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (1738–1809), and brother to William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland (1768–1854).[2]

He was educated in London at Marlborough and Harrow Schools.[3] He graduated from Cambridge University with a Bachelor or Arts (1876) Master of Arts (1879).[3]

Family

His elder sister, Christina Anne Jessica Cavendish-Bentinck (d. 1912), was married to Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet (1826–1913), and was the mother of Sir Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet (1879–1919).[4] His younger brother, William George Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (1856–1948) was the father of the 8th Duke of Portland, and the 9th Duke of Portland. His younger sister, Mary Venetia Cavendish-Bentinck (1861–1948), was married to John Arthur James (1853–1917), and was godmother to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.[5]

Career

Cavendish-Bentinck was private secretary to Henry Holland, 1st Viscount Knutsford (1825–1914), at the Colonial Office and to Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby (1841–1908) at the Board of Trade.[3]

He was a Captain of the Dorsetshire Regiment, Justice of the Peace for Dorset, and a barrister-at-law.[6]

In the general election of 1885, Cavendish-Bentinck ran for a seat in parliament during the but was unsuccessful, losing to David James Jenkins, a Liberal who received 52.3% of the vote. He ran again during the general election of 1886, and was elected a member of parliament for Penryn and Falmouth with 52.2% of the vote.

He won again in the general election of 1892, but lost to Liberal Frederick John Horniman in the general election of 1895.

Later career

In 1903, Cavendish-Bentinck travelled to Durbar by way of Egypt, visiting Cairo, Brindisi and Rome.[7] He was also a Trustee of the British Museum.[1]

In 1904, while renting Highcliffe Castle, the Cavendish-Bentinck's were host to King Edward VII, in Christchurch.[8]

Personal life

On 12 August 1880, he married Elizabeth Livingston (1855–1943),[9] daughter of Ruth Baylies (1817–1918) and Maturin Livingston, Jr. (1815–1888), who lived in Staatsburg, New York, and the granddaughter of Maturin Livingston (1769–1847), a member of the prominent American Livingston family, who was a lawyer and politician from New York. Her twin sister, Ruth T. Livingston (1855–1920), was the wife of Ogden Mills,[10] and the mother of Ogden Livingston Mills, the United States Secretary of the Treasury.[9][11] Together, they had:

  • Mary Augusta Cavendish-Bentinck (1881–1913), who married John Gorman Ford (1866–1917), the 1st Secretary of the British Legation to Rome, son of diplomat Clare Ford, on 3 November 1906.[12][13]
  • Ruth Evelyn Cavendish-Bentinck (1883–1978), who married Walter Spencer Morgan Burns (1872–1929),[14] nephew of J. P. Morgan and grandson of Junius Spencer Morgan, both well-known American bankers, in 1907.[15][16]

In 1899, Louisa Matilda Livingston, a cousin of Cavendish-Bentinck's wife, who was married to Elbridge T. Gerry, the grandson of grandson of US Vice-President Elbridge Gerry, gave a reception and dance in honour of their eldest daughter, Mary, in advance of her presentation the following spring at the Court of St. James and subsequent debut in London Society. The event was also the debut of Gerry's son, Peter Robert Goelet Gerry (1879–1957).[17]

On 22 August 1909, Cavendish-Bentinck died, at age 55, at Forest Farm, Windsor, Berkshire.[1][18] In 1914, his widow built a family mausoleum in the Churchyard of St Giles in Hertfordshire, designed by Robert Weir Schultz.[19]

References
  1. Times, Special Cable to the New York (23 August 1909). "G. CAVENDISH-BENTINCK DEAD | Wife Was Elizabeth Livingston, Sister of Mrs. Ogden Mills". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  2. "THE BENTINCKS.; THE LATE DUKE OF PORTLAND AND HIS FAMILY". The New York Times. 25 December 1879. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  3. Venn, John (15 September 2011). 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. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108036115. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  4. Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.
  5. Shawcross, William (2009). Queen Elizabeth: The Queen Mother : the Official Biography. Pan Macmillan. p. 120.
  6. Depew, Chauncey M. (20 October 2013). Titled Americans, 1890: A list of American ladies who have married foreigners of rank. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781783660056. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  7. "WHAT IS DOING IN SOCIETY". The New York Times. 31 March 1903. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  8. "KING GUEST OF AMERICAN.; British Ruler Visits Mrs. Cavendish Bentinck at Highcliffe Castle". The New York Times. 18 July 1904. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  9. "MRS. CAVENDISH-BENTINCK | Former Elizabeth Livingston, a Member of Noted N.Y. Family". The New York Times. 7 November 1943. p. 56. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  10. "Ogden Mills Dies at His Home Here. Financier Is the Victim of Pneumonia After Three Weeks Illness. He Was 72 Years Old. Active in Many Philanthropies and Long a Leader in Social Affairs. A Native of California. Interested in Racing". The New York Times. 29 January 1929. Retrieved 18 December 2013. Ogden Mills financier and father of Ogden L. Mills, Under-Secretary of the Treasury, died at 1:30 A.M. today at his home, 2 East Sixty-ninth Street, following an illness of more than three weeks. ...
  11. "LARGE AMERICAN DOWRIES". The New York Times. 19 November 1893. p. 12. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  12. "Portland, Duke of (GB, 1716 – 1990)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  13. "FORD – CAVENDISH-BENTINCK". The New York Times. 4 November 1906. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  14. Brock, Michael; Brock, Eleanor (26 June 2014). Margot Asquith's Great War Diary 1914–1916: The View from Downing Street. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191017087. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  15. "BURNS – CAVENDISH-BENTINCK". The New York Times. 10 February 1907. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  16. "Ruth Evelyn Burns (née Cavendish-Bentinck)". npg.org.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  17. "A DANCE AT MRS. GERRY'S.; The Affair Was in Honor of Miss Cavendish-Bentinck and Marked the Debut of Robert G. Gerry". The New York Times. 13 January 1899. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  18. Lloyd, Brigitte Gastel. "Biography of William George Cavendish-Bentinck (1854–1909)". brigittegastelancestry.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  19. "Cavendish Bentinck Mausoleum". mmtrust.org.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
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