James Stevenson Blackwood, 2nd Baron Dufferin and Claneboye (8 July 1755 – 8 August 1836), styled as Sir James Blackwood, 3rd Baronet, from 1799 to 1807, was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

peer and politician.

Early life and family

Blackwood was born in 1755, the second son of Sir John Blackwood, 2nd Baronet and Dorcas Stevenson, daughter and co-heiress of James Stevenson. His mother was quite wealthy as her father eventually became the sole heir to estates held by

James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Clanbrassil James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Clanbrassil PC(I) (14 August 1694 – 17 March 1758) was a British politician and peer. Hamilton was the son of James Hamilton and Hon. Anne Mordaunt, the daughter of The 1st Viscount Mordaunt. He first stood for el ...

, whose male line had died out with his son. In 1799, James' father died, leaving him to inherit the baronetcy as his elder brother, Robert Blackwood, had been killed in 1785 in a fall from his horse. Although commonly referred to as Anglo-Irish, the Blackwoods are a Scottish family. In 1800, his mother was created Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye of Ballyleidy and Killyeagh in the Peerage of Ireland, with remainder to her heirs male. After her death in 1807, he succeeded her as the 2nd Baron Dufferin and Claneboye.

Career

Blackwood was a Member of the Parliament of Ireland for Killyleagh in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

from 1788 until the Irish Parliament was abolished with the Act of Union in 1801. In compensation for his seat being disenfranchised, he received £15,000 from the crown (). He was later elected to the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

, serving as Member of Parliament for the Cornish constituency of Helston from 1807 to 1812, and for Aldeburgh in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

from 1812 to 1818. He then sat in the House of Lords as a

representative peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

for Ireland from 1820 to 1836. He was

High Sheriff of Down The High Sheriff of Down is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Down. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his judic ...

for 1804 and governor of County Down 1830–36. He served as aide-de-camp to King William IV. In 1794, he raised the

33rd Light Dragoons The 33rd Light Dragoons also known as the Ulster Regiment of Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was raised in 1794, by Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many c ...

(also known as Ulster Regiment of Light Dragoons). He was also colonel of the North Downshire Militia.

Marriage and death

On 15 November 1801, Blackwood married Anne Dorothea, the only daughter of John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel and his wife, Margaretta Foster, 1st Viscountess Ferrard. They had no children. After a period of illness, Lord Dufferin died on 8 August 1836 at his home, Ballyleidy, age 81. He had been under treatment by Sir Henry Halford in London and then spent a week at the home of his brother-in-law, Thomas Skeffington, 2nd Viscount Ferrard, in

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

. He died two days after returning home. He was succeeded in the titles by his younger brother

Hans Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

. Lady Blackwood died on 28 March 1865 aged 93.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dufferin and Claneboye, James Blackwood, 2nd Baron 1755 births 1836 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Ireland High Sheriffs of Down Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs who inherited peerages Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Helston Irish representative peers James People from Killyleagh Clandeboye