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Asquith family

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coat of Arms of the Asquith family

The Asquiths were originally a middle-class family from the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. They were members of the Congregational church, whose family name derived from the village of Askwith. The first prominent member of the family was H. H. Asquith, who was prime minister from 1908 to 1916. In 1925, Asquith was raised to the peerage as Earl of Oxford and Asquith. His great-grandson Raymond is the present Earl.

All of H. H. Asquith's seven children achieved some prominence in national affairs. By his first wife Helen Kelsall Melland (d. 1891), he had four sons and one daughter. All of the sons volunteered for the Front early in the war. The eldest son, Raymond, a barrister and poet, was killed in action in 1916. The second son, Herbert, was a poet who married Lady Cynthia Charteris, a writer and anthologist. The third son, Arthur, became a Brigadier. The fourth son, Cyril (1890–1954), became a Law Lord. The daughter, Violet (1887–1969) became a Liberal politician herself.

By his second wife, the former Margot Tennant, Asquith had two more children. His daughter Elizabeth (1897–1945) was a writer who married a Romanian prince, becoming Princess Antoine Bibesco. His youngest son Anthony (1902–1968) became a well-known film director.

Prominent members

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Living descendants are omitted unless they are notable and/or have a separate Wikipedia entry.


See also

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References

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  1. ^ World War One Battlefields – Guillemont Archived 2009-04-23 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "Lady Helen Asquith obituary". Telegraph.
  3. ^ Obituaries — The Earl of Oxford and Asquith. The Daily Telegraph. 2011-01-17. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
  4. ^ "Sir Frederick Pollock". pollock.4mg.com. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  5. ^ Descendants of Sir Frederick Pollock last updated 8 December 2001. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  6. ^ Leo van der Pas. "Descendants of Sir John Cavendish: (gen 17+18 of 20 generations) Archived September 6, 2004, at archive.today. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  7. ^ "Hon. Paul Asquith, * 1927 | Geneall.net". geneall.net. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  8. ^ a b Ibid.
  9. ^ "Hon. Frances Rose Asquith, * 1925 | Geneall.net".
  10. ^ Frances Rose Asquith. Retrieved 28 February 2008.