Eliot family (South England)

Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot

Edward Eliot (1727-1804), the son of Richard Eliot (1694-1748), served as Member of Parliament for St Germans, Liskeard, and Cornwall, as well as commissioner of the Board of Trade and Plantations.[7] He remained in the House of Commons until 1784, when he entered the Peerage of Great Britain as Baron Eliot. In 1789 he assumed the additional surname Craggs, after his mother Harriot Craggs.[7] When he died the barony was passed to his oldest living son, Lord John Eliot (1761-1823). In 1815 King George III created him Earl of St Germans, a title that he passed to his brother William Eliot, 2nd Earl of St Germans and heirs male of his body.[8] Montague Eliot, 8th Earl of St Germans was Gentleman Usher to both King Edward VII and King George V, as well as Groom-in-Waiting for Edward VII and Extra-Groom-in-Waiting for George V, Edward VIII, George VI, and Elizabeth II. The title is currently held by Albert Eliot, 11th Earl of St Germans, the heir presumptive is Hon. Louis Eliot.

Granville Elliott, 1st Count Elliott

Richard Eliot (1614-85) and Catherine Killigrew (1618-89) had an illegitimate son George Elliott (1636-68), who became surgeon or doctor to the Tangier Garrison. His descendants continued ties with the British military. George's son Roger Elliott (1665-1714) was appointed Governor of Gibraltar[9] and married Charlotte Elliot, the sister-in-law of Sir Gilbert Eliott, 3rd Baronet, of Stobs.[10] George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield was his nephew. The marriage helped bring this branch of the family back to prominence after the relative obscurity of Richard and George.

Roger's son, Granville Elliott (1713-59) rose to the rank of Major General and married Jeanne Thérèse du Han (1703-48), a lady of honour for the Empress of Germany.[10] Granville was appointed Chamberlain for Emperor Charles VI, made Count of the Empire, and Comte de Morhange.[10] Granville spent a large amount of time and effort attempting to prove Richard Eliot and Catherine Killigrew had married prior to George's birth, making Granville the rightful heir to Sir John and Port Eliot. Despite his attempt failing in London, Granville was given the title Graf von Port Eliot at the court of Lorraine.[10] In 1750 he returned to England, remarried to Elizabeth Duckett (1724-1804), and started an English family. Granville was also responsible for changing the surname back to the spelling "Eliot", which he named the children of his second marriage. He commanded Colonel Elliott's Regiment of Foot. Granville died in 1759 following wounds incurred at the Battle of Minden in Germany.

Granville's eldest English son, Francis Perceval Eliot, had 7 sons that kept the family strongly tied to the military, at least 4 fought alongside each other at the Battle of Vimeiro. His eldest son Lieut-Col. William Granville Eliot (1779-1855) wrote "A Treatise on The Defence of Portugal".[11] His second son, Francis Breynton Eliot (1781-1855), became a Captain in the early Canadian Army. Documentation undertaken by his third son Edward John Eliot (1782-1863) forms an important record of military life during the early 1800s. His fourth son, Lieut-Col. George Augustus Eliot (1784-1835) fought in the RSC in Canada. His sixth son, Henry Algernon Eliot (1790-1857) became a Rear Admiral, RN. Francis Perceval Eliot raised two regiments of militia - the Staffordshire Yeomanry Cavalry (1794) and the Staffordshire Yeomanry Infantry (1798). In 1814, Francis Perceval Eliot succeeded his older half-brother as Count Eliot but felt it was not proper to assume the title.[6]

Between 1668 and 1670 Andrew Eliot and his son, also named Andrew Eliot, immigrated from East Coker to Beverly, Massachusetts.[3] Moving to Boston, the family gained significant wealth and influence. Members of the Boston Brahmins, the Eliots played a significant role in shaping the American education system.[12] Notable members include Samuel Eliot (banker), Harvard president Charles William Eliot, Washington University founder William Greenleaf Eliot, Reed College founder Thomas Lamb Eliot, Nobel Prize winning poet T. S. Eliot, and Charles Eliot (landscape architect).

Francis Breynton Eliot, the second son of Francis Perceval Eliot, immigrated to Canada sometime in the mid-1800s. The family remained closely tied to the British Military, residing directly across from the Department of National Defence on Elgin Street.[13] The most notable member is Charles William John Eliot. A portrait of Sarah Granville Eliot by Prudence Heward hangs in the National Gallery of Canada.[14]