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Sir
I am exceedingly oblig’d to you for the ring you have sent me, which I shall wear as well in token of the regard I entertain’d for Sir Thomas Blackett on account of the general benevolence of his character, as in memory of our relationship, the continuance of which with his Representatives, I trust, you will permit the family of Wentworth to lay claim to _
Lady Fitzwilliam begs you to present her compts to Mrs Beaumont, to which I desire to add mine: it will make us happy to hear that her health continues to improve _
I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servt.
Wentworth Fitzwilliam
Wentworth Aug: 12. 92
William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam (1748-1833) was a leading British Whig statesman. In 1782 he inherited the estates of his uncle Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, making him one of the richest people in Britain. He played a leading part in Whig politics until the 1820s. In his personal life he was a prominent member of the senior branch of the Yorkshire Wentworth clan to which TRB’s father-in-law, Sir Thomas Wentworth Blackett, was related. Sir Thomas died on July 16 1792 and the distribution of memorial rings to important friends and family members of the deceased was a common practice at the time. In this case the giving of a ring, and its acceptance as acknowledged by this letter, was a significant symbolic gesture which the Beaumonts would have regarded as reinforcing their relationship to the Wentworths and thus their social status.
