William Pulteney (1684-1764), was made 1st Earl of Bath of the fourth creation by King George II. He was a prominent Whig politician and opponent of Robert Walpole. His wife Anna Maria Gumley died in 1758 and his only son William Pulteney (1731-1763) died unmarried. His fortune passed first to his brother General Harry Pulteney and on his death in 1767 to Frances Pulteney, the daughter of his cousin Daniel Pulteney, and her husband William Johnstone. Elizabeth Carter’s friends expressed surprise that Lord Bath had not left her a bequest in his will, and although she insisted that she had never expected anything, his heirs settled on Carter an annuity of £100 a year, which was increased to £150 by Laura Pulteney. Lord Bath was a close friend of Elizabeth Montagu from 1760 until his death.