24th Generation

87. William WILBERFORCE MP was born on 24 Aug 1759.⁴ He died on 29 Jul 1833.⁴ He was buried in Westminster Abbey. William Wilberforce, of Kingston-upon-Hull, the great philanthropist; M.P. for Hull 1780, for Yorkshire 1784, 1790, 1793, 1802, 1806 and 1807-12, and for Bramber, 1812-25. He became the parliamentary leader of the cause of abolition of slavery 1787. He introduced a resolution condemning slave-trade 1789, and had a motion for its gradual abolition carried by the House of Commons 1791. The bill for total abolition of the slave trade defeated several times but passed by the Commons 1804, then twice rejected by House of Lords It finally became law on 25 March1807.

He was a prominent member of the Clapham 'saints', centred around the evangelical church of the Holy Trinity, and set himself the aim for the 'Reform of Manners' - the development of a more moral society. He took part in founding Church Missionary Society, 1798, and Bible Society, 1803,the RSPCA and many other causes, to which he gave most of his fortune. He was the friend of Pitt, Raffles, Fox, Sheridan, and many more of the eminent men of his time, and author of many religious and philanthropic works including "Christianity, a Practical View"
Born 24th August, 1759, educated Pocklington, & St. John's College, Cambridge. (buried in Westminster Abbey) - L G Pine

William WILBERFORCE MP and Barbara SPOONER were married on 30 May 1797 in Walcot, near Bath. Barbara SPOONER^2,4 died on 23 Apr 1847.⁴ Eldest daughter of Isaac Spooner of Elmdon Hall, County Warwick. Married 30 May 1797 at Walcot near Bath, Somerset. William WILBERFORCE MP and Barbara SPOONER had the following children:

+91	i.	William WILBERFORCE.
92	ii.	Barbara WILBERFORCE was born in 1799. She died on 30 Dec 1821.
+93	iii.	Elizabeth WILBERFORCE.
+94	iv.	Ven. Robert Isaac WILBERFORCE.
+95	v.	Rt. Rev. Samuel WILBERFORCE.
+96	vi.	Rev Henry William WILBERFORCE.