Sir Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett was an American born British Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1902.
Background
Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett was born in Brooklyn, New York to Ellis Bartlett of Plymouth, Massachusetts and Sophia Ashmead of Philadelphia. He was the elder brother of William Burdett-Coutts, and, through their father, they claimed to be descended from Richard Warren, one of the passengers on the Mayflower. Shortly after the death of his father in 1852 his mother moved the family to England, where he went to school at Torquay, before entering Christ Church, Oxford in 1867 (after a short time at Street Mary Hall, Oxford).
Education
He graduated with first class honours in Law and History in 1871, and was called to the bar in 1877.
Career
He was for a while one of Her Majesty"s Inspectors of Schools. In 1882 his caricature by "Spy" was published in the British weekly magazine Vanity Fair (21 October 1882) under the title "The Patriotic League". He served as Civil Lord of the Admiralty in the governments of Lord Salisbury from 1885 to February 1886 and August 1886 to 1892.
During the 1890s Ashmead-Bartlett championed the cause of Swaziland against the administration of the South African Republic.
In late 1899, during the Second Anglo-Boer War, he travelled to South Africa to lobby the British Commander, Lord Roberts, for a position. In March Lord Roberts sent him to Swaziland to meet the Queen Regent.
During this meeting the Queen Regent requested British protection for Swaziland. lieutenant is unclear if he initiated this request.
Membership
22nd United Kingdom Parliament. 23rd United Kingdom Parliament. 24th United Kingdom Parliament.
25th United Kingdom Parliament.
26th United Kingdom Parliament. 27th United Kingdom Parliament]
Ashmead-Bartlett was elected as Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for Eye, Suffolk in the 1880 general election.