Robert Ellice

Robert Ellice was born on 13 October 1784 and died on 18 June 1856. He was a British Army officer with a military career spanning several decades. He was the son of Alexander Ellice, a Scottish merchant and fur trader. He had siblings including Edward Ellice and Alexander Ellice.

Ellice received his commission as an ensign on 8 November 1798. He participated in military actions at Buenos Aires in 1807. In 1809, he was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General in Canada. He later held command positions including General Officer Commanding the Western District in 1840 and the British troops in Malta in 1847. He served as colonel of the 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot. He was interred at Kensal Green Cemetery.

In terms of family, Robert Ellice married Eliza Courtney on 10 December 1814. Eliza Courtney was the illegitimate daughter of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, and Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. The marriage produced at least four children:

- Robert Ellice (1 January 1816 – 19 December 1858), who married Eglantine Balfour, sister of Jane Ellice. Robert and Eglantine were captured and held captive for one week during the Battle of Beauharnois. They had a son, Major Edward Charles Ellice (1858–1943), who married Margaret Thomas on 11 April 1889. Edward and Margaret had ten children, several of whom died young or in World War I, including:

- Edward Ellice (6 December 1891 – circa 1893)

- Alexander Ellice (19 November 1894 – 16 October 1916)

- Andrew Robert Ellice (13 October 1897 – 28 September 1916)

- William Ellice (19 December 1898 – 26 November 1914)

- Georgiana Ellice (12 October 1817 – 12 October 1907), who married Hugh Horatio Seymour on 4 November 1846. They had two children:

- Charlotte Susan Seymour (born 5 August 1848), who married Charles Campion on 27 May 1879.

- Hugh Francis Seymour (23 December 1855 – 14 June 1930), who married Rachel Lascelles on 15 April 1884. They had five children, including Sir Horace James Seymour and Lieutenant Francis Seymour.

- Elizabeth Georgiana Ellice (1818–8 March 1899), married Henry Brand, 1st Viscount Hampden, on 16 April 1838, with whom she had ten children.

- General Sir Charles Ellice (10 May 1823 – 12 November 1888), who married Louisa Lambton in 1862.

This family connection extends across several notable British families, involving marriages into the Seymour and Brand families, among others.