Thomas Sclater
Encyclopedia
Thomas Sclater FRS (c 1664 - 23 August 1736) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons
at various times between 1713 and 1736.
Sclater was the son of Edward Sclater of Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire and his wife Frances Thompson, daughter of Leonard Thompson, Lord Mayor of York. His father died when he was young and after 1673 he was brought up by his stepfather Edward Thompson. He was educated at St Paul's School
and was admitted at Trinity College, Cambridge
on 13 June 1682, aged 17. In 1684 he succeeded to the estates of his great-uncle Sir Thomas Sclater, 1st Baronet of Catley. He entered Grey's Inn in 1694 and was called to the bar in 1703.
In 1713, Sclater was elected Member of Parliament
for Bodmin
. He was made a freeman of Cambridge in 1714. In January 1715 he was elected MP for Cambridge
and sat until May. On his marriage on 22 May 1716 to Elizabeth Bacon, he assumed the name Bacon. He became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1721. In 1722 he was elected again as MP for Cambridge and sat until his death. He became a bencher of his Inn in 1724.
Sclater died of a palsy, worth £200,000 at the age of about 71.
Sclater married Elizabeth Bacon who had been probably a ward "under his charge", on 22 May 1716. She was the heir of John Bacon, a London merchant who had purchased land at Little Paxton, Huntingdonshire. She died in 1726, which was after Sclater had made a will in 1724 leaving his estate for life to Sarah, the wife of his coachman whom he described as a ‘kinswoman’ with remainder to her two sons.
House of Commons of Great Britain
The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant...
at various times between 1713 and 1736.
Sclater was the son of Edward Sclater of Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire and his wife Frances Thompson, daughter of Leonard Thompson, Lord Mayor of York. His father died when he was young and after 1673 he was brought up by his stepfather Edward Thompson. He was educated at St Paul's School
St Paul's School
St Paul's School is a boys' independent school, founded in 1509 by John Colet, located on a site in the London suburb of Barnes. It was one of the original nine English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868, which included Eton College, Harrow School and Charterhouse School...
and was admitted at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
on 13 June 1682, aged 17. In 1684 he succeeded to the estates of his great-uncle Sir Thomas Sclater, 1st Baronet of Catley. He entered Grey's Inn in 1694 and was called to the bar in 1703.
In 1713, Sclater was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Bodmin
Bodmin (UK Parliament constituency)
Bodmin was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall from 1295 until 1983. Initially, it was a parliamentary borough, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England and later the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1868 general...
. He was made a freeman of Cambridge in 1714. In January 1715 he was elected MP for Cambridge
Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....
and sat until May. On his marriage on 22 May 1716 to Elizabeth Bacon, he assumed the name Bacon. He became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1721. In 1722 he was elected again as MP for Cambridge and sat until his death. He became a bencher of his Inn in 1724.
Sclater died of a palsy, worth £200,000 at the age of about 71.
Sclater married Elizabeth Bacon who had been probably a ward "under his charge", on 22 May 1716. She was the heir of John Bacon, a London merchant who had purchased land at Little Paxton, Huntingdonshire. She died in 1726, which was after Sclater had made a will in 1724 leaving his estate for life to Sarah, the wife of his coachman whom he described as a ‘kinswoman’ with remainder to her two sons.