View source for Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer

{{Short description|British peer and Member of Parliament}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name           = The Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
| honorific-suffix =
| image          =
| caption        =
| office         = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Herefordshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Herefordshire]]
| term_start     = 1727
| term_end       = 1741
| predecessor    = [[Velters Cornewall]]<br />[[Sir Edward Goodere, 1st Baronet|Sir Edward Goodere]]
| alongside      = [[Velters Cornewall]]
| successor      = [[Velters Cornewall]]<br />[[Thomas Foley (died 1749)|Thomas Foley]]
| birth_name     = Edward Harley
| birth_date     = {{Circa|1699}}
| birth_place    =
| death_date     = {{dda|1755|04|11|1699|df=y}}
| death_place    = [[Bath, Somerset]]
| education      = [[Westminster School]]
| alma_mater     = [[Christ Church, Oxford]]
| parents        = [[Edward Harley (1664–1735)|Edward Harley]]<br>Sarah Foley
| party          =
| spouse         = {{marriage|Martha Morgan|16 March 1724||reason=}}
| children       =
| relations      =
}}
'''Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer''' ({{Circa|1699}} – 11 April 1755) was a British peer and Member of Parliament. He was the nephew of Britain's First Minister between 1710 and 1714, [[Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Robert Harley]].
==Early life==
Harley was the son and heir of Sarah Foley (the third daughter of Thomas Foley of [[Witley Court]]) and [[Edward Harley (1664–1735)|Edward Harley]] of Eywood, the Auditor of the Imprest and the next younger brother of [[Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer]].<ref name="EarlOxford&Mortimer"/>
Harley was educated at [[Westminster School]] and [[Christ Church, Oxford]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepeerage.com/p3055.htm#i30547|title=Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford|work=ThePeerage.com}}* ''Burkes Peerage'' (1851 edition)</ref>
==Career==
[[File:Brampton Bryan Hall (3450662830).jpg|thumb|left|Brampton Bryan Hall]]
He was returned to Parliament as the member for [[Herefordshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Herefordshire]] in 1727, sitting until 1741.<ref name= HoP/> He was known as a [[Hanoverian Tory]].<ref>Hill p.231</ref> He vigorously defended the past record of his uncle Robert's governments during [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]]'s reign.<ref name="Hill1988">Hill, Brian W. ''Robert Harley: Speaker, Secretary of State and Premier Minister''. [[Yale University Press]], 1988.</ref>
He succeeded his father in 1735 to the Eywood estate at Titley, Herefordshire and his cousin [[Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer]] in 1741 to the earldom and the family seat, [[Brampton Bryan Hall]] at [[Brampton Bryan]] in Herefordshire.<ref name= HoP>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/harley-edward-1699-1755|title=HARLEY, Edward (?1699-1755), of Eywood, Herefs.|publisher= History of Parliament Online|accessdate= 8 March 2018}}</ref>
One of his first acts on succeeding his cousin was to [[art sale|auction off]] his predecessor's art and coin collection through the auctioneer Cock, at an art sale held under the Piazza, [[Covent Garden]], on 8 March 1741/2 and the five following days, with six more days being required by the coins. Nearly all the leading men of the day, including [[Horace Walpole]], attended or were represented at this sale, and the prices varied from five [[shilling]]s for an anonymous bishop's "head" to 165 [[guinea (coin)|guinea]]s for [[Anthony van Dyck|van Dyck]]'s group of "Sir [[Kenelm Digby]], lady, and son".
==Personal life==
On 16 March 1724 or 1725, at [[St Anne's Church, Soho|St. Anne's Church]], [[Soho]], he married Martha Morgan, a daughter of [[John Morgan (of Rhiwpera)|Sir John Morgan]] of [[Tredegar Estate|Tredegar]] and Martha Vaughan (a daughter and co-heiress of Gwyn Vaughan of Trebarried) and the sister of [[William Morgan (of Tredegar, elder)|Sir William Morgan]] and [[Thomas Morgan (judge advocate)|Sir Thomas Morgan]].  They had several children:<ref name="EarlOxford&Mortimer">{{cite web |title=Oxford and Mortimer, Earl of (GB, 1711 - 1853) |url=http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/oxford1711.htm |website=www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk |publisher=Heraldic Media Limited |accessdate=22 October 2020}}</ref>
* [[Edward Harley, 4th Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer]] (1726–1790), also an MP for Hertfordshire; he married heiress Susannah Archer, a daughter of [[William Archer (MP)|William Archer]].<ref name="EarlOxford&Mortimer"/>
* Hon. [[John Harley (bishop, died 1788)|John Harley]] (1728–1788), the [[Bishop of Hereford]] who married his cousin Roach Vaughan, daughter of Gwynne [[William Gwyn Vaughan|Vaughan]] of Trebarried; their son, Edward became [[Edward Harley, 5th Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|5th Earl of Oxford]].<ref name="EarlOxford&Mortimer"/>
* Hon. [[Thomas Harley (politician, born 1730)|Thomas Harley]] (1730–1804), [[Lord Mayor of London]] who married Anne Bangham, the daughter of [[Edward Bangham]], MP for [[Leominster (UK Parliament constituency)|Leominster]].<ref name="EarlOxford&Mortimer"/>
* Rev. Hon. William Harley (d. 1769).<ref name="EarlOxford&Mortimer"/>
* Lady Sarah Harvey (d. 1737).<ref name="EarlOxford&Mortimer"/>
* Lady Martha Harvey, who married Charles Milborne, of [[Priory (Abergavenny ward)|The Priory]], [[Abergavenny]], in 1764.<ref name="EarlOxford&Mortimer"/>
Lord Oxford died on 11 April 1755 and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son [[Edward Harley, 4th Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Edward]].<ref name="EarlOxford&Mortimer"/>
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{S-start}}
{{s-par|gb}}
{{succession box
| title  = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Herefordshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Herefordshire]]
| with   = [[Velters Cornewall]]
| years  = 1727–1741
| before = [[Velters Cornewall]]<br />[[Sir Edward Goodere, 1st Baronet|Sir Edward Goodere]]
| after  = [[Velters Cornewall]]<br />[[Thomas Foley (died 1749)|Thomas Foley]]
}}
{{s-reg|gb}}
{{succession box
| title  = [[Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer]]
| before = [[Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Edward Harley]]
| after  = [[Edward Harley, 4th Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Edward Harley]]
| years  = 1741–1755}}
{{S-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxford And Mortimer, Edward Harley, 3rd Earl Of}}
[[Category:1690s births]]
[[Category:1755 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Westminster School, London]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies|Harley, Edward]]
[[Category:British MPs 1727–1734]]
[[Category:British MPs 1734–1741]]
[[Category:Harley family|Edward]]