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John Dawson, 1st Earl of Portarlington

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Earl of Portarlington
Member of Parliament for Queen's County
In office
1768–1779
Preceded byWilliam Dawson
William Pole
Succeeded byJohn Warburton
Charles Coote
Member of Parliament for Portarlington
In office
1766–1768
Preceded byGeorge Hartpole
John Damer
Succeeded byWilliam Henry Dawson
Sir Roger Palmer, Bt
Personal details
Born
John Dawson

(1744-08-23)23 August 1744
Northamptonshire, England
Died30 November 1798(1798-11-30) (aged 54)
Spouse
Lady Caroline Stuart
(m. 1778; died 1798)
Children9
Parent(s)William Dawson, 1st Viscount Carlow
Mary Damer

John Dawson, 1st Earl of Portarlington PC (Ire) (23 August 1744 – 30 November 1798) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer.

Early life

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Dawson was born on 23 August 1744 in Northamptonshire, England. He was the only surviving son of William Dawson, 1st Viscount Carlow and Mary Damer.[1] His sister, Hon. Mary Dawson, married Col. Mervyn Archdall, Governor of Fermanagh.[2]

His paternal grandparents were Ephraim Dawson, an MP for Portarlington and Queen's County in the Irish House of Commons who was a successful banker that acquired an estate at Portarlington, County Laois, and the former Anne Preston (daughter of Samuel Preston). His maternal grandfather was Joseph Damer and his uncle was Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester.[3]

Career

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Between 1766 and 1768 he was a Member of Parliament for Portarlington in the Irish House of Commons. In 1768 he was elected to represent Queen's County.[4] He resigned his seat in the Commons upon succeeding to his father's peerage in 1779 and assumed his seat in the Irish House of Lords. On 21 June 1785, Dawson was created Earl of Portarlington in the Peerage of Ireland. Between 1779 and his death he was Governor of Queen's County.[1] He raised the Queen's County Militia, being appointed its first Colonel on 23 April 1793[5] and soon turning it into a well-regarded regiment.[6] In 1796 he was made a member of the Privy Council of Ireland.[1]

Personal life

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On 1 January 1778, he married Lady Caroline Stuart (1750–1813), the fifth daughter of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, who served as Prime Minister from 1762 to 1763, and Mary Wortley-Montagu, Baroness Mount Stuart of Wortley. Together they had five sons and four daughters, including:[1]

Lord Portarlington died on 30 November 1798. He was succeeded in his title by his eldest son, John.[3]

Descendants

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As his eldest son died unmarried with no issue, the earldom passed to his grandson, Henry Dawson-Damer (1822–1889),[8] who married Lady Alexandrina Octavia Maria Vane, second daughter of Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, page 3180.
  2. ^ "ARCHDALL, Mervyn I (?1724-1813), of Castle Archdall, Enniskillen, co. Fermanagh and Trilleck, co. Tyrone". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1850. p. 772.
  4. ^ Johnston-Liik, E. M. (2006). MPs in Dublin: Companion to History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800. Ulster Historical Foundation. p. 83. ISBN 1903688604.
  5. ^ Lt-Col Frederick Ernest Whitton, The History of the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians), Part I: The Old Army, Aldershot: Gale & Polden, ca 1922, p. 460.
  6. ^ Sir Henry McAnally, The Irish Militia 1793–1816: A Social and Military Study, Dublin: Clonmore & Reynolds/London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1949, p. 69.
  7. ^ "Live Auction 1164 - OLD MASTER & BRITISH PAINTINGS EVENING SALE".
  8. ^ "Death of the Earl of Portarlington". Morning Post. 2 January 1846. Retrieved 10 September 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Alexandrina Octavia Maria ('Aline', née Vane), Countess of Portarlington". www.npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Portarlington
1766–1768
With: John Damer (1766–1768)
Sir Roger Palmer, Bt (1768)
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Queen's County
1768–1779
With: William Pole (1768–1776)
Charles Coote (1776–1779)
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Governor of Queen's County
1779–1798
Succeeded by
Peerage of Ireland
New creation Earl of Portarlington
1785–1798
Succeeded by
Preceded by Viscount Carlow
1779–1798