Solomon Dayrolles

Last updated

Solomon Dayrolles (died 1786) was an English diplomat.

Contents

Life

Dayrolles was the nephew and heir of James Dayrolles, king's resident for some time at Geneva, and from 1717 to 1739 at The Hague, who died on 2 January 1739, was the godson of Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, the wit and politician, through whose friendship the young official obtained speedy advancement in his profession. He began his diplomatic career under James Waldegrave, 1st Earl Waldegrave, then ambassador at Vienna, and when Waldegrave became ambassador at Versailles, Chesterfield endeavoured to obtain the appointment of secretary to the embassy for his protégé; but in this he was frustrated by superior influence.

Dayrolles was sworn as gentleman of the privy chamber to George II on 27 February 1740, and retained his place in the court of George III. With the old king he quickly became a personal favourite, and was rewarded by the post of Master of the Revels (12 April 1744). He was secretary to Lord Chesterfield during the peer's second embassy to The Hague (1745), and when his patron somewhat later in the year entered on his duties as lord-lieutenant of Ireland, Dayrolles accompanied him in the same capacity, and was nominated by him gentleman usher of the black rod in the Irish House of Lords (2 September 1745), a sinecure. Through the personal liking of the king, and Chesterfield's credit with Pelham, the place of king's resident at the Hague was given to Dayrolles on 12 May 1747. He was there for four years, and then was promoted to a similar post at Brussels, which he held until August 1757.

On his uncle's death in 1739 he inherited a fortune, and in that year he purchased from Sir Richard Child, Earl of Tilney, the estate of Henley Park, in the parish of Ash, near Guildford, which remained his property until 1785. In March 1786 he died, and in the same year his library was sold.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1743. [1]

Legacy

Matthew Maty was assisted in his Life of Chesterfield by Dayrolles. For years he and Lord Chesterfield kept up a correspondence; his letters from Chesterfield were initially edited by Lord Mahon. The originals were bought from the heirs of Dayrolles by Messrs. Bentley, and they then passed by purchase to Mahon (by then Lord Stanhope) in April 1846.

Dayrolles's own official correspondence and that of his uncle, comprised in twenty-one folio volumes, once belonged to William Upcott.

Family

He married, on 4 July 1751, Christabella, daughter of Colonel Peterson of Ireland, who is said to have been 'a lady of accomplished manners and dignified appearance.' She died at George Street, Hanover Square, on 3 August 1791; her age at death is given as 58, so that she must have been considerably younger than her husband. William Cramp, who wanted to fix the identity of Junius on Lord Chesterfield, published in 1851 a small pamphlet of Facsimile Autograph Letters of Junius, Lord Chesterfield, and Mrs. C. Dayrolles, showing that the wife of Mr. Solomon Dayrolles was the amanuensis employed in copying the Letters of Junius for the printer. [2]

Dayrolles had issue one son, Thomas Philip Dayrolles, a captain in the 10th dragoons, who died at Lausanne, having married Mlle. H. G. Thomaset, a Swiss lady; and three daughters. Christabella, the eldest, married in 1784 the Hon. Townsend Mullins; their son was Thomas de Moleyns, 3rd Baron Ventry. Emily married, on 24 December 1786, the Baron de Reidezel, aide-de-camp to the Duke of Würtemberg; and Mary became the wife, on 6 February 1788, of Richard Croft, junior, a banker in Pall Mall. The youngest of these daughters is said to have been the prototype of the vivacious Miss Larolles in Fanny Burney's novel Cecilia .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Walpole</span> Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1721 to 1742

Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford,, known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whig politician who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1721 to 1742. He also served as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader of the House of Commons, and is generally regarded as the de facto first prime minister of Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Chesterfield</span> Title in the Peerage of England

Earl of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope. He had been created Baron Stanhope, of Shelford in the County of Nottingham, in 1616, also in the Peerage of England. Stanhope's youngest son, the Hon. Alexander Stanhope, was the father of James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope, while his half-brother Sir John Stanhope of Elvaston was the great-grandfather of William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke</span> British lawyer and statesman (1690–1764)

Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, was an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. He was a close confidant of the Duke of Newcastle, Prime Minister between 1754 and 1756 and 1757 until 1762.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope</span> English antiquarian and politician

Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope,, styled Viscount Mahon between 1816 and 1855, was an English antiquarian and Tory politician. He held political office under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s but is best remembered for his contributions to cultural causes and for his historical writings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield</span> 18th-century British statesman and man of letters

Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, was a British statesman, diplomat, man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton</span> British peer and politician

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, was a British peer and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl Stanhope</span> Earldom in the Peerage of Great Britain

Earl Stanhope was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. The earldom was created in 1718 for Major General James Stanhope, a principal minister of King George I, with remainder to the heirs male of his body. He was the son of the Hon. Alexander Stanhope, fifth and youngest son of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield. In 1717, James Stanhope had been raised to the peerage as Viscount Stanhope, of Mahón in the Island of Minorca, and Baron Stanhope, of Elvaston in the County of Derby, with special remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to his second cousin John Stanhope of Elvaston and the heirs male of his body. These titles were also in the Peerage of Great Britain. The heir apparent of the Earls Stanhope used Viscount Mahon as a courtesy title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope</span> British Earl and politician

James Richard Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope,, styled Viscount Mahon until 1905, was a British Conservative politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waldegrave family</span> English family

Waldegrave is the name of an English family, said to derive from Walgrave in Northamptonshire, who long held the manor of Smallbridge in Bures St. Mary, Suffolk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven</span> English peer

General Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, styled Lord Willoughby de Eresby from 1715 to 1723 and Marquess of Lindsey from 1735 to 1742, was an English peer.

General John Waldegrave, 3rd Earl Waldegrave was a British politician and soldier.

Philip Stanhope was the illegitimate son of Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, to whom the famous Letters to His Son were addressed. His mother was a French governess, Madelina Elizabeth du Bouchet.

Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the Royal Household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being first used in 1718. The duties of the Lords and Gentlemen of the Bedchamber originally consisted of assisting the monarch with dressing, waiting on him when he ate, guarding access to his bedchamber and closet and providing companionship. Such functions became less important over time, but provided proximity to the monarch; the holders were thus trusted confidants and often extremely powerful. The offices were in the gift of The Crown and were originally sworn by Royal Warrant directed to the Lord Chamberlain.

Daniel O'Neill was an Irish army officer, politician, courtier and postmaster general. He was part of the O'Neill Dynasty of Ulster, the nephew of Owen Roe O'Neill and the great-nephew of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.

Thomas Townsend Aremberg de Moleyns, 3rd Baron Ventry, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and nobleman.

William Neville Hart was a British banker, politician and diplomat. He was born to Denise Gougeon, the wife of Lewis Augustus Blondeau. His mother was the Under Housekeeper or Mistress of the King's Household, a position she was to hold for more than fifty years. Denise was the sister of Esther Gougeon, the wife of Daniel Cornelius de Beaufort. Hart's father held various positions at Court including that of Gentleman Usher to King George II.

Stanhope Aspinwall was a British diplomat. He was born to Richard Aspinwall and his wife Elizabeth Stanhope, the great granddaughter of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield, the granddaughter of Arthur Stanhope and daughter of Charles Stanhope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Maty</span> Dutch physician and writer

Matthew Maty, originally Matthieu Maty, was a Dutch physician and writer of Huguenot background, and after migration to England secretary of the Royal Society and the second principal librarian of the British Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Weston (politician)</span> British politician

Edward Weston (1703–1770) was an English didactic writer and politician.

References

  1. "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  2. This pamphlet was reviewed by Charles Wentworth Dilke in the Athenæum, 22 March 1851, and the article is reproduced in Dilke's Papers of a Critic, ii. 140-54.

Wikisource-logo.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : "Dayrolles, Solomon". Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.