Oliver Wallop, 8th Earl of Portsmouth

Oliver Henry Wallop, 8th Earl of Portsmouth (13 January 1861 – 10 February 1943) was a British peer and also served in the Wyoming State Legislature in the United States.[1]

Wallop was born at Eggesford House in Devon, England, to Isaac Newton Fellowes (later Wallop), 5th Earl of Portsmouth, and Lady Eveline Alicia Juliana Herbert, daughter of Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon. As the third son, he was not expected to inherit his father's earldom, and in 1883 moved to the American West to become a rancher and stockman. He settled in Miles City, Montana, before coming to Big Horn, Wyoming in 1891 and purchasing the Canyon Ranch. He became a United States citizen in 1904, and was elected to the Wyoming Legislature in 1908, serving in the Wyoming House of Representatives.

From 1917 to 1919, he served in the British Army in the First World War.[2]

His elder brothers, the 6th and 7th earls, both died without male heirs. In 1925, he succeeded as the 8th Earl. Known as O.H. Wallop, he had served two terms as a Republican in the Wyoming House of Representatives.[3][4][5] Wallop was allowed to take his seat in the House of Lords after first renouncing his American citizenship.[6] Wallop died in Colorado Springs, Colorado after being ill for a year.[7]

Marriage and issue

Wallop married Marguerite Walker, daughter of Samuel Johnson Walker of Kentucky, and had two sons, Gerard Vernon Wallop and Oliver Malcolm Wallop.[1]

His granddaughter Jeanie Margaret Wallop (1935–2019), born in Big Horn, Wyoming, married Henry Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon, whose seat was Highclere Castle. She was close friends with Queen Elizabeth II, who is godmother to his great-grandson George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon.[8] His grandson Malcolm Wallop also served in the Wyoming State Legislature, and three terms in the United States Senate.[9]

References
  1. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. pp. 3192–3193. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  2. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925
  3. The State of Wyoming Legislature-O. H. Wallop
  4. "Neighbors Put Out Over Losing Cowpuncher Friend, Who Is to Become Earl". Pittsburgh Press. September 9, 1925. p. 10.
  5. "Wyoming Cowboy Is Earl of Portsmouth, Inheriting the Title of Brother in England". The New York Times. September 9, 1925. p. 1.
  6. "Earl of Portsmouth Quits Wyoming Ranch; Ends American Citizenship of 42 Years". The New York Times. April 8, 1933. p. 31.
  7. "Cattle Baron Dies". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. February 10, 1943. p. 8.
  8. "Jeanie, Countess of Carnarvon obituary". The Times. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  9. Pickett, Mary - "Downton Abbey" Close to Wyoming Rancher's Heart", Billings Gazette, January 11, 2013.
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by
John Fellowes Wallop		 Earl of Portsmouth
1925–1943		 Succeeded by
Gerard Wallop


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