Sir James Ashe, 2nd Baronet

Sir James Ashe, 2nd Baronet (27 July 1674 – 8 November 1733)[1] was an English baronet and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1701 to 1705.

Background

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Ashe was the eldest surviving son of Sir Joseph Ashe, 1st Baronet and his wife Mary Wilson, daughter of Robert Wilson.[2] In 1686, aged only eleven, he succeeded his father as baronet.[3] Ashe owned land in Wiltshire and held shares of the East India Company.[4]

Career

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Ashe entered Parliament in 1701, sitting as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Downton, the constituency his father has represented before, until 1705.[5] A year later, Ashe was appointed High Sheriff of Wiltshire.[4] He stood for Downton again in 1708, however unsuccessfully.[4]

Family

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In 1698 against his mother's will, he married his cousin Elizabeth Bowyer, daughter of Sir Edmund Bowyer and had by her four daughters and a son.[4] From 1709 they lived separately, but were not divorced.[4] Ashe died intestate at his seat at Twickenham Meadows and was buried at St Margaret's Church, Halstead, Kent.[4] His son having predeceased him, the baronetcy became extinct with Ashe's death.[2] His only surviving daughter, Martha, inherited his estate, and, as a condition of the succession, her husband Joseph Windham – who also eventually became MP for Downton – took on her surname of Ashe in addition to his own by Act of Parliament (7 Geo. 2. c. 18).[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Leigh Rayment – Baronetage". Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ a b Burke, John (1841). John Bernhard Burke (ed.). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland and Scotland (2nd ed.). London: Scott, Webster, and Geary. p. 16.
  3. ^ "ThePeerage – Sir James Ashe, 2nd Bt". Retrieved 18 February 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Eveline Cruickshanks, Stuart Handley and D. W. Hayton, ed. (2002). The House of Commons, 1690-1715. Vol. I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 68–69.
  5. ^ "Leigh Rayment – British House of Commons, Downton". Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ Deed Poll Office: Private Act of Parliament 1733 (7 Geo. 2). c. 18
Parliament of England
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Downton
1701–1705
With: Carew Raleigh 1701–1702
Sir Charles Duncombe 1702–1705
Succeeded by
Baronetage of England
Preceded by Baronet
(of Twickenham)
1686–1733
Extinct