Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue

Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue, was born on 12 March 1753 and died on 16 June 1841. He was a British peer who was created Earl Fortescue in 1789. His parliamentary career included serving as the Member of Parliament for Beaumaris from 1784 to 1785.

He was the son of Matthew Fortescue, 2nd Baron Fortescue, and was a younger half-brother of Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Clinton. His family lineage connected him to prominent British aristocratic families.

Earl Fortescue's residences included Castle Hill in Filleigh, North Devon, Ebrington Manor in Gloucestershire, and Weare Giffard Hall in Devon. These estates were part of his family holdings.

On 10 May 1782, he married Hester Grenville (1767–1847), daughter of Prime Minister George Grenville. They had nine children: Lady Hester Fortescue, Hugh Fortescue (who became the 2nd Earl Fortescue), Captain Hon. George Matthew Fortescue, Lady Mary Fortescue, Reverend Hon. John Fortescue, Lady Elizabeth Fortescue, Lady Catherine Fortescue, Lady Anne Fortescue, and Lady Eleanor Fortescue.

Lady Hester Fortescue (1784–1873) married Peter King, 7th Baron King, and had offspring. Hugh Fortescue, born in 1783, later succeeded as the 2nd Earl Fortescue, holding the title until 1861. Captain Hon. George Matthew Fortescue (1791–1877) married Lady Louisa Ryder, daughter of Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby; they had children, including Louia Susan, who married William Westby Moore of Dublin. Lady Mary Fortescue was born on 15 September 1792 in Filleigh, Devon, and died on 12 August 1874 in London; she married Sir James Hamlyn Williams of Edwinsford, Carms., and Clovelly, Devon, and was buried at Talley, Carmarthenshire, at her request.

Reverend Hon. John Fortescue (1796–1869) was another of his children. Lady Elizabeth Fortescue (1801–1867) married William Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon, and had issue. Lady Catherine Fortescue (1787–1854) was reported to have been deaf and dumb; she married Hon. Newton Fellowes in 1820, who later became the 4th Earl of Portsmouth. They had one son, the 5th Earl of Portsmouth born in 1825, and three daughters. Newton Fellowes's two sons from his first marriage died young or unmarried before inheriting his titles.

Lady Anne Fortescue (died 1864) married George Wilbraham and had issue. Lady Eleanor Fortescue (1798–1847) is commemorated by a chest tomb in Weare Giffard Church, Devon.

Sources include the Hansard records documenting contributions in Parliament by Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue, between 1803 and 2005, and the History of Parliament Online.