John FitzPatrick, 1st Baron Castletown

John FitzPatrick,
1st Baron Castletown
Arms of John FitzPatrick, 1st Baron Castletown:Sable a saltire argent, on a chief azure three fleur-de-lis or, all within a bordure wavy of the second
Member of Parliament for Queen's County
In office
1837–1841
1847–1852
1865–1869
Personal details
Born(1809-09-24)24 September 1809
London, England[1]
Died22 January 1883(1883-01-22) (aged 71)
Political partyLiberal
Spouse
Augusta Douglas
(m. 1830)
Children7, including Bernard
Parent

John Wilson FitzPatrick, 1st Baron Castletown PC (born John Wilson; 24 September 1809 – 22 January 1883) was an Anglo-Irish Liberal politician.

Early life and education

Castletown, baptised John Wilson, was born in London, the illegitimate son of John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory and Elizabeth Wilson. He had a brother, Richard, who died young, and an elder sister, Emma Mary (died 25 September 1882), who married Robert Vernon Smith (later Lord Lyveden).[2] After their father's death in 1818, they were raised at Ampthill Park under the guardianship of their cousin Henry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland (1773–1840), who inherited Ampthill from the earl.[3][4] They were also under the guardianship of their half-sisters, Lady Anne and Lady Gertrude Fitzpatrick.[5]

He was educated at Eton.[6]

He inherited parts of his father's estates in Ireland in 1823, when he reached the age of majority.[3]

Career

Wilson, who in 1842 assumed the surname of FitzPatrick by Royal Licence, was appointed High Sheriff of Queen's County in 1836. He was then elected to the House of Commons for Queen's County in 1837, a seat he represented until 1841, and again from 1847 to 1852 and from 1865 to 1869. He was admitted to the Irish Privy Council in 1848.[3]

In 1869, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Castletown, of Upper Ossory, reviving an ancient title that had belonged to the FitzPatricks around 1500.[3] Apart from his parliamentary career he was also Lord Lieutenant of Queen's County from 1855 to 1883.[4]

Family

Lord Castletown married Augusta Mary Douglas, daughter of Reverend Archibald Douglas, in 1830. They had one son and six daughters.[4]

  • Hon. Bernard (1848–1937), succeeded as second baron
  • Hon. Gertrude (died 26 January 1912), married in 1862 Edward Randal Skeffington-Smyth
  • Hon. Augusta Frederica Anne (died 24 February 1903), married in 1861, Lt.-Col. Hon. Thomas Vesey Dawson, son of Lord Cremorne, killed in action at the Battle of Inkerman. She married secondly in 1856 Charles Magniac.
  • Hon. Florence Virginia Fox (died 5 March 1912), married in 1838 Gen. Sir George Higginson
  • Hon. Cecilia Emily Emma (died Oct/Nov 1918, buried Nov 8th 1918 at St.John's, Hove.), married in 1868 Hon. Lewis Strange Wingfield
  • Hon. Edith Susan Esther (died 1 December 1906), married in 1862, as his second wife, Sir Charles Murray
  • Hon. Olivia Douglas Amy (died 22 May 1893), married in 1869 Sir John Sebright, 9th Baronet

He died in 1883, aged 71, just four months after the death of his only sister, Lady Lyvedon.[3] Lady Castletown died in 1899.[4]

Lord Castletown was succeeded in the barony by his only son, Bernard, who died without heirs in 1937, at which time the barony became extinct.[7]

References

  1. ^ 1871 England Census
  2. ^ Burke, Bernard (1866). A Genealogical History of the Dormant: Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire. Harrison. p. 210. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Obituary". The Times. 23 January 1883. p. 6.
  4. ^ a b c d Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of peerage, baronetage and knightage. London, Burke's Peerage Limited. 1914. p. 395. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  5. ^ Westminster, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754–1935
  6. ^ Boase, Frederic (1892). Modern English Biography. Netherton and Worth, For the author. p. 570. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Obituary: Lord Castletown of Upper Ossory – Sportsman and Irish Landlord". The Times. 1 June 1937. p. 21.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Queen's County
1837–1841
With: Sir Charles Coote
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Queen's County
1847–1852
With: Thomas Vesey
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Queen's County
1865–1869
With: Francis Plunkett Dunne 1865–1868
Kenelm Digby 1868–1869
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Queen's County
1855–1883
Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Castletown
1869–1883
Succeeded by