The Hon. George Ponsonby (1773 – 5 June 1863), was an Irish politician, who served as a

Junior Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

in the governments under

Earl Grey Earl Grey is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1806 for General Charles Grey, 1st Baron Grey. In 1801, he was given the title Baron Grey of Howick in the County of Northumberland, and in 1806 he was created Viscou ...

(his brother-in-law) and

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...

from 1832 to 1834.

Early life

He was the fourth of five sons and one daughter born to William Brabazon Ponsonby by his wife, Hon. Louisa Molesworth. Among his siblings were the diplomat

John Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Ponsonby John Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Ponsonby, GCB (c. 1770 – 22 February 1855) was a longtime British diplomat and politician. He was considered an exceptionally handsome man – reportedly he was almost lynched as an aristocrat in a Paris street by ...

, Hon. Sir William Ponsonby, a major-general in the army was killed at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

Richard Ponsonby The Rt. Rev. and Hon. Richard Ponsonby (1772–1853) was an Irish clergyman who held high office in the Church of Ireland. Life He was born at Dublin in 1772, the third son of William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Imokilly and Louisa Mole ...

, who became

Bishop of Killaloe and Kilfenora The Bishop of Killaloe and Kilfenora was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Killaloe and Kilfenora in the Province of Cashel; comprising all of County Clare and the northern part of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland. The Ep ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, and Derry and Raphoe, and Mary Ponsonby, who married the Prime Minister,

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845), known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was a British Whig politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834. He was a member of the nob ...

. His mother was the fourth daughter of

Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth Field Marshal Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth, PC (Ire) FRS (1680 – 12 October 1758), styled The Honourable Richard Molesworth from 1716 to 1726, was an Anglo-Irish military officer, politician and nobleman. He served with his r ...

and the former Mary Jenney Ussher (daughter of the Rev. William Ussher, Archdeacon of Clonfert).Burke's Peerage (1939 edition), s.v. Bessborough, Earl of His paternal grandparents were the Hon. John Ponsonby, the

Speaker of the Irish House of Commons The Speaker of the Irish House of Commons was the presiding officer of the Irish House of Commons until its disestablishment in 1800. In the absence of a government chosen from and answerable to the Commons, the Speaker was the dominant politica ...

(and second son of

Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough (1679 – 4 July 1758), was a British politician and peer. He was the son of William Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Duncannon, and Mary Moore. He was an active politician from 1705 to 1757 in Great Britain and ...

) and the former Lady Elizabeth Cavendish (a daughter of

William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755) was a British nobleman and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1729 when he inherited the Dukedom. Life Cavendish was the son of Will ...

). His aunt, Frances Ponsonby, was the wife of

Cornelius O'Callaghan, 1st Baron Lismore Cornelius O'Callaghan, 1st Baron Lismore (7 January 1741 – 12 July 1797), was an Irish politician and peer. O'Callaghan was the son of Thomas O'Callaghan and Sarah Davis. He served in the Irish House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for ...

. Ponsonby graduated from

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

on 7 March 1791 at age 18.

Career

Ponsonby was a member of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1794, and was called in 1797. He represented Lismore in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

between 1796 and 1798. He was then elected as a

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 of ...

at a by-election for Kilkenny County in 1806 on his father, previously the sitting member, being elevated to the peerage as 1st

Baron Ponsonby of Imokilly Baron Ponsonby, of Imokilly in County Cork, also referred to as Baron Ponsonby of Imokilly, in the County of Cork, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1806 for the William Ponsonby, who had previously represented ...

, but a general election quickly followed when he was replaced in this seat by his younger brother Hon. Frederick Ponsonby. Ponsonby subsequently succeeded his cousin, Henry Boyle, Viscount Boyle, and served as for

Cork County County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns ar ...

from 1806 to 1812; for

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

from 1826 to 1832.

Personal life

On 7 April 1807, Ponsonby was married to Sarah Gledstanes (d. 1808), a daughter of John Jacob Gledstanes of Annesgift. Before her death on 18 July 1808, they were the parents of one son, who predeceased him. On 11 June 1812, he married Diana Juliana Margaretta Bouverie (1786–1873), the youngest daughter of the former Harriet Fawkener (daughter of Sir

Everard Fawkener Sir Everard Fawkener (1694–1758) was an English merchant and diplomat, chiefly remembered for his friendship with Voltaire. His daughter was the celebrated political hostess Harriet Bouverie. Career Fawkener was born into a family of silk merch ...

) and Hon. Edward Bouverie, MP for

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

and

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

. After Diana's father died, her mother remarried to

Lord Robert Spencer Lord Robert Spencer (8 May 1747 – 23 June 1831) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons several times between 1768 and 1818. Early life Spencer was born on 8 May 1747. He was the son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, ...

(the son of

Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, (22 November 170620 October 1758), styled as The Honourable Charles Spencer between 1706 and 1729 and as The Earl of Sunderland between 1729 and 1733, was a British soldier, nobleman, and politician fr ...

), who was considered to be Diana's actual father, and who left her the bulk of his estate. Diana and George lived at

Woolbeding House Woolbeding House is an 18th-century country house in Woolbeding, near Midhurst, West Sussex, England. It is a Grade I listed building. It was probably built by Sir Richard Mill Bt between 1711 and 1760 and was originally of a quadrangular plan ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, and were the parents of one son, and one daughter: * Robert Wentworth Ponsonby (1814–1840), who also predeceased him. * Diana Ponsonby (d. 1893), who married

Edward Howard, 1st Baron Lanerton Admiral Edward Granville George Howard, 1st Baron Lanerton (23 December 1809 – 8 October 1880), was a British naval commander and politician. Background Howard was the fourth son of George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle, and his wife Lady Georgi ...

, the fourth son of

George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle of Castle Howard, (17 September 17737 October 1848), styled Viscount Morpeth until 1825, was a British statesman. He served as Lord Privy Seal between 1827 and 1828 and in 1834 and was a member of Lord Grey ...

and Lady Georgiana Dorothy (daughter of

William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, (14 December 1748 – 29 July 1811), was a British nobleman, aristocrat, and politician. He was the eldest son of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, by his wife, the heiress Lady Charlotte Bo ...

). Ponsonby died on 5 June 1863.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponsonby, George 1773 births 1863 deaths

George Ponsonby George Ponsonby (5 March 17558 July 1817), was a British lawyer and Whig politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents. Background and education Ponsonby was the second surviving son ...

Irish MPs 1790–1797 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Waterford constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kilkenny constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 Younger sons of barons Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Cork constituencies (1801–1922)