Sir Abraham Elton, 2nd Baronet

Sir Abraham Elton, 2nd Baronet (1679 – 20 October 1742) was a British merchant, slave trader and Whig politician who represented Taunton in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1724 to 1727. He also represented Bristol in the House of Commons from 1727 until his death in 1742. Elton served as the High Sheriff of Bristol from 1710 to 1711 and mayor of Bristol from 1719 to 1720.

Early life Elton's exact date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 30 June 1679. He was the eldest son of Abraham Elton (later created the first of the Elton baronets), and his wife Mary Jefferies.

Career

Elton was a merchant and industrialist, and like his father before him, he served as the High Sheriff of Bristol in 1710–11. He was the Master of the Society of Merchant Venturers in 1719 and Mayor of Bristol from 1719 to 1720, but in 1720 he was made bankrupt during the "South Sea Bubble".

Upon his father's death on 9 February 1728, Elton became Sir Abraham Elton, 2nd Baronet, and inherited Clevedon Court.

Member of Parliament Elton returned to England by 1724, and stood in the Taunton by-election of 1724 for the Whigs, as an unexpected late entrant. He was duly elected to serve as a Member of Parliament for Taunton, He only served Taunton until the general election in 1727, when his father vacated his seat in Bristol. At the resulting election, Elton paid his Tory opponent £1,000 to withdraw from the election, allowing him to be returned unopposed. In Parliament, he became a member of the gaols committee. In February 1730 he spoke against the Royal African Company's petition to be spared the cost of maintaining their forts. He often petitioned government on mercantile issues, amongst them: in 1730 for the removal of duty on soaps and candles, five separate times for the removal of duty on Irish yarn,

Jacob Elton (d. 1745), a captain in the Royal Navy who was killed in action in a sea battle with the French; he married Caroline Yate, daughter of Charles Yate. Mary Elton (1706–1755), who married James Heywood, of Maristow (near Roborough in Devon) and Jamaica.

Elton died on 20 October 1742, leaving three sons and three daughters. The baronetage passed to his eldest son, who became Sir Abraham Elton, 3rd Baronet but died without issue. The baronetcy then passed to his brother Sir (Abraham) Isaac Elton, 4th Baronet. Another of Elton's sons, Jacob, became a Royal Navy captain but was killed in a sea battle. Elton's daughters Mary and Elizabeth both married.

Through his youngest son, Abraham Isaac Elton, he was a grandfather of the Rev. Sir Abraham Elton, 5th Baronet (1755–1842).