George Amyand

Sir George Amyand, 1st Baronet (26 September 1720 – 16 August 1766)[1] was a British Whig politician, physician and merchant.

Arms of Amyand: Vert, a chevron between three garbs or

Organ donated by Sir George Amyand, 1st Baronet, St Peter's Church, Barnstaple

Origins

He was the second son of Claudius Amyand, Surgeon-in-Ordinary to King George II,[2] by his wife Mary Rabache, and was baptised at the fashionable St James's Church, Piccadilly.[1] Claudius's father was a Huguenot who had quitted France following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.[2]

Career

Amyand was Army Contractor during the Seven Years' War,[3] an assistant to the Russia Company in March 1756 and a director of the East India Company in 1760 and 1763.[4] In that year, he bought the manor of Frilsham, Berkshire from Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon.[5]

Between 1754 and 1766, Amyand sat as Member of Parliament (MP) for Barnstaple,[6] in North Devon. On 9 August 1764, he was created a baronet, of Moccas Court, in the County of Hereford.[7]

Marriage and progeny

In 1748 he married Anna Maria Korteen (d. 1767), daughter of John Abraham Korteen (alias Kerton[2]), a German merchant of Hamburg,[4] by whom he had two sons and two daughters:[2]

• Sir George Cornewall, 2nd Baronet (1748–1819), eldest son and heir, who changed his surname and arms to Cornewall following his marriage to the heiress of that family.
• John Amyand (1751–1780 ), MP for Camelford.
• Anna-Maria Amyand (1752–1829), married Gilbert Elliot, 1st Earl of Minto.
• Harriet Maria Amyand (1761–1830), married James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury

Death and burial

Amyand died on 16 August 1766, aged 45, from unknown causes, and was buried at Carshalton a week later.[1]

Monument

In the outer south aisle of All Saints Church, Carshalton is a white marble urn, with an inscription in his memory.[8][9]

Barnstaple organ donation

He donated the present organ in St Peter's Church, Barnstaple, one of the largest in Devon, made by John Crang in 1764.[10] It is decorated with his armorials: Vert, a chevron between three garbs or[2] with an inescutcheon of unidentified arms.

References

1. Cokayne, George Edward, ed. (1900). Complete Baronetage. Exeter: William Pollard. p. 130.
2. Courthope, William, ed. (1835). Debrett's Baronetage of England (7th ed.). London: J.G. & F. Rivington. p. 185.
3. "History". Moccas Court. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
4. Kimber, Edward (1771). Richard Johnson (ed.). The Baronetage of England: Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the English Baronets. vol. III. London: Thomas Wotton. p. 203.
5. Page, William; Ditchfield, P H, eds. (1924). "Parishes: Frilsham". A History of the County of Berkshire. Volume 4. London: Victoria County History. pp. 70–73. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
6. Namier, Lewis (1964). "Amyand, George (1720–66)". In Namier, Sir Lewis; Brooke, John (eds.). The House of Commons 1754-1790. The History of Parliament Trust.
7. "No. 10442". The London Gazette. 7 August 1764. p. 1.
8. Lysons, Daniel (1792). The Environs of London: Volume 1: County of Surrey. London: T Cadell and W Davies. pp. 122–136.
9. "Interior". All Saints Carshalton. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
10. Per gilded inscription on organ

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Thomas Benson Sir Bourchier Wrey	Member of Parliament for Barnstaple 1754–1766 With: John Harris 1754–1761 Denys Rolle 1761–1766	Succeeded by Denys Rolle John Clevland
Baronetage of Great Britain
New creation	Baronet (of Moccas Court) 1764–1766	Succeeded by George Cornewall