Charles Ashe A'Court Esq.

Third son of Sir William Pierce Ashe A'Court 1st baronet of Heytesbury and his second wife Letitia, daughter of Henry Wyndham, MP.

1. Married Anna Maria Gibbs (1793-1878), daughter of Abraham Gibbs of Naples and then Palermo (cousin of the English mercantile family of William and Anthony Gibbs) and Mary Elizabeth Douglas, youngest daughter of Sir James Douglas, the British Consul General in Naples.  Sir James Douglas died in 1795 and Mary Elizabeth in 1797, leaving the infant Anna Maria as one of the heirs to Sir James Douglas' St Kitts's estates. On their marriage in 1815, Anna Maria assumed her mother's names as Mary Elizabeth Catherine. Abraham Gibbs settled £30,000 in trust on the couple as part of the marriage settlement, but then went bankrupt and committed suicide in 1816, amid allegations that he had misappropriated revenues due to Nelson's heir. Charles A'Court pressed for the settlement to be honoured, and separated from Mary, settling for £10,000 in 1818 and returning to England with Mary, remarrying to ensure the legitimacy of their heir (Charles Henry Wyndham A'Court) at Heytesbury 07/07/1819.      

2. MP for Heytesbury 1820, Assistant Poor Law Commissioner in Southampton overseeing building of Andover Workhouse (opened 1836). Succeeded to Amington Hall Warwickshire 1855 and took the additional name of Repington, died 1861. Will of Charles Ashe A'Court Repington formerly of Southampton but late of Amington Hall proved 14/06/1861 effects under £6000.  His widow left under £5000 in 1878 and his son Charles Wyndham A'Court Repington £30,391 in 1903.

3. The daughter of Charles Ashe a' Court of Armington [sic] Hall, Warwickshire,  (Mary) Elizabeth (1822-1911), married in 1846 Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, MP for South Wiltshire 1832-61, Tory Secretary of War, who died in 1861 leaving £160,000. (Mary) Elizabeth Herbert has an entry in the ODNB as Roman Catholic convert and philanthropist.  

1. Elizabeth Neill, Fragile fortunes: the origins of a great British merchant family (Wellington, Somerset, Rylands, 2008) pp. 187, 188-9, 273-4, 282-3, 383-4.

2. Ibid, pp. 384-5; National Probate Calendar 1861, 1878 and 1903.

3. William D. Rubinstein, Who were the rich? 1860- (Volumes 3 and 4, manuscripts in preparation), reference 1861/26 Herbert of Lea, 1st Baron, Sidney Herbert; ODNB online, Valerie Bonham, 'Herbert, (Mary) Elizabeth, Lady Herbert of Lea (1822-1911), Roman Catholic convert and philanthropist.' The entry identifies Lady Herbert's mother Mary Elizabeth Gibbs as 'daughter of a West Indies planter.' From the detail in Elizabeth Neill Fragile fortunes, it appears that Mary Elizabeth Gibbs was rather the grand-daughter of the slave-owner Sir James Douglas.