Edward Pellew, 4th Viscount Exmouth

Edward Fleetwood John Pellew, 4th Viscount Exmouth DL JP (24 June 1861 – 31 October 1899), was a British peer who inherited the title of Viscount Exmouth from his uncle and held the title for 23 years. He was the great-grandson of Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth.

Life

Edward Pellew was born on 24 June 1861 in Devon County, England.^[1] He was the son of Hon. Fleetwood John Pellew, the 4th son of Pownoll Pellew, 2nd Viscount Exmouth. His mother was Emily Sarah Ferguson. On 3 June 1884, in Arborfield Parish, Berkshire, he married Edith Hargreaves, the daughter of Captain Thomas Hargreaves of the 3rd Royal Lancashire Militia.^[2][3] The couple had two children.^[4]

• Georgina Cecily Pellew (18 December 1885 – 17 May 1930), died unmarried
• Edward Addington Hargreaves Pellew, 5th Viscount Exmouth (12 November 1890– 16 August 1922)

Pellew's service in the Royal Army included that of a lieutenant in the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry, and he later served as a cavalry captain in the 5th (Hay Tor) Volunteer Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. He was a Deputy Lieutenant, Justice of the Peace for Devon, and a Doctor of Law.^[4][5]

The Viscount and Viscountess came to the United States on their honeymoon trip. They arrived in New York City on 23 June 1884 on board the SS Gallia. At the time Henry Pellew, later the 6th Viscount Exmouth, and his wife resided there.^[6][7][8] Pellew was the Viscount's cousin. The Viscountess was a cousin of the Drayton family of New York and the Coleman family of Pennsylvania. In July 1884 they visited Long Branch, New Jersey as well as Newport, Rhode Island.^[9] August saw them back in Long Branch for an extended tour by Mr. George W. Childs, the publisher of the Evening Public Ledger.^[10] They returned to England on 1 October 1884 on board the notable ship SS Servia.^[11]

When the 1st Viscount Exmouth was granted his title he also was awarded an perpetual pension of £2,000 annually.^[12] These pensions were not seen favorably by the British public. Consequently, in late 1893 the English Parliament converted the pension to a lump sum payment of £53,890 (approximately $6.2 million adjusted for inflation in 2016).^[13] This pension was well invested, and by the time of the death of the Edward Pellew, 5th Viscount Exmouth the sum had grown to £325,000.^[14]

Edward Pellew died in London on 31 October 1899.^[5] He was succeeded in his titles by his eight year old son Edward Pellew.

References

1. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837 - 1915, Vol. 5b, Page 78.
2. England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837 - 1915, Vol. 5b, Page 78.
3. Baker, Mary Elizabeth (1917). Alexander Brown and His Descendants, 1764 - 1916. East Orange, New Jersey: The Abbey Printshop. p. 35.
4. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, Volume 1. Wilmington, Deleware, U.S.A.: Genealogical Books. p. 1366.
5. "Death Claims A Viscount". New York Times. 2 November 1899. p. 7.
6. SS Gallia List of Passengers (Manifest), 24 June 1884, Page 2
7. "Three Fast Steam-Ships". New York Times. 24 June 1884. p. 8.
8. "Personal Intelligence". New York Times. 7 September 1884. p. 2.
9. "Dinner to Lord and Lady Exmouth". Daily State Gazette. Trenton, New Jersey. 7 July 1884. p. 2.
10. "Life at Long Branch". Wheeling Sunday Register. Wheeling, West Virginia. 3 August 1884. p. 6.
11. "City and Suburban News". New York Times. 2 October 1884. p. 8.
12. "Political Pensions". The Daily Inter Ocean. Chicago, Illinois. 10 June 1879. p. 4.
13. "Lord Exmouth's Pension". The Knoxville Journal. Knoxville, Tennessee. 2 December 1893. p. 8.
14. "Revive Project To Remit British Peers' Death Duty". The Bridgeport Telegram. 17 January 1923. p. 12.