Page:The Complete Peerage Ed 2 Vol 1.djvu/96

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46 COMPLETE PEERAGE abingdon and his subjects, contributing ^^30,000 towards the Prince's expedition. When, however, he found that the Prince aimed at the Crown he stead- fastly opposed him, (") and exerted all his influence against declaring the throne vacant. He was again. May 1689 to May 1697, Lord Lieut, of Oxon, was Chief Justice in Eyre south of Trent Nov. 1693 to May 1697, and was High Steward of Oxford. He m., i stly, i Feb. 1 67 1/2, at Adderbury, Oxon, Eleanora, i st da. and eventually sole h. of Sir Henry Lee, of Quaren- don, 3rd Bart., by Anne, sister and coh. of Henry Danvers, and da. of Sir John Danvers, of Corn bury, Oxon. She, who was bap. 3 June 1658, at Ditchley, Oxon, d. suddenly 31 May, C") and was bur. 6 June 1 691, at West Laving- ton, Wilts. M.L Q He ;«., 2ndly, (Lie. Bp. of Lend. 15 Apr. 1698, he aged 44, she 30, tow. at Stanwell, Midx.) Catherine, Dowager Viscountess Wenman [I], 1st da. and coh. of Sir Thomas Chamberlayne, 2nd Bart., by Margaret, da. of Edmund Prideaux. He d. of fever, in his 46th year, at his house in Deans Yard, Westm., 22, and was bur. 29 May 1699, at Rycote Chapel in the parish of Haseley, Oxon. M.I. Will dat. 27 July 1683, pr., with three cods., 3 Feb. 1699/ 1700. His widow w., 3rdly, Francis Wroughton, of Estcourt, Wilts, who d. there 29 Apr. 1733, and was bur. at Long Newnton, Wilts. She d. 9 Feb. 174 1/2, in her 83rd year, and was bur. there. M.L Will (signed " Catherine Abingdon ") dat. 9 July 1 74 1, pr. 5 Mar. 174 1/2, by William Wroughton. IL 1699. 2. Montagu (Bertie, afterwards Venables-Bertie), Earl of Abingdon, i^c, s. and h. by ist wife. He was M.P. for Berks 1689-90, for Oxon, 1690-99, P.C. to Queen Anne 2 1 Apr. 1 702, and George I 1 7 14 ; Constable and Lord Lieut, of the Tower of London 27 May 1702-5 ; Lord Lieut, of Oxon 10 June 1702-5, and (") " He was the first peer ot the realm who [in Nov. 1688] made his appearance at the quarters of the Prince of Orange. " Hitherto the Earl had " been regarded as a supporter of arbitrary government. He had been true to James in the days of the Exclusion Bill. He had, as Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, acted with vigour and severity against the adherents of Monmouth, and had lighted bonfires to celebrate the defeat of Argyle. But dread of Popery had driven him into opposition and rebellion. " (Macaulay, History of England.) He had also shortly before (as some recompense for having been deprived of the Lieutenancy of Oxon owing to his zeal for the Protestant faith), been mentioned for the Chancellorship of the University of Oxford, which however was given to the young Duke of Ormonde, grandson to the late Chancellor. " The Earl of Abingdon, with a party of 50 Horse is gone thro' Dorchester to join the Prince of Orange. " [Diary of Narcissus Luttrell, under 17 Nov. 1688.) The following character of him when " past 40 years old " is given by Bishop Burnet with Swift's comment thereon in italics. " A gentleman of fine parts ; makes a good figure in the counties of Oxon and Berks : is very high for Monarchy and Church ; of a black complexion. " — " f^ery covetous. " () A letter from Peregrine Bertie giving an account of her death is dated 2 May [j;V] 1 69 1, but this is probably a slip of the writer's pen for 2 June. — See Hist. MSS. Com., 13th Rep., App., pt. vi, p. 248. (°) See an elegy on her by the poet Dryden.