Author: Cartwright, William
Biography:
CARTWRIGHT, William (1797-1873: ancestry.co.uk)
He was the eldest son of William Ralph Cartwright (1771-1847) of Aynho, Northamptonshire, and his first wife the Honourable Emma Maude (1774-1808), daughter of the 1st Viscount Hawarden. His father served in the army and was MP for Northamptonshire 1797-1831 and for South Northamptonshire 1832-46. Cartwright was born in Bath, Somerset, on 23 Feb. 1797 and baptised at St. Mary Bathwick on 1 Apr. 1797. He was educated first at Eton College and then at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from 1810 to 1812. He held army commissions in the 61st Foot, the 3rd Dragoons, and the 10th Hussars, and was present at the battles of the Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, and at Waterloo--the subject of his poem. He retired from the army at the rank of Lieutenant General. On 6 Aug. 1822 at St. George's, Hanover Square, London, he married a minor, Mary Ann Jones (1803-60). They had two sons who both served in the army; Fairfax, the eldest, later became MP for South Northants, but the younger son, Aubrey, was killed in the Crimea in 1854. The 1851 Census shows Cartwright and Mary Ann (Marianne) living at Flore House, Daventry, Northamptonshire, with eight servants; he is identified as a magistrate. For the 1861 Census he was present at the rectory in Aynho with his brother, the Rev. Stephen Ralph Cartwright. He died in London at 16 Green Street on 5 June 1873 leaving effects of under £20,000, and was buried at St. Michael's, Aynho. The memorial plaque at All Saints, Flore, describes him as "a munificent benefactor to the poor." The poem listed in this bibliography seems to have been his only publication. Although, unlike many poems about Waterloo, it was based on his actual experience of the battle, it was not well-received and reviews were discouraging. The Literary Gazette was unequivocal: “Mr. Cartwright has made a very poor hand of it.” Northamptonshire Archives holds extensive records for the Cartwright of Aynho family. (ancestry.co.uk 30 Apr. 2025; historyofparliamentonline 30 Apr. 2025; Literary Gazette 25 Aug. 1827; Eton College Register 1791-1850; RMC Cadet Register online) SR