Born 14 Apr 1738 in Nottinghamshire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 30 Oct 1809 in Bulstrode, Buckinghamshire, England

Profile manager: Linda Davison [send private message]

Biography

William (Bentinck) Cavendish-Bentinck was a member of aristocracy in England.

"William Henry Cavendish^[1] Bentinck,^[2] was born 14 April 1738, the eldest son and heir of William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland, and his wife, Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley. He held the courtesy title of Marquess of Titchfield from his birth until he succeeded his father as 3rd Duke of Portland, Marquess of Titchfield, and Earl of Portland 1 May 1762.

He was educated at Westminster School, and Oxford University and went on the Grand Tour of Germany, Poland and Italy from 1757-1761, but was recalled because of his extravagance.

He had assumed the additional surname of Cavendish about 1755 under the requirements of the will of his maternal grandmother, the Countess of Oxford and Mortimer, and assumed the name officially for himself and his descendants by royal licence dated 5 October 1801.

Political Career

While still away he was elected as a Whig, Member of Parliament (in the House of Commons) for the constituency of Weobley in Herefordshire on 28 March 1761,^[3] but resigned once he succeeded his father and went to the House of Lords.

3rd Duke of Portland.

Prime Minister,^[2] of Great Britain 2/4/1783-19/12/1783 & 31/3/1807 - 4/10/1809;

Family

On 8 November 1766, he married Lady Dorothy Cavendish, the only daughter of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire and Lady Charlotte Boyle, Baroness Clifford.^[2] His estates at the time only bought in just over £9,000 per annum, of which £1,600 went to his mother, but his wife had a dowry of £30,000.

They were parents of six children:^[2]

• William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland (24 Jun 1768 – 27 Mar 1854).
• Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 Sep 1774 – 17 Jun 1839).
• Lady Charlotte Cavendish-Bentinck (3 Oct 1775 – 28 Jul 1862).

m. Charles Greville.^[4]

• Lady Mary Cavendish-Bentinck (13 Mar 1779 – 6 Nov 1843).
• Lord Charles Bentinck (3 Oct 1780 – 28 Apr 1826).^[5]
• Lord Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck (2 Nov 1781 – 11 Feb 1828)

m. (16 Sep 1820) Mary (d. 1863), dau. of William Lowther.^[6]

Descendants

• Elizabeth II's 3-Great Grandfather.

Sources

1. ↑ This is a middle name, not part of his surname at this stage
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} "William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, third duke of Portland (1738 – 1809), the eldest son of William Bentinck, second duke of Portland (1709–1762) and his wife, Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley (1715–1785)," (p. 25 [18 of 77]).
   "Occupation: prime minister
   "Marriage and children: 8 Nov 1766, Lady Dorothy Cavendish (1750–1794), only dau. of William Cavendish, fourth duke of Devonshire, and ... Charlotte Boyle, Baroness Clifford. They had 4 sons and 2 daughters.
   1. William Henry (1768-1854),
   2. William Henry (1774-1839)
   3. William Charles Augustus (1780-1826),
   4. Frederick (1781-1828)," (p. 25 [18 of 77]).
   "Colonial proprietors: Of the 26 properties with links to slavery, 11 have proprietory links. ... Nick Draper’s work on compensation of slave owners, ... give a snapshot of involvement in the late 1830s, ... George-Neville-Grenville (1789-1854) and James Walter Grimston (1775-1845) [OGH] claim compensation in 1836 as trustees rather than outright owners, and William Henry CavendishBentinck (1774-1839) [BC]’s claim was unsuccessful.," (p. 6).
   "William Henry Cavendish Bentinck (1739-1809) opposed abolition, and refused to act when Granville Sharp sent him a transcript of the Zong massacre case," (p. 8).

   Kaufmann, M. (2007). English Heritage Properties 1600-1830 and Slavery Connections: A Report Undertaken to Mark the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the British Atlantic Slave Trade, I. Christ Church, Oxford. Historic England. historicengland.org.uk PDF.

   see also: Wikipedia: Zong massacre (winter 1781)
3. ↑ Cannon, Weobley
4. ↑ Issue 3 sons & 1 dau: Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville, Algernon Greville, and Henry Greville (1801–72), Harriet (1803-70) m. Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere.
5. ↑ Paternal grandfather of Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne.
6. ↑ issue: George Cavendish-Bentinck.

• The 3rd Duke of Portland on horseback at Welbeck, George Stubbs, 1767
• Nicolson, Joseph. The History and Antiquities of the Counties of Westmorland and Cumberland (London, 1777) Vol. 2, Page 400
• Wikipedia:William_Cavendish-Bentinck,_3rd_Duke_of_Portland
• Find A Grave: Memorial #38541617

More Genealogy Tools