Egerton Leigh

Egerton Leigh JP, DL (7 March 1815 – 1 July 1876) was a British soldier, landowner, Conservative politician and author.

Personal life
The member of an ancient Cheshire family, Leigh was the only son of Egerton Leigh and Wilhelmina Sarah, daughter of George Stratton. The Leigh Baronets of South Carolina were members of a cadet branch of this family, while his first name was derived from his descent from John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater.

Leigh married Lydia Rachel, daughter of John Smith Wright, in 1842. They had several children, the eldest of whom was Egerton Leigh (who married first Lady Elizabeth Gore White; who died 1880) and great-grandfather of the Conservative politician Edward Leigh, MP for Gainsborough. He died on 1 July 1876; his wife survived him by 17 years and died on 3 April 1893.

Military and political career
Leigh served as a Captain in the 2nd Dragoon Guards and a Major and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in the Cheshire Militia. He was also a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Cheshire, and served as High Sheriff of the county in 1872. In 1873 he was elected to Parliament for Mid Cheshire at a by-election, which seat he represented until his death three years later.

Works
Leigh wrote Ballads & Legends of Cheshire (1867) and A Glossary of Words Used in the Dialect of Cheshire (1877).