Francis Perceval Eliot Francis Perceval Eliot ( September 1755 – 23 August 1818 ) was an English soldier , auditor and man of letters . Life . Eliot was the son of General Granville Elliott ( 1713 – 1759 ) and his second wife , Elizabeth Duckett ( 1724 – 1804 ) . He was born at Kew Green , Richmond - upon - Thames , Surrey , and baptised on 9 October 1755 at St Anne ' s Church , Kew Green . Following his father ' s death on 10 October 1759 , the family moved on 15 April 1760 to Richmond . In 1762 , Francis lodged at Hargreaves in St Martin ' s Lane , London . On 17 April 1764 , he lodged with Mrs Bathurst , Charterhouse Square and attended the public school of St Bartholomew . In 1770 , he went to Mrs Betesworth ' s Academy in Kingston , near Portsmouth , Hampshire , leaving in 1772 to join Mr Lockee ' s Military Academy , Little Chelsea , London , and later to Colonel Gallatin ' s School of Equitation for 7 months . On 15 December 1773 , he was commissioned as Ensign in the 14th Regiment of Foot . On 28 March 1774 , he joined his first regiment , moving to quarters in Dover on 13 May 1774 . In March 1775 , he left for America , where , on 25 August 1775 , he was appointed Lieutenant in the 14th Regiment of Foot . By 28 November 1778 , he had returned to St George ' s , Hanover Square , London , where he married Anne Breynton ( 1756 – 15 August 1829 ) , the daughter of the famous minister in Nova Scotia , Rev Dr John Breynton ( 1719 – 1799 ) . In 1790 , he bought Elmhurst Hall and various other properties in Staffordshire , while still maintaining a house in London . In 1794 he raised the Staffordshire Yeomanry Cavalry and became its Major and subsequently Colonel . In 1797 , he tried to sell off his Staffordshire estates . The following year 1798 he raised the Staffordshire Yeomanry Infantry . By 1800 he had moved to Lichfield and in 1803 raised the 2nd Staffordshire Militia , eventually becoming its Lieutenant - Colonel . In 1806 , he finally disposed of his Staffordshire properties , pulling down the derelict Elmhurst Hall . He moved back to London full - time , and took an oath as a Commissioner of Public Accounts , based at Somerset House in the Strand . Around this time he became a man of letters , addressing the foremost politicians of the time , while also writing for a magazine — The Aegis . The next year , he attempted to be elected as MP for Westminster in the United Kingdom general election , 1807 . On Friday 8 May 1807 , he attended a meeting at Covent Garden , London where he was introduced to the meeting , by Col . Robinson who at that time commanded London Recruiting District , and the Pimlico battalion of the Queen ' s Loyal Volunteers from about 1803 . His election was unsuccessful and he returned to his literary pursuits . He died at his home at 22 Portman Street , London on 23 August 1818 and was buried in or by the western wall of the St Marylebone burial ground on the south side of Paddington Street , London — near to his father - in - law , Rev Dr John Breynton . Family . On 28 November 1778 at St George ' s , Hanover Square , London , Francis married Anne Breynton ( 1756 – 15 August 1829 ) , and had by her 7 sons and 3 daughters : Many of his sons went on to play significant roles in the British Armed Forces . Publications . 1791 – 1800 Common Place Book — University of Birmingham Library Special Collection ( Ref : 6 / vi / 5 ) 1794 " Letters on the subject of the arm ' d Yeomanry , addressed to the … Earl Gower Sutherland , etc . " by Francis Perceval Eliot , second edition published Stafford 1794 . 1797 " Six letters , etc . " by Francis Perceval Eliot — another edition of " Letters on the subject of the arm ' d Yeomanry , addressed to the … Earl of Gower Sutherland , etc . " — published London 1797 British Library Shelfmark : 8827 . f . 30 1807 " Demonstration , Or Financial Remarks With Occasional Observations On Political Occurrences " Printed for John Cawthorn , 1807 ( London : T . Collins ) 117 pages , xi , [ 10 ] , [ 13 ] folded leaves of plates ; 22 cm British Library Shelfmark : 8135 . g . 11 1811 " Observations On The Fallacy Of The Supposed Depreciation Of The Paper Currency Of The Kingdom With Reasons For Dissenting From The Report Of The Bullion Committee " by Francis Perceval Eliot Printed for J . J . Stockdale , London 1811 . 171 pages , 24 cm British Library Shelfmark : 1028 . e . 3 ( 4 ) and 1028 . e . 5 . ( 1 ) 1811 " A Supplement To Observations On The Fallacy Of The Supposed Depreciation Of The Paper Currency Of The Kingdom , & c . " Printed for J . J . Stockdale , London 1811 28 pages , 21 cm 1814 " A series of letters on the Political and financial State of the nation at the commencement of 1814 " by Falkland ( i . e . Francis Perceval Eliot ) — published 1814 . British Library Shelfmark : P . P . 3557 . w 1814 " Letters on the Political and financial situation of the country in 1814 ; addressed to the Earl of Liverpool " by Francis Perceval Eliot — published 1814 British Library Shelfmark : P . P . 3557 . w 1815 " Three letters on the financial and political situation of the country in the year 1815 … addressed to the Earl of Liverpool " by Francis Perceval Eliot — published 1815 British Library Shelfmark : P . P . 3557 . w . These letters proposed a system of measures based on a single weight measure , similar to the metric system used in France at the time 1816 " Letters on the political and financial situation of the British Empire , in the year 1816 … addressed to the Earl of Liverpool " — published 1816 British Library Shelfmark : P . P . 3557 . w and C . T . 114 ( 1 )