Family and Education

b. 10 Jan. 1771, 1st s. of John Buller^† of Morval, and bro. of Anthony Buller*, Charles Buller* and James Buller II* educ. Westminster 1784, ?I. Temple 1789. m. (1) 10 Apr. 1799, Elizabeth (d. 11 Feb. 1802), da. of Rt. Rev. the Hon. James Yorke, bp. of Ely, s.p.; (2) 29 June 1814, Harriet, da. of Sir Edward Hulse, 3rd Bt., of Breamore, Hants, 1s. 4da. suc. fa. 1793.

Offices Held

Sheriff, Cornw. 1835-6.

Lt. R. Cornw. militia 1788, capt. to 1792.

Biography

On the death of his father in 1793 Buller inherited a substantial estate in Cornwall with the parliamentary patronage of West Looe and of Saltash. He continued the family practice of returning Members friendly to administration, though he seems to have preferred to nominate from his own family. His three younger brothers and two connexions by marriage, as well as a business associate, were returned by him at various times between 1790 and 1820. When early in 1796 Pitt approached him with a view to returning John Hookham Frere, ‘at an easy price’, he seems to have agreed and then demurred for some reason; at the ensuing election he returned himself, and it was not until September that the difficulty was settled: in November he vacated his seat for Frere. There is no indication of parliamentary activity in this brief period and Buller did not find it necessary to return himself again until 30 years later, when his tenure of the seat was equally brief. He was clearly not interested in politics, but very keen on maintaining his local influence.1 He died 3 Apr. 1849.

Ref Volumes: 1790-1820

Author: R. G. Thorne

Notes

Old Westminsters calls him John Francis Buller.

• 1. See WEST LOOE and SALTASH.