Edward Onslow
Onslow was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, matriculating in 1774. He briefly sat as Member of Parliament for Aldborough in 1780 and was elected the same year as a fellow of the Royal Society.
"Ned", as he was known, had already distinguished himself as "a man generally esteemed and regarded, both in public and private life", in contrast to his father "Black George" Onslow, a notorious political schemer, and his elder brother Thomas. But the course of Edward's life was altered forever in 1781 when he was accused of homosexual advances on "Phelim Macarty esq of London" during an encounter at the Royal Academy Exhibition.[1]
Onslow was forced to resign his seat in Parliament (by accepting the Stewardship of East Hendred) and flee to France.
On 7 March 1783, he married Marie Rosalie de Bourdeilles de Brantôme (d. 1842); one of their sons was George Onslow, the classical composer. Marie was possessed of a considerable dowry, and Onslow spent the rest of his life as a country gentleman in France.
References
- ↑ http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/people/notable_residents/edward_onslow Surrey History (quoting C E Vuillamy, The Onslow Family 1528-1874, 1953)
