Whittington families » William (2Nd Earl Of Dartmouth) LEGGE (1731-1801)

Persoonlijke gegevens William (2Nd Earl Of Dartmouth) LEGGE 

• Hij is geboren op 20 juni 1731.
• Hij is gedoopt op 9 juli 1731.

  St Mary, Marylebone.

  Age at this event:0

• Hij is overleden op 15 juli 1801 in Blackheath, Kent, hij was toen 70 jaar oud.

  Age:70

• Hij is begraven op 3 augustus 1801 in Holy Trinity Min, London.
• Een kind van George (1St Earl Dartmouth)(Visc Lewisham) LEGGE en Elizabeth KAYE (LEGGE)(NORTH)
• Deze gegevens zijn voor het laatst bijgewerkt op 30 juli 2015.

Gezin van William (2Nd Earl Of Dartmouth) LEGGE

Hij is getrouwd met Frances Catherine GOUNTER NICOLL (LEGGE).

Zij zijn getrouwd op 11 januari 1755 te St George Martyr, Holborn, Middlesex, hij was toen 23 jaar oud.

CHAN: NOTE 13:25

Kind(eren):

1. George (3Rd Earl Of Dartmouth) LEGGE  1755-1810 
2. Charles Gunter LEGGE  1759-1785
3. Henry (Hon) LEGGE  1765-1844
4. Arthur Kaye (Sir)(Admiral)(Hon)(KCB) LEGGE  1766-1835
5. Edward (Hon)(Bishop Of Oxford) LEGGE  1767-1827
6. Charlotte Duncombe (Lady) LEGGE  1774-1848
7. William LEGGE  
8. Heneage LEGGE  ????-1759

Notities over William (2Nd Earl Of Dartmouth) LEGGE

It was a vicar of All Saints Church, West Bromwich John Rann, who, when apparently very drunk, rode his horse through an open air meeting being addressed by John Wesley. using "unseemly words" in 1743.

The All Saints Church was then under the patronage of the First Earl of Dartmouth. Some years later a new Earl used this patronage to secure the services of Edward Stillingfleet.

«b»William Legge, the Second Earl of Dartmouth,«/b» was one of the most influential and highly placed Methodists of his time. He held at various times the offices ofColonial Secretary, President of the Board of Trade and President of the Royal Society.

«b»Legge«/b» was born in 1731 and suceeded his grandfather, the first Earl, to the peerage in 1750 at the age of nineteen. Selina, the Countess of Huntingdon invited the Earl to hear George Whitfield, a contemporary of John Wesley's, speak at her home in 1755. As a student at Oxford Legge had contact with the Methodist Holy Club and would already know the Evangelical Stillingfleet brothers, Edward and James.

When Dartmouth became a Christian - "born again" as we would say today - he immediately came into conflict with many of his aristocratic friends and relatives who disowned him and treated his Methodist "enthusiasm" with contempt, especially his uncle Henry Legge, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Countess of Huntingdon used her good offices to smooth relations between the Earl and his uncle.

What must have outraged manyaristocrats was the ease with which the Earl was prepared to attend Methodist meetings. In eighteenth century England, especially in rough industrial areas like Wednesbury and West Bromwich, it wouldhave been unheard of for the local titled landowner to mix socially with the kind of manual workers who made up the local Methodist society - miners, nailers, gun-makers, drovers. However the Earl attended these meetings and insisted that whilst at them he should simply be addressed as "Bother Earl"

Between them Dartmouth and Stillingfleet did much to protect and nuture theMethodist movement in the Black Country. To some extent the Methodist Society in West Bromwich was the idealisation of what John Wesley hoped to achieve - a vibrant Methodist Society as part of a wider parish life, with activities co-inciding, rather than competing, with the parish church.

Stillingfleet brought many leading Methodists and Evangelicals to All Saints, all of whom deeply impressed the young Francis Asbury. They included John Mansfield, William Talbot, Henry Venn, John Cennick and William Hawes.

Meanwhile the Earl of Dartmouth rose tobecome an influential figure in 18th century British history. American readers will be aware that he was the British Secretary of State for the Colonies between 1772 and 1775, resigning when war withthe colonies became inevitable following the Declaration of Independence.

Dartmouth was a strong supporter of education and fully supported attempts to establish a school for Native American and Black students in New Hampshire. Dartmouth College was the last educational institution endowed during the Colonial period but sadly lost its way, becoming an "Ivy League" private college for the new elite of the United States.

His faith continued to be a source of opposition and redicule. William Cowper wrote of "one who wears a coronet and prays". A music hall song lampooned both the Countess of Huntingdon and Dartmouth: "You I love my dearest life...More than Dartmouth loves field preachers, More than Huntingdon her preachers".

The Dartmouth archives at the Salt Library Stafford include many letters of thanks, testifying to the Earl's generosity. Letters in this collection include original correspondence with John Wesley, John Flether and other Methodist preachers such as Thomas Rankin, the latter of which demonstrates that the rebellious colonialists were right to be suspicious of English preachers and clergy. Anotherletter is signed "Miss Phillis Wheatley, A Negro".

Sadly there are no letters from Francis Asbury, nor any evidence that Asbury and the Earl were ever in correspondence. It would be fascinating to know whether the young Francis Asbury ever met the Earl, who by 1760 would have been aged 29 to Francis's 15 years.

The Dartmouth's lived in the Sandwell Valley at Sandwell Hall. Their home was very near to the ruins of Sandwell Abbey and the original Sand Well. The house has since been demolished due to mining subsidence.

However Sandwell Valley Park Farm, excellently run by the Sandwell MBC, was the estate farm set up by the first Earl to provide for his table. Well worth a visit but very little about the second Earl and his contribution to Methodism and nineteenth century history.

Another relic of the Dartmouth estate is the gatehouse to the estate which can be found on the traffic island at the junction of the M5 and the A41.

© David Hallam 2004

Heeft u aanvullingen, correcties of vragen met betrekking tot William (2Nd Earl Of Dartmouth) LEGGE?
De auteur van deze publicatie hoort het graag van u!

Tijdbalk William (2Nd Earl Of Dartmouth) LEGGE

Klik op de namen voor meer informatie. Gebruikte symbolen:  grootouders    ouders    broers/zussen    kinderen