Legge , family , Earls of Dartmouth

The Legge family were prominent in London, holding various City offices. However, the Dartmouth branch of the family descended from Edward Legge (d 1616) who as the a second son of a second son had made his own way, largely though settlement in Ireland. He was the vice-president of Munster. Edward's son William Legge (1607-1670) was a royalist army officer.

William's son George Legge (1647-1691) was a naval officer and courtier who was named 1st Baron Dartmouth in December 1682. He is best known for commanding the fleet which failed to prevent the invasion of William of Orange in 1688. His son William Legge (1672-1750), a politician, became the first Earl of Dartmouth. His son George died in 1732 and the title was inherited by his grandson William Legge (1731-1801). The 3rd Earl was William's son George Legge (1755-1810), also a politician, who married Lady Frances Finch (1761-1838) in 1782, having nine daughters and five sons.

George was succeeded as 4th Earl by his eldest son William (1784-1853). The 5th Earl was William Walter Legge (1823-1891) who was married to Augusta Finch (1822-1900) a noted philanthropist.

The main family residence was Patshull Hall, Wolverhampton; although the family maintained connections to London.

Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, (1776-1857), was one of the daughters of King George III. She married her cousin Prince William Frederick, second duke of Gloucester (1776-1834) on the 22 July 1816.

The Battle of Kandahar, 1 September 1880, was the last major conflict of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The battle was fought between the British forces under command of General Frederick Roberts and the Afghan forces led by Ayub Khan, who was defeated.