John Cocks, 1st Earl Somers

John Somers Cocks, 1st Earl Somers (6 May 1760 – 5 January 1841), known as The Lord Somers /ˈsʌmərz/ between 1806 and 1821, was a British peer and politician.

The Right Honourable The Earl Somers
Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire
In office 1817–1841
Monarch	George III George IV William IV Victoria
Preceded by	The Earl of Essex
Succeeded by	The Lord Bateman
Personal details
Born	(1760-05-06)6 May 1760
Died	5 January 1841(1841-01-05) (aged 80)
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	(1) Margaret Nash (d. 1831) (2) Jane Cocks (d. 1868)
Alma mater	St Alban's Hall, Oxford

Background and education

Somers was the son of Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers, and Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Eliot. He was educated at Westminster and St Alban's Hall, Oxford.[1]

Political career

Somers sat as Member of Parliament for West Looe between 1782 and 1784,[1][2] for Grampound between 1784 and 1790[1][3] and finally for Reigate between 1790 and 1806.[1][4] The latter year he succeeded his father in the barony and entered the House of Lords. In 1817 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, a post he held until his death in 1841.[1][5] In 1821 he was created Earl Somers and accorded additional style Viscount Eastnor, of Eastnor Castle in the County of Hereford, to be the courtesy style of the eldest son of the Earl.[6]

Starting in the 1790s he had served with the Worcester Yeomen Cavalry.

Family

Lord Somers was twice married. He married as his first wife Margaret, daughter of Reverend Treadway Russell Nash, on 19 March 1785.[7] They had three sons and one daughter. His eldest son, Edward Charles Cocks, a British Army officer, was killed at the Siege of Burgos in 1812 during the Peninsular War.

After his first wife's death in February 1831 he married as his second wife his first cousin, Jane, daughter of James Cocks and widow of Reverend George Waddington, in 1834. They had no children. Somers died in January 1841, aged 80, and was succeeded in his titles by his second but eldest surviving son, John. The Countess Somers died in November 1868.[1]

Notes

1. thepeerage.com John Sommers Cocks, 1st Earl Sommers
2. "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Waterloo to West Looe". Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
3. "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Gorbals to Guildford". Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
4. "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Radcliffe-cum-Farnworth to Rochdale". Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
5. leighrayment.com Slim to Stamfordham
6. "No. 17724". The London Gazette. 14 July 1821. p. 1461.
7. "Obituary; with Anecdotes of remarkable persons". The Gentleman's Magazine. London. 81 (6): 603. June 1811. Retrieved 5 February 2011.

References

• G. E. C., ed. Geoffrey F. White. The Complete Peerage. (London: St. Chaterine Press, 1953) Vol. XII, Part 1, p. 32.

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Sir William James, Bt John Buller	Member of Parliament for West Looe 1782–1784 With: Sir William James, Bt 1782–1784 John Buller 1784	Succeeded by John Lemon John Scott
Preceded by Sir John Ramsden, Bt Thomas Lucas	Member of Parliament for Grampound 1784–1790 With: Francis Baring	Succeeded by Thomas Wallace Jeremiah Crutchley
Preceded by Reginald Pole-Carew The Lord Hood	Member of Parliament for Reigate 1790–1801 With: Joseph Sydney Yorke	Succeeded by Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Parliament of Great Britain	Member of Parliament for Reigate 1801–1806 With: Joseph Sydney Yorke	Succeeded by Joseph Sydney Yorke Philip James Cocks
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl of Essex	Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire 1817–1841	Succeeded by The Lord Bateman
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Charles Cocks	Baron Somers 1806–1841	Succeeded by John Somers-Cocks
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Earl Somers 1821–1841	Succeeded by John Somers-Cocks