Martin Tucker Smith
Born6 July 1803
Died10 October 1880
Occupation(s)Banker
Politician
Children10, including Gerard Smith
Parent(s)John Smith
Elizabeth Tucker Smith
RelativesSir Matthew White Ridley, 3rd Baronet (father-in-law)

Martin Tucker Smith (6 July 1803 – 10 October 1880)[1] was an English banker and Liberal Party[2] Politician.

Biography

Early life

Martin Tucker Smith was born on 6 July 1803. He was the second son of John Smith (1767–1842), and his wife Elizabeth (née Tucker). His father was a member of the family which owned the Smith's Bank group of companies, and Martin joined the family business, becoming a partner in the London bank Smith, Payne and Smiths.[3]

Career

Like his father and many of his ancestors, Smith entered politics. At the 1831 general election he was elected as one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for Midhurst in Sussex, a rotten borough in the control of his first cousin Lord Carrington. However, the borough's representation was reduced to one member in 1832, and Smith stood down. He did not re-enter Parliament until the 1847 general election when he was elected unopposed as one of the two MPs for the borough of Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.[2] He was re-elected at the next three general elections, before standing down at the 1865 general election.[2]

Personal life and death

In 1831, he married Louisa Ridley, the daughter of Sir Matthew White Ridley, 3rd Baronet; they had ten children.

His third son Gerard Smith (1839–1920) was a British Army officer and banker who served as MP for Wycombe from 1883 to 1885,[4] and as Governor of Western Australia from 1895 to 1900.[5] After his death in 1880 at the age of 77, his estate was valued at £350,000[3] (equivalent to £37,066,000 in 2023 values[6]).

References

  1. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 5)
  2. 1 2 3 Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [First published 1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 344. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
  3. 1 2 "WILL AND BEQUESTS.-The will, dated December 21, 1876 of Mr. Martin Tucker Smith". The Times. London. 24 November 1880. p. 10.
  4. ↑ "Election Intelligence - Wycombe". The Times. London. 12 March 1883. p. 10.
  5. ↑ "Obituaries: Lt.-Col. Sir Gerard Smith". The Times. London. 30 October 1920. p. 13.
  6. ↑ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.


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