The son of William Elliot of Wells (know to posterity as the "Laceman", from the trade in gold-embroidered lace from which he made his fortune), the younger William was christened 17 January 1696 at Street Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster. Around 1720, he stood as legal guardian to Granville Elliott, the infant son of his elder sister Charlotte Elliot and her recently deceased husband Roger Elliott.
He entered the army in 1722 as a cornet in the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, and in the following year joined Charles Churchill"s Regiment of Dragoons as a captain. While serving under Colonel Churchill, Elliot witnessed the will of Churchill"s mistress, the celebrated actress Anne Oldfield, and was one of the pallbearers at her funeral in 1730.
Elliot inherited his father"s estate of Wells, in Roxburghshire, in 1728.
In 1737, Elliot was commissioned as major of the 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards, of which he was made lieutenant-colonel in 1741. He fought at both Dettingen and Fontenoy, but resigned his commission in 1746.
His eldest sister"s son, George Augustus Eliott (later Lord Heathfield, defender of Gibraltar), was one of his subordinate officers in the 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. Subsequently, in 1743, he was made one of the equerries to George II, and served until the king’s death in 1760.
Elliot married – against her father"s wishes – Lady Frances de Nassau d’Auverquerque, elder daughter of the Earl of Grantham and Lady Henrietta Butler, daughter of the Earl of Ossory, at Street Benet Paul"s Wharf, London, on 4 June 1737, with one son:
Henry Elliot, born 17 April 1741 Westminster, who died young.
William Elliot died in 1764 and was buried in Street James"s Church, Piccadilly, Westminster.
9th Parliament of Great Britain. 10th Parliament of Great Britain]
In 1741, Elliot was elected as a Whig Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for Calne, Wiltshire (which seat he held until 1754).
