HISTORY

Carlow County - Ireland Genealogical Projects (IGP TM)


The Carlow County
Members Of Parliament
 

(The contents of letters which appeared on eBay recently-unseen by myself.)

 

The Carlow Borough

Members Of Parliament


Henry Sadlier Prittie, 2nd Baron Dunalley (Irish). (1775-1854)

From Cheltenham 20.1.1830 to Mrs Bock, Tenby, South Wales.

Representative peer. Seat: Dunalley Castle, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Ireland.

UK MP for Carlow Borough1801, and for Okehampton, Devon 1819-24.

 

He had the privilege of free franking at this time as an Irish Representative Peer.

 

Henry Sadlier Prittie was the son of Henry Prittie, 1st Baron Dunalley, and Catharine, widow of John Bury, efq., daughter and coheir of Francis Sadleir, of Sopwell Hall, co. Tipperary, esq.  He succeeded his father in the title in January 1801. He was elected to the Irish House of Commons for Carlow in 1798, a seat he held until the Irish Parliament was abolished in 1801. He was then elected for Carlow Borough in the first parliament of the United Kingdom, a seat he held for only weeks. The same year he succeeded his father as second Baron Dunalley, but as this was an Irish peerage it did not entitle him to an automatic seat in the British House of Lords. In 1819 Dunalley became a member of the British House of Commons for Okehampton, and represented this constituency until 1824. He was elected an Irish Representative Peer in 1828, and sat in the House of Lords until his death.

Lord Dunalley married, firstly, Maria Trant, daughter of Dominick Trant, in 1802. After his first wife's death in 1819 he married, secondly, Hon. Emily Maude, daughter of Cornwallis Maude, 1st Viscount Hawarden, in 1826. Lord Dunalley died in October 1854, aged 79. Both his marriages were childless and he was succeeded in the barony by his nephew Henry Prittie.


PRITTIE, FRANCIS ALDBOROUGH (1779-1867)

MP for TIPPERARY COUNTY, IRELAND

From Roscrea 14.3.1823 to Miss L Rollaston, Camberwell, London.

MP for Carlow Borough from 21 March to his resignation in July 1801, for Tipperary 1806-18 and 1819-31. Of Corville, Co. Tipperary.

 

HON. FRANCIS A. PRITTIE. Died, March 8. At Dublin, aged 73, the Hon. Francis Aldborough Prittie, Custos Rotulorum and Deputy-Lieutenant of the county of Tipperary ; only brother and heir presumptive to Lord Dunalley. He was born at Kilboy, co. Tipperary, on the 4th June, 1779, the second son of Henry first Lord Dunalley, by Catharine, second daughter and co-heir of Francis Sadleir, esq. of Sopwell hall, co. Tipperary, and widow of John Bury, esq. father of Lord Charleville. He was formerly M.P. for the county of Tipperary, for which he was first elected in 1807, after a contest in which Colonel Mathew and himself, on the Whig interest, defeated Mr. Bagwell and Mr. Pennefather. He was rechosen in 1812 without a contest, but in 1818 he was left in a minority, Viscount Cahir and the Hon. M. Mathew being returned. In 1826 he recovered his seat, being returned at the head of the poll. In 1830 he was re-elected without a contest; but in 1831 he retired from parliament. He was twice married, 1st on 10th september 1800 to Martha, only daughter of Cook Otway esq., of Castle Otway, co. Tipperary, and widow of George Hartpole esq., of Shrule castle, Queen’s county; she died in March 1802. He married 2ndy July 16, 1803, Elizabeth, only daughter of the Right Hon. George Ponsonby, Lord Chancellor of Ireland ; and became a second time a widower on the llth June, 1849. By his first wife he had issue one daughter; Martha, married in 1837 to the Hon. and Very Rev. Robert William Henry Maude, Dean of Clogher, and has issue; by his second wife he had issue three sons and three daughters, 1. Mary, unmarried; 2. Kate-Charlotte, married in 1830 to Lieut. -Colonel William Leader Maberly, Secretary to the Postmaster-General; 3. Henry Prittie, esq. (now heir presumptive to the peerage,) born in 1807, and married, in 1841, the Hon. Anne Louisa Mary O'Callaghan, only daughter of Lord Viscount Lismore, and has issue a son, born in 1851; 4. George Ponsonby Prittie, esq. who married in 1841 Henrietta Hester, only daughter of the late Lieut. - Colonel Gregory, and has issue; 5) Francis Sadlier Prittie, esq. late an officer in the army, who married, first in 1838, Mary, only child of the Hon. Peter Rose, one of the Judges of Demerara, and secondly, in 1846, Susanna, only daughter of William Henry Carter, esq. of Castle Martyn, co. Kildare, and has issue by his first wife; and 6) Fanny, married in 1838, John Bagwell, esq. of Marlefield, co. Tipperary, and has issue. [Gentleman’s Magazine 1853]


ONLEY, CHARLES SAVILL (1757-1843)

MP for CARLOW BOROUGH, IRELAND

From Braintree 31.3.1826 to The Hon. Mrs Eyre, Botleigh Grange, Southampton.

MP for Norwich 1812-18 and for Carlow Borough 1818-26. Of Brandon Parva, Norfolk.

 

Born Charles Harvey Esq., 3rd son of Robert Harvey Esq, banker, Mayor of Norwich by Judith, his wife, dau of Capt Onley, RN, and sister of the Rev Charles Onley of  Stisted Hall. He  was called to Bar, 24.11.1780 at the Middle Temple. In 1783 he was elected Steward, and in 1801 Recorder, of Norwich. In 1804 his portrait was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence at the expense of the Corporation.

He married 1st, in 1783, Sarah dau of John Haynes Esq of Twickenham and had children Onley, Sarah, Judith. He married 2ndly, Charlotte dau of John Haynes Esq. of Twickenham. He was MP for Norwich 1812-18 and for Carlow town 1818-1826. In 1826  he resigned his Recordership. He was Chairman of Norfolk Quarter Sessions, Vice President  of the Literary Fund Socy. Lieutenant Colonel of Col. Patterson’s Battalion of Norwich Volunteers, and for many years manager of The Grand Union Canal Co.

He took the surnames and arms of Savill-Onley  in 1822 on the death of his maternal uncle, the Rev Charles Onley, from whom he inherited a fine estate, Stisted, in Essex.

He died, August 31, 1843 At Stisted Hall, Essex, aged 87.

 

At Stisted Hall, Essex, aged 87, Charles Savill Onley, esq., Bencher of the Middle Temple. He was the third son of Robert Harvey, esq., merchant and banker, an Alderman of Norwich, (of whom and his family many interesting particulars were given in our Obituary, May, 1842, p. 555), by Judith, daughter of Capt. Onley, R.N. Mr. Onley, then Charles Harvey, was called to the bar, Nov. 24, 1780, at the Middle Temple, of which Society he afterwards became a Bencher. In 1783 he was elected Steward, and in 1801 Recorder, of Norwich. In 1804, his portrait was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence at the expense of the Corporation, and is to be seen at tlie east end of St. Andrew's Hall, on the walls of which building, portraits of other individuals of his family are also suspended. In 1812 he was returned to Parliament for Norwich, after a contested election. At the dissolution of 1818, he retired from the representation of his native City, and
afterwards sat for Carlow from 1820 to 1826. It was in December, 1822, that he took the names of Savill Onley, on the death of his maternal uncle, the Rev. Charles Onley, through whom he came to the possession of a very fine estate in Essex, besides a large personal property. In 1826 he resigned his Recor-
dership. Amongst other public situations formerly held by this respected gentleman, were those of a Chairman of the Norfolk Quarter Sessions, a Vice- President of the Literary Fund Society, and Lieutenant-Colonel of Colonel Patterson'sBattalion of Norwich Volunteers, enrolled in 1808 as a regiment of Local
Militia. He also filled for many years the office of Manager to the Grand Junction Canal Company. Mr. Onley was greatly beloved and justly esteemed by his numerous connections and friends. Mr. Onley was twice married. [Annual Register 1843]

 

At Chester-terr. Regent's Park, aged 82, Mrs. Savill Onley, widow of Charles Savill Onley, esq. M.P. of Stisted Hall, Essex, who died Aug. 31, 1843. She was Charlotte, daughter of John Haynes, esq. of Twickenham, and was Mr. C. S. Onley's second wife, his first having been Sarah, her sister. [Gentlemans Magazine 1847]


TULLAMORE, CHARLES WILLIAM BURY, LORD. (1801-1851)

From London 22.5.1833 to Mrs Duncombe, Copgrove, Trowbridge. Free strike 22.5.1833.

MP for Carlow Borough 1826-32 and for Penryn & Falmouth 1832-5.

Succeeded his father in 1835 as 2nd Earl of Charleville.

 

Died, EARL OF CHARLEVILLE. July 14. In the neighbourhood of London, aged 50, the Right Hon. Charles William Bury, second Earl of Charleville (1806), Viscount Charleville (1800), and Baron Tullamore of Charleville Forest, King's County (1797); a Representative Peer of Ireland, and Major of the King's County Militia. His Lordship was born on the 29th April 1801, and was the only son of  Charles-William the first Earl by Catharine-Maria, widow of James Tisdall, esq. and only daughter and heir of Thomas Townley Dawson, esq. Of this amiable and talented lady, who died only on the 24th Feb. last, a memoir was given in our Magazine for April. When Lord Tullamore, the late Earl was elected to Parliament for the town of Carlow at the general election of 1826; and again returned in 1830 and 1831, on each occasion without opposition. In 1832 he was returned for Penryn and Falmouth, after a contest which terminated thus—

Robert M. Rolfe, esq. ... 490

Lord Tullamore ... 428

J. W. Freshfield, esq. ... 338

Charles Stewart, esq. ... 83

 

At the general election of 1835 he was defeated at Penryn by Mr. Freshfield ; and in May of the same year, when he opposed the re-election of Sir Robert M. Rolfe (then appointed Solicitor-General) he was again defeated by 348 votes to 326. He succeeded to the peerage on the death of his father, Oct. 31, 1835 ; and
was elected a Representative Peer of Ireland in 1838. In both houses he was a supporter of the Conservative party. The Earl of Charleville married, Feb. 26, 1821, Beaujolais-Harriet-Charlotte, third daughter of the late Colonel John Campbell, of Shawfield, by Lady Charlotte (afterwards Bury), daughter of John fifth Duke of Argyll. The Countess died at Naples on the 1st Feb. 1848, having had issue four sons and two daughters, of whom three sons and one daughter survive : 1. Charles  William - George, now Earl of Charleville ; 2. the Hon. Henry-Walter, who died in 1830, in his 8th year; 3. Lady Beaojolais-EIeonora-Katherine ; 4. the Hon. John James Bury, Lieut. R. Eng.; 5. the Hon. Alfred Bury, Lieut. 69th Foot; and 6. Julia, who died an infant. [Gentleman’s Magazine 1851]


VIGORS, NICHOLAS AYLWARD (b1785 - d1840)

MP for CARLOW COUNTY, IRELAND.

From London 20.4.1837 to Mrs Cameron, Whitchurch, Salop. Free strike 20.4.1837.

MP for Carlow Borough 1832-5, for Carlow County 1835 & 1837-40.

 

Vigors, Nicholas Aylward (1785/6–1840), zoological administrator and quinarian, was born at Old Leighlin, co. Carlow, Ireland, the son of Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1755–1828) and his first wife, Catherine, daughter of Solomon Richards of Solsboro, co. Wexford. He entered Trinity College, Oxford, in 1803, and was also admitted a student at Lincoln's Inn in 1806. Leaving Oxford in 1809, after preparing for publication An Inquiry into the Nature and Extent of Poetick Licence (1810), he purchased an ensigncy in the Grenadier Guards. He was severely wounded during the Peninsular War in 1811. Invalided home, he left the army and returned to Oxford, graduating BA in 1817.

As a wealthy gentleman Vigors devoted himself to ornithology and entomology, becoming a fellow of the Linnean Society in 1819. It was here that his gifts as a reforming administrator and systematist became apparent. He reacted against the Linnean's botanical emphasis, slow publication rate, and old methodology, and (with W. S. MacLeay, J. F. Stephens, Adrian Howarth, and others) formed the semi-autonomous Zoological Club on 27 November 1822. It became a forum for the zoological careerists at the hub of an expanding maritime nation and for methodological dissidents (Vigors was a quinarian) rebelling against Linnaean systematics. It also set the trend for enthusiast-driven societies, being less formal and socially stratified, and it prepared the way for more regional autonomy of scientific disciplines. While still in the Linnean orbit, the club had its own by-laws (drawn up by Vigors and others), electoral procedures, subscriptions, and fast publication in its own cheap house organ, the Zoological Journal (1824–34), which allowed free taxonomic discussion.

By the mid-1820s Vigors was the leading quinarian, arguing for a geometric ordering of species, orders, and families into sets of five bounded by a circle, a system pioneered by William MacLeay (1792–1865). The general minutes testify that Vigors, the secretary of the club and its last chairman in 1828–9, was the real power. He exhibited specimens and circular charts, and steered discussions towards quinarian explanations. Quinarianism provided a strong heuristic and led to his overhaul of avian classification in ‘Observations on the natural affinities that connect the orders and families of birds’, read at the club in 1824 and published in 1825. Vigors wrote on birds, mammals, and insects in the Zoological Journal and in 1827 became its principal editor until the journal closed in 1834.

Vigors was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in February 1826. By then his discomfort at an increasingly restrictive Linnean Society was apparent. As a result the Zoological Club's personnel slid readily into managerial positions at the new Zoological Society. It was Vigors, with Joseph Sabine and Sir Stamford Raffles, who drew up the prospectus for the Zoological Society in February 1826, and it was founded in April, with Vigors as its first secretary. He was joined by E. T. Bennett, his Zoological Club assistant, as vice-secretary in 1827.

Vigors's organizational flair was again apparent. The Zoological Society minutes show that he, Sabine, and Lord Auckland were the driving force in the early years. Vigors's careerists, interested in systematic science and a vocation from imperial gains, staffed the society's museum in Bruton Street, Mayfair. However, they were often at odds with the aristocrats, who, as the titular heads of the promenading gardens, saw the zoo's role as a game park, to provide exotic delicacies for the nobleman's table. Vigors donated his preserved birds to the museum, as well as display cases and cabinets of insects. He bought collections at auction and catalogued the museum's birds and mammals. Bruton Street became a repository for specimens gathered during surveying voyages. Captain Phillip Parker King of the Beagle had Vigors examine his birds, and it was Vigors who described the birds of the American north-west from Captain Frederick Beechey's voyage in the Blossom. Vigors's forty-odd papers (some co-authored with Thomas Horsfield) covered a wide ornithological range and introduced many new species.

The zoological gardens, according to Humphry Davy's original plan, were to exhibit animals of the colonies and assert London's global pre-eminence. Vigors's zoology too spoke of imperial pride and he sparked a rash of anti-Gallic papers from the Bruton Street careerists. The former grenadier, who had seen war with France, insisted that her Napoleonic days of appropriating nature were over. However, his domineering style alienated outsiders, not least the prickly William Swainson, who accused Vigors of bureaucratic dictatorship.
On the death of his father in 1828 Vigors succeeded to the family estate in co. Carlow, although he spent the scientific season at his house in Chester Terrace, Regent's Park. He was created an honorary DCL by Oxford University on 4 July 1832. On 15 December 1832 he entered the reformed parliament as the member for Carlow, resigning as secretary of the Zoological Society in 1833. He was an extreme Liberal and usually voted with the radicals. He rarely spoke in the house, but he was a key radical witness before the 1836 parliamentary select committee on the British Museum, where he deplored the lack of scientifically trained commoners among the titled trustees and wanted a professional board appointed by the learned societies. In the management of science, Vigors proved himself a critical transitional figure in the move towards the hegemony of gentlemanly specialism over aristocratic interest. He lost the seat of Carlow (where he was deputy lieutenant) in 1835, but was returned in 1837, and he represented this constituency until his death at his home, Chester Terrace, Regent's Park, on 26 October 1840. He was buried in the nave of Old Leighlin Cathedral. Vigors did not marry but was survived by a son, Ferdinand Vigors (b. 1814/15) who went to Trinity College, Oxford, in 1833. [ODNB Adrian Desmond]

 

Sources ‘Nicholas Aylward Vigors’, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, 1 (1838–48), 106–7 · GM, 2nd ser., 14 (1840), 659–60 · A. Desmond, ‘The making of institutional zoology in London, 1822–1836’, History of Science, 23 (1985), 153–85, 223–50 · Linn. Soc., Zoological Club papers · minutes of council, Zoological Society of London · ‘Select committee on … the British Museum’, Parl. papers (1836), vol. 10, no. 440 · Burke, Gen. GB (1858)

Died, Oct 26, At his bouse in Chester Terrace, Regent's Park, after a few days' illness, Nicholas Aylward Vigors, esq. M.A. Honorary D.C.L., F.R.S., M.R.I.A., F.S.A., F.L.S., F.H.S. F.G.S., M.R.I., &c. of Old Leighlin, ??. Carlow, M.P. for that county, and a Deputy Lieutenant of the same. Mr. Vigors entered as a member of Trinity college, Oxford ; but leaving the university without a degree, he became an officer in the guards. Subsequently he proceeded B.A. 1817, ?.A. 1818, and was created an honorary D. C. L. at the commemoration in 1832. He published in 1811 (in 8vo.) " An Inquiry into the Nature and Extent of Poetic Licence ;" a second edition of which appeared in 1813. The science to which Mr. Vigors devoted the principal part of his time, previously to his entrance into Parliament, was Zoology; and most zealously and successfully did he for many years pursue that interesting branch of natural history. Ornithology, however, was the particular department of the science in which he especially distinguished himself. In the preface to the " Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society delineated," published (in 2 vols.) in 1830-1, which received his general revision and superintendence, the editor (the late Mr. Edward Turner Bennett) states, "that in the ornithological department he has adopted the arrangement of Mr. Vigors, as developed by that gentleman in the 14th vol. of the Linnean Transactions, and subsequently in the 2nd vol. of the Zoological Journal : an arrangement which he regards as having made the greatest advance towards the exposition of the natural system of any that has yet appeared."

His long and intimate connection with the Zoological Society is well known ; in fact it is no more than justice to unite his name with those of Sir Stamford Raffles and Sir Humphry Davy as the founders of that useful, interesting, and flourishing institution. Mr. Vigors ably filled the arduous office of Secretary to this Society from its establishment in 1826 until the early part of 1833; when, finding that a due attention to its increasing business was incompatible with the proper discharge of his Parliamentary duties, be resigned.

The Linnean Transactions, the Zoological Journal, and the earlier proceedings of the Zoological Society, are enriched with numerous papers by Mr. Vigors. His zeal for the welfare of this institution, his scientific acquirements, and his readiness of access, contributed materially in the earlier days of the Society to its success. His liberality is shown in every department of the museum to which, on the formation of the Society, he gave the whole of the zoological subjects he possessed. An act of such munificence as this the historians of scientific and literary institutions have rarely had to record.

The Society, not unmindful of what was due to Mr. Vigors for his long and estimable services as secretary, and also bearing in mind the value of his splendid donation, passed, at its anniversary meeting in 1833, the following resolution: "That the thanks of the Society be given to N. A. Vigors, esq. for the eminent services which he has rendered to it by the able manner in which he has performed, since the commencement of the institution, the duties of secretary, and for the very liberal donation made by him at the foundation of the museum of the whole of his extensive and valuable zoological collections."

 

His Parliamentary career commenced with his return for the town of Carlow at the general election in Dec. 1832. His opponent on this occasion was Mr. Francis Bruen, who was defeated by a majority of thirty-five. At the dissolution, which took place in Jan. 1835, Mr. Vigors again stood for Carlow, but was beaten by his former opponent by a majority of sixteen. At the same election Col. Bruen and Mr. T. Kavanagh were returned for the county of Carlow, but were afterwards unseated upon petition, the election being declared void. A new election thereupon took place, and Mr. Vigors and Mr. Alexander Raphael were returned by a small majority over their opponents, the two unseated members.

 

A new petition was, however, presented against the return by the defeated candidates, and alter a long and expensive scrutiny before a committee of the House of Commons, Messrs. Vigors and Raphael were unseated, and Col. Bruen and Mr. Kavanagh seated in their stead. No further contest took place until Feb. 1837, when a vacancy occurred in the representation of the county by the death of Mr. Kavanagh. Mr. Vigors again offered himself to the constituency, and was returned by a majority of thirty-six over his opponent, Mr. Thomas Bunbury. Mr. Bunbury petitioned against the return, but unsuccessfully. At the general election in July 1837, Mr. Vigors was again returned in conjunction with Mr. John Ashton Yates by a majority of 87 over Messrs. Bruen and Bunbury. The unsuccessful candidates petitioned the House of Commons against the return, but the Committee refused to open the registry, and the petitioners were, therefore, compelled to withdraw from the further prosecution of their petition. Mr. Vigors's politics were of the extreme Liberal character, and he almost invariably voted with the Radical party. He rarely spoke in the House, but was a diligent and efficient member of Committees. He was an active member of the vestry of St. Pancras, the parish in which he resided in London. In his manners he was remarkably courteous and kind. He has left an only son, a graduate of Oxford, who inherits much of the talent of his father. [Gentleman’s Magazine 1840]


BRUEN, FRANCIS (d1867)

MP for CARLOW BOROUGH, IRELAND.

From London 19.4.1836 to William Morris Esq., 3 South Street, Exeter, Devon. Free strike 19.4.1836.

MP for Carlow Borough1835-7, & 1837-1839.

Of Coolbawn, Co. Wexford, Ireland.

 

Gained MA 1820, married 1823, Catherine Anne (1801-1864), daughter of 7th Earl of Westmeath. Died 15 December 1867


MAULE, WILLIAM HENRY.

MP for CARLOW BOROUGH, CO. CARLOW, IRELAND.

From London 17.12.1838 to Philip Williams Esq., Wooley Green.

MP for Carlow Borough 1837-9.

 

Maule, Sir William Henry (1788–1858), judge, was born on 25 April 1788 at Edmonton, Middlesex, the son of Henry Maule, a medical practitioner, and his wife, Hannah, née Rawson, a Quaker from Leeds. Maule was educated at a private school run by his uncle, John Maule, rector of Greenford, Middlesex, who was described by Charles Greville, a fellow pupil at the school, as ‘an excellent scholar and a great brute’ (C. Greville, Memoirs, 1885, 2.101). Greville described Maule himself as ‘a very clever boy’. In October 1806 Maule matriculated from Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was senior wrangler in the mathematical tripos of 1810 and also won the first Smith's prize. In October 1811 he was elected a fellow of Trinity. After taking his MA degree he stayed in Cambridge for some time, working as a mathematical coach. Among his pupils was Edward Ryan, afterwards chief justice of Calcutta, who remained a lifelong close friend. Another of his Cambridge friends was Charles Babbage, the mathematician.In the autumn of 1810 Maule became a student at Lincoln's Inn. While still a student there he was offered, but declined, the professorship of mathematics at East India College, Haileybury. In 1814 he was called to the bar, took chambers at 3 Essex Court, Temple, and joined the Oxford circuit. His progress at the bar was slow at first, but he gradually obtained a reputation and business as a commercial lawyer, becoming an authority on marine insurance. He became king's counsel in Easter term 1833 and in 1835 was appointed counsel to the Bank of England in succession to Sir James Scarlett, who had been appointed chief baron. Not only did this position earn him a good deal of money but it also enabled him to act as leading counsel for the sitting member in the county Carlow election petition. His success in the case led to his being returned for Carlow borough as a Liberal MP at the general election in August 1837.

 

In March 1839 Maule was appointed a baron of the exchequer in succession to Baron Bolland and was knighted. In Michaelmas term 1839 he was transferred to the common pleas on the death of Mr Justice Vaughan. He continued a member of that court until June 1855, when he resigned because of ill health. Shortly after his resignation, Maule was sworn of the privy council, and acted as a member of the judicial committee until his death.

 

Maule was considered by his colleagues to be an excellent judge who combined common sense with legal knowledge, and was affectionately remembered for his humorous irony. At the Warwick assizes, for instance, while sentencing to one day's imprisonment a poor man convicted of bigamy, whose first wife had deserted him and lived with another man, Maule outlined at length to the bemused prisoner the various legal steps which he must take in order to obtain a divorce at the cost of about £1000.

Maule died unmarried on 16 January 1858 at the home he shared with his widowed sister, Emma Maria Leathley, and his unmarried niece, Emma Leathley, at 22 Hyde Park Gardens, London. [ODNB J. D. FitzGerald, rev. Hugh Mooney]

 


GISBORNE, THOMAS (c1790-1852)

MP for DERBY COUNTY, NORTHERN DIVISION.

From Derby 26.3.1837 to Messrs Jones Loyd & Co., Bankers, London.

Of Horwich House, Derbyshire. MP for Stafford, Staffs. 1830-2, for Derbyshire North 1832-37, for Carlow, Ireland, 1839-41 and for Nottingham, Notts 1843-7.

 

Gisborne, Thomas, the younger (1794–1852), politician, was the eldest son of Thomas Gisborne (1758–1846), prebendary of Durham, and his wife, Mary, daughter of Thomas Babington, of Rothley Temple, Leicestershire. The younger Gisborne's first wife was Elizabeth (d. 20 June 1823), daughter of John Fyshe Palmer of Ickwill, with whom he had four children, and his second, whom he married in 1826, was Susan, widow of Francis Dukinfield Astley of Dukinfield, Cheshire. Gisborne was a person of some substance in Derbyshire, with a seat at Howick House, and was deputy lieutenant of the county. He also had business interests in Manchester.

Gisborne's political career was so unsettled that it was hard for him to make any real mark. He was elected unopposed for Stafford in 1830, and again in 1831, as a supporter of the Reform Bill. From 1832 until 1837 he represented North Derbyshire. In 1839 he stood for Carlow, and, though beaten at the poll, was seated on petition. In 1841 he stood unsuccessfully for both Newport (Isle of Wight) and South Leicestershire. In 1842 he unsuccessfully contested Ipswich. At last, in 1843, he was elected for Nottingham, but was defeated in 1847. In 1849 he was unsuccessful at Kidderminster. He was ‘a whig, and a good deal more’, and supported the ballot, the abolition of church rates, and the extension of the suffrage; he was also a strong supporter of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was a vigorous speaker, with much humour, and spoke frequently at the free-trade gatherings in Drury Lane, London. He published some speeches and pamphlets; and in 1854 he published Essays on Agriculture, three of the four of which had already appeared in the Quarterly Review (nos. 168, 171, 173). He died at his family's home, Yoxhall Lodge, Staffordshire, on 20 July 1852. [Oxford Dictionary of National Biography H. C. G. Matthew]

 

The author of a volume of "Essays on Agriculture," the late THOMAS GISBORNE, of Yoxall Lodge, Staffordshire, was born in 1787, and died in 1852. He was an extensive landowner in the counties of Stafford and Derby; he personally farmed a considerable acreage of arable and pasture land, and was especially conversant with the dairy and with cattle and sheep feeding. Mr. Gisborne was also well acquainted with the agriculture of Scotland, both Lowland and Highland. Few agriculturists of his day were more generally known in their class; few men, in public or private life, were more beloved. His talents, his various attainments, his warm heart and popular manners, his ardent love of field sports, made him the delight of numerous friends. A Member of the British House of Commons for a quarter of a century, he was well known as a "public man," and his speeches and pamphlets on various subjects were numerous


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