James Hewitt, 4th Viscount Lifford, DL (31 March 1811 – 20 November 1887), of Meenglass Castle, near

Stranorlar Stranorlar () is a town, townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the River Finn (County Donegal), Finn Valley of County Donegal, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Stranorlar and Ballybofey (located on the other side of the River F ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, was Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Donegal.

Early life and family

He was born on 31 March 1811 at

Merrion Square Merrion Square () is a Georgian architecture, Georgian garden square on the Southside Dublin, southside of Dublin city centre. History The square was laid out in 1762 to a plan by John Smyth and Jonathan Barker for the estate of Richard Fitz ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, as the son of James Hewitt, 3rd Viscount Lifford, and the Hon. Mary Ann Maude. He married

Lady ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

Mary Acheson, daughter of The 2nd Earl of Gosford and Mary Sparrow, on 9 July 1835. The children from this marriage were: * Mary Anne Hewitt (d. 27 May 1913), married John Gathorne Wood, son of John Wood * Isabella Hewitt (d. 19 Mar 1924) * James Wilfrid Hewitt, 5th Viscount Lifford (12 Oct 1837 – 20 Mar 1913) * Evelyn John Hewitt (19 Jul 1842 – 4 Jul 1867) * Archibald Robert Hewitt, 6th Viscount Lifford (14 Jan 1844 – 22 May 1925) * Cornwallis Charles Hewitt (3 Mar 1847 – 4 Sep 1889) * Edward Hewitt (31 Mar 1848 – 4 Sep 1931) Lady Mary died in March 1850. Secondly, he married Lydia Lucy Wingfield Digby, daughter of the Reverend John Digby Wingfield Digby, on 9 December 1851. The children from this marriage were: * William James Hewitt (6 Apr 1856 – 28 Oct 1948) * George Wyldbore Hewitt (16 Nov 1858 – 23 Apr 1924), who married Elizabeth Mary Rampini (1871–1959); one of their two sons was Second Lieutenant

Dennis George Wyldbore Hewitt Dennis George Wyldbore Hewitt Victoria Cross, VC (18 December 1897 – 31 July 1917) was an England, English recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was awarded during an action at Pilckem Ridge at the Battle of Passchendaele. Biography Hewitt w ...

, V.C. * Lettice Lucy Hewitt (d. 13 Aug 1930) * Alice Anne Hewitt (d. 11 Feb 1943) * Georgiana Rosamund Hewitt (c 1858 – 9 May 1887) * Anne Eliza Hewitt (d. 5 Sep 1957)

Career

He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. His estates comprised 11,000 acres at Meenglas,

Ballybofey Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, the ...

. He was Deputy Lieutenant of

, and he was

High Sheriff of Donegal The High Sheriff of Donegal was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland, from the late 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Irish Free State and replaced by the office of Donega ...

from 1841 to 1845. He was Chairman of the

Finn Valley Railway The Finn Valley Railway (FVR) was a gauge railway in Ireland. History Incorporation The Finn Valley Railway Company was incorporated by the ( 23 & 24 Vict. c. xl) on 15 May 1860 with capital of £60,000 (). Personnel The Chairman of the d ...

around 1860.Bradshaw's railway manual, shareholders' guide, and official directory. W. J. Adams, 1864 He sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as an

Irish representative peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords after the Kingdom of Ireland was brought into union with the Kingdom of Great Britain. No new members were added to the House after ...

from 1856 to 1887, sitting on the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

benches. Lord Lifford died on 20 November 1887. He is buried in St Anne's

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

Church, Monnellan, The Cross (also known as Crossroads),

Killygordon Killygordon () is a village in the Finn Valley in the east of County Donegal, Ireland. , the population was 716. It is located on the N15 between Stranorlar and Castlefin. The separate hamlet of Crossroads, locally known as The Cross, lies ha ...

Publications

* ''Ireland and the Irish Church'' (1842) * ''Thoughts on the Present State of Ireland'' (1849) * ''A Plea for Irish Landlords'' (1867)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lifford, James Hewitt, 4th Viscount 1811 births 1887 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Deputy lieutenants of Donegal High sheriffs of Donegal Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland People from Stranorlar