PELHAM, Thomas (c.1705-37), of Stanmer, nr. Lewes, Suss.

At a very early age Thomas Pelham, commonly known as Turk Pelham, was sent to Constantinople as apprentice to John Lethieullier, a Turkey merchant, whose step-daughter he married, despite the disapproval of his family. Shortly after his marriage he succeeded on the death of his elder brother to the family estates, worth over £2,000 a year. He declined a proposal by Newcastle to nominate him at once for his brother’s seat,Add. 33085, ff. 110, 138. but after returning to England he was brought in by Newcastle at the general election of 1727, voting with the Government in all recorded divisions. At the next general election Newcastle complained that he ‘never comes to Lewes but he gets drunk and then talks in so imprudent and extravagant a manner that he makes his friends very uneasy’.Add. 32688, f. 526. He died of drink 21 Dec. 1737.HMC 14th Rep. IX, 238.