James Dawkins (c. 1696–1766) was an English landowner and politician.

Life

He was the second son of Colonel Richard Dawkins of Clarendon, a plantation and slave owner in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, member of the Assembly (died c. 1698/1701/1705, of a

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

family), and his second wife Mrs. Elizabeth Masters (d. 1702). He matriculated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

on 28 March 1713, at age 16. Dawkins, of Rusley Park, Bishopstone,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, bought land at

Over Norton Over Norton is a village and civil parish within the West Oxfordshire district, about north of Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, Englan ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, the Busby estate. In the general election of 1734 he campaigned to become Member of Parliament for , but withdrew before the poll, despite having spent heavily. He was brought in unopposed, however, for , with the support of the Duchess of Marlborough. In 1747 he lost his seat, to

John Bateman, 2nd Viscount Bateman John Bateman, 2nd Viscount Bateman (April 1721 – 2 March 1802) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1746 to 1784. Bateman was the eldest son of William Bateman, 1st Viscount Bateman MP and his wife Lady Anne Spencer, d ...

, who was backed by Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough. In the 1750s, Dawkins was considered a Jacobite. He died unmarried on 10 May 1766. His

Over Norton Park Over Norton Park is a farm of 210 acres (85 ha) at Over Norton, lying to the north of Chipping Norton, in the Cotswolds, Oxfordshire, England. It has been in the Dawkins family since the 1720s. Originally a larger country estate, it was inherited ...

estate went to

Henry Dawkins Henry Dawkins II (24 May 1728 – 19 June 1814) was a Jamaican plantation and slave owner and Member of the Parliament of Great Britain (MP). Background The Dawkins family settled on Jamaica shortly after its seizure from the Spanish in 1655. ...

, his nephew.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawkins, James 1766 deaths 18th-century English landowners Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 Year of birth uncertain