Thomas Southwell, 1st Viscount Southwell
Thomas George Southwell, 1st Viscount Southwell (4 May 1721 – 29 August 1780),[1] styled The Honourable from birth until 1766, was an Irish politician and freemason.
Background
He was the oldest son of Thomas Southwell, 2nd Baron Southwell and his wife Mary Coke, eldest daughter of Thomas Coke.[2] Southwell was educated at Lincoln's Inn and went then to Christ Church, Oxford.[3] He served in the 2nd Foot and became an ensign in 1738.[4] Between 1753 and 1757, Southwell was Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland.[5]
Career
In 1747, Southwell entered the Irish House of Commons for Enniscorthy, sitting for it until 1761.[6] Subsequently, he was returned for Limerick County, the same constituency his father and his uncle Henry Southwell had represented before,[6] until 1766, when he succeeded his father as baron.[7] Three years later, Southwell delivered his maiden speech in the Irish House of Lords.[4] He was appointed Constable of Limerick Castle in 1750 and Governor of County Limerick in 1762, posts he held until his death in 1780.[4] He was made High Sheriff of County Limerick for 1759. In 1776, Southwell was elevated to the title Viscount Southwell, of Castle Mattress, in the County of Limerick.[8]
Family
On 18 June 1741, he married Margaret Hamilton, daughter of Arthur Cecil Hamilton of Castle Hamilton, Killeshandra, Co. Cavan [9] and had by her three sons and a daughter.[2] Southwell died, aged 59 and was buried at Rathkeale.[4] He was succeeded in his titles by his oldest son Thomas.,[2] while his younger son Robert sat also in the Parliament of Ireland.[6]
References
- "Leigh Rayment - Peerage". Retrieved 10 June 2009.
- Burke, John (1832). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. vol. II (4th ed.). London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. p. 465.
- "ThePeerage - Thomas George Southwell, 1st Viscount Southwell of Castle Mattress". Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- Lodge, John (1789). Mervyn Archdall (ed.). The Peerage of Ireland or A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom. vol. VI. Dublin: James Moore. pp. 26–27.
- Waite, Arthur Edward (2007). A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. vol. I. Cosimo, Inc. p. 400. ISBN 1-60206-641-8.
- "Leigh Rayment - Irish House of Commons 1692-1800". Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- Lodge, Edmund (1838). The Genealogy of the Existing British Peerage (6th ed.). London: Saunder and Otley. pp. 462.
- "No. 11679". The London Gazette. 29 June 1776. p. 1.
- Debrett, John (1828). Debrett's Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. vol. II (17th ed.). London: G. Woodfall. p. 781.
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anderson Saunders Richard Le Hunt |
Member of Parliament for Enniscorthy 1747–1761 With: Anderson Saunders |
Succeeded by Beauchamp Bagenal John Grogan |
| Preceded by Eyre Evans Hugh Massy |
Member of Parliament for Limerick County 1761–1766 With: Hugh Massy |
Succeeded by Hon. Thomas Arthur Southwell Hugh Massy |
| Masonic offices | ||
| Preceded by Lord George Sackville |
Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland 1753–1757 |
Succeeded by Brinsley Butler, Lord Newtown-Butler |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| New creation | Viscount Southwell 1776–1780 |
Succeeded by Thomas Southwell |
| Preceded by Thomas Southwell |
Baron Southwell 1766–1780 | |