John Hervey, Lord Hervey

Not to be confused with John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey.

Captain John Augustus Hervey, Lord Hervey (1 January 1757 – 10 January 1796) was a British diplomat.^[1]

Captain The Honourable Lord Hervey
Portrait of Lord Hervey, by Thomas Gainsborough, National Trust, c. 1779-1783.
British Minister to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
In office 1787–1794
Preceded by	William Fawkener (pro tempore)
Succeeded by	Hon. William Wyndham
Personal details
Born	John Augustus Hervey (1757-01-01)1 January 1757
Died	10 January 1796(1796-01-10) (aged 39)
Spouse	Elizabeth Drummond ​ ​ (m. 1779, died)​
Children	Elizabeth Ellis, Baroness Seaford
Parent(s)	Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol Elizabeth Davers

Early life

Hervey was the eldest surviving son of Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol and his wife, Elizabeth née Davers (d. 1800).^[2] He had two brothers, including Frederick, 1st Marquess of Bristol; and three sisters, Mary Creighton, Countess Erne, Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire and Louisa Jenkinson, Countess of Liverpool.^[3]

His paternal grandparents were John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey and Mary Lepell (a daughter of Brig.-Gen. Nicholas Wedig Lepell). His maternal grandparents were Sir Jermyn Davers, 4th Baronet, and Margaretta Green 9a daughter of Rev. Edward Green, Rector of Drinkstone).^[4]

Career

Joining the Royal Navy under the patronage of his uncle, Commodore Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, he reached the rank of Captain and was at one point the senior naval officer on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec.^[1] From 1787 to 1794, he was Minister to Tuscany, after which he returned to Naval service in command of the Zealous with the Mediterranean fleet during the winter of 1795.^[5]

Personal life

On 4 October 1779, he married Elizabeth Drummond (1758–1818) at Quebec, Canada. She was the eldest daughter of the former Katherine Oliphant and Colin Drummond, of Megginch Castle, Perthshire, who was deputy Commissary-General and deputy Paymaster to the Forces in Canada (and son of John Drummond, 10th of Lennoch). Before his death in 1796, they were the parents of a daughter:^[6]

• Hon. Elizabeth Catherine Caroline Hervey (1780–1803), who married Charles Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford, the second son of John Ellis of Jamaica, a wealthy sugar farmer and slave trader.^[2]

Lord Hervey died on 10 January 1796. On his death in 1796, his courtesy title was assumed by his brother, Frederick (later created Marquess of Bristol). His widow died on 4 September 1818.^[2]