William Praed

(Not to be confused with his first cousin of the same name, William Mackworth Praed, serjeant-at-law (1756–1835) and revising barrister for Bath who was the father of Winthrop Mackworth Praed.)

William Praed (24 June 1747 – 9 October 1833) was an English businessman, banker, and politician.

He was the oldest son of Humphrey Mackworth Praed (c1718–1803) of the manor of Trevethoe, near St Ives in Cornwall. His father was a Member of Parliament for St Ives and then for Cornwall. His mother Mary was a daughter of William Forester, the MP for Wenlock. He was educated at Eton College and at Magdalen College, Oxford.

In 1778, he married Elizabeth Tyringham, daughter of the banker and MP Barnaby Backwell, of Tyringham in Buckinghamshire. They had ten children.

A partner in his family's banks in Cornwall, Praed also founded Praed’s & Co in Fleet Street, London.

His family mostly controlled the borough of St Ives, which elected him to the House of Commons at the 1774 general election. An election petition was lodged alleging various forms of corruption, and the Praed's election was declared void. He won the resulting by-election, and thereafter spent enough money to secure control of the borough until 1802, when he sold one of the seats.

...
Wikipedia