Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Ragley, 1st Baron Conway of Killultagh, MP, PC (Ire) (28 May 1679 – 3 February 1731/1732), was a British politician, born Francis Seymour.

Background

Born Francis Seymour, he was the second son of

Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, of Berry Pomeroy, 4th Baronet, MP (1632/1633 – 17 February 1708) was a British nobleman, and a Royalist and Tory politician. Life Born at Berry Pomeroy Castle in Devon, of a family greatly influential in the Western cou ...

, by his second wife Letitia, daughter of

Alexander Popham Alexander Popham (1605 – 1669) of Littlecote, Wiltshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1669. He was patron of the philosopher John Locke. Early life Popham was born at Little ...

. This branch of the

Seymour family Seymour, Semel or St. Maur, is the name of an English family in which several titles of nobility have from time to time been created, and of which the Duke of Somerset is the head. Origins The family was settled in Monmouthshire in the 13th cen ...

descended from Sir Edward Seymour, son of

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (150022 January 1552) (also 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp), also known as Edward Semel, was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour (d. 1537), the third wife of King Henry VI ...

by his first wife Catherine Filliol. His nephew Sir Edward Seymour succeeded as 8th Duke of Somerset in 1750. On the death of his elder brother

Popham Seymour-Conway Popham Seymour-Conway (1675 – 18 June 1699), born Popham Seymour, was an Anglo-Irish landowner and rake who served as Member of the Irish Parliament for Lisburn in 1697. Origins He was the 3rd son of Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet (d.1708) ...

in 1699, Francis succeeded to the estates of his mother's relative

Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway (c. 1623 – 11 August 1683) PC, FRS, of Ragley Hall, Alcester, in Warwickshire, was an English peer and politician who served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department between 1681 and 1683. Origins ...

, and assumed the same year by Royal licence the additional surname of Conway.

Political career

Conway sat as Tory

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Bramber from 1701 to 1703. In 1703 he was raised to the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...

as Baron Conway of Ragley, in the

County of Warwick Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, and in 1712 he was created Baron Conway of Killultagh, in the

County of Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

. From 1728 to 1732 Lord Conway was

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

and was sworn of the Irish Privy Council in 1728.

Marriages and issue

Lord Conway married firstly Lady Mary, daughter of

Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, (March 1642 – 2 May 1711) was an English statesman and writer. He was originally a supporter of James II but later supported the Glorious Revolution in 1688. He held high office under Queen Anne, daugh ...

, on 17 February 1703/1704. They had four daughters: *Hon. Letitia Seymour-Conway (17 October 1704 – 1723) *Hon. Mary Seymour-Conway (August 1705 – 1728), married Nicholas Price *Hon. Henrietta Seymour-Conway (1706 – 10 May 1771) *Hon. Catherine Seymour-Conway (1708 – 14 June 1737) After Lady Mary's death in Northwicke on 25 January 1708/1709 he married secondly Jane Bowden, of

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, in that same year, by whom he had two children: *Hon. Edward Seymour-Conway (d. 8 April 1710) *Hon. Jane Seymour-Conway (d. 5 May 1749) After Jane's death in Sandywell,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, on 13 February 1715/1716 he married thirdly Charlotte, daughter of John Shorter, of Bybrook,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and wife, in July 1716. *

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, KG, PC, PC (Ire) (5 July 1718 – 14 June 1794) of Ragley Hall, Arrow, in Warwickshire, was a British courtier and politician who, briefly, was Viceroy of Ireland where he had substantial ...

(1718–1794) *Field Marshal Hon.

Henry Seymour Conway Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway (1721 – 9 July 1795) was a British general and statesman. A brother of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, and cousin of Horace Walpole, he began his military career in the War of the Austrian Succession. He ...

(1721–1795) *Hon. Charlotte Seymour-Conway (22 July 1717 – September 1717) *Hon. George Augustus Seymour-Conway (b. August 1723), died an infant *Hon. Arabella Seymour-Conway, died young *Hon. Anne Seymour-Conway (d. 24 March 1774), married John Harris on 10 March 1755 and had issue *Hon. Charles Seymour-Conway, died young Lord Conway died in February 1732 in

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

, aged 52, and was succeeded by his eldest son by his third wife, Francis Seymour-Conway, who was created Earl of Hertford in 1750 and

Marquess of Hertford The titles of Earl of Hertford and Marquess of Hertford have been created several times in the peerages of England and Great Britain. The third Earldom of Hertford was created in 1559 for Edward Seymour, who was simultaneously created Baron Be ...

in 1793. Lady Conway died on 12 February 1733/1734.

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron 1679 births 1732 deaths Barons in the Peerage of England Peers of England created by Queen Anne Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Seymour-Conway, Francis

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Ragley, 1st Baron Conway of Killultagh, MP, PC (Ire) (28 May 1679 – 3 February 1731/1732), was a British politician, born Francis Seymour. Background Born Francis Seymour, he was the second s ...

English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by Queen Anne