Thomas Pitt, 1st Earl Of Londonderry

Thomas Innes Pitt, 1st Earl of Londonderry, was born circa 1688 and died on 12 September 1729. He was a British Army officer, land speculator, and a Whig politician who served in the House of Commons from 1713 until 1728. In 1728, he was appointed Governor of the Leeward Islands, a position he held until his death the following year.

**Family Background and Early Life**

He was the second son of Thomas Pitt (1653–1726) of Boconnoc, Cornwall. His father was a wealthy merchant, President of Madras, and was born at Blandford Forum in Dorset, the son of Reverend John Pitt, rector of Blandford St Mary. His mother was Jane Innes, daughter of James Innes. Thomas Pitt’s notable relatives include his nephew William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, known as "Pitt the Elder,” who was a prominent statesman and the father of William Pitt the Younger, both of whom served as Prime Ministers of Great Britain.

Thomas Pitt attended Mr. Meure’s academy at Soho Square in London from 1703 to 1706. He joined the British Army in 1708, serving initially as an ensign in the 9th Foot until April 1709. He subsequently held the rank of captain in Killigrew's Dragoons until February 1715.

**Political Career**

In the 1713 general election, Pitt was elected as a Whig Member of Parliament representing Wilton in Wiltshire, a borough controlled by his father. During his tenure, he voted against the expulsion of Richard Steele. The title of Earl of Londonderry, previously held by his father-in-law Robert Ridgeway, 4th Earl of Londonderry, became extinct upon the latter's death in 1714. Pitt was granted the Irish peerage titles of Baron Londonderry in 1719, and in 1726, he was further honored as Viscount Gallen-Ridgeway and Earl of Londonderry in the Peerage of Ireland.

He was re-elected as MP for Wilton in 1715 and generally supported the administration. That same year, he became colonel of the Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Horse and participated in suppressing the Jacobite Rebellion. Pitt is said to have lost over £50,000 investing in the South Sea Bubble. He was again elected MP for Wilton in 1722, and in 1726, he was appointed colonel of Prince George of Denmark's Regiment. In the 1727 general election, Pitt secured a seat for Old Sarum, a notorious rotten borough in Wiltshire.

**Marriage and Children**

On 10 March 1717, Pitt married Lady Frances Ridgeway, daughter of Robert Ridgeway, 4th Earl of Londonderry. Lady Frances inherited the estate of Cudworth in Yorkshire. She outlived her first husband and remarried in 1732 to Robert Graham of South Warnborough, Hampshire.

Thomas Pitt and Lady Frances had three children:

- Thomas Pitt, 2nd Earl of Londonderry (1717–1734), the eldest son, who died at age 17 from a fall from his horse.

- Ridgeway Pitt, 3rd Earl of Londonderry (1722–1765), who succeeded his elder brother but died unmarried at age 43, with the peerages becoming extinct.

- Lucy Pitt, who married Pierce Meyrick of Bodorgan, Anglesey.

**Death and Succession**

Thomas Pitt died on 12 September 1729 at St. Kitts, in the Leeward Islands, during his tenure as governor. He was 41 years old. He was buried in the family vault at Blandford, Dorset. His titles passed to his eldest son, Thomas Pitt, 2nd Earl of Londonderry.