John Denis Browne, 1st Marquess of Sligo, KP, PC (Ire) (11 June 1756 – 2 January 1809) was an Irish peer, absentee slaveholder and politician, and was the son of

Peter Browne, 2nd Earl of Altamont Peter Browne, 2nd Earl of Altamont (c. 1731 - 28 December 1780) was an Irish landowner, absentee slaveholder and MP. He was the son of John Browne, 1st Earl of Altamont, and Anne Gore. He married Elizabeth Kelly, the only legitimate child and h ...

, and his wife Elizabeth, née Kelly, heiress and daughter of

Denis Kelly Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), baron in the Kingdom of Hungary * Denis the Carthusian (1402� ...

, Chief Justice of Jamaica. Peter's marriage to Elizabeth led to the family inheriting the Kelly's

slave plantation A slave plantation was an agricultural farm that used enslaved people for labour. The practice was abolished in most places during the 19th century. Slavery Planters embraced the use of slaves mainly because indentured labor became expensive ...

s in Jamaica. Browne was styled Viscount Westport from 1771 to 1780 and known as John Browne, 3rd Earl of Altamont from 1780 to 1800. Browne represented Jamestown 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 fran ...

from 1776 to 1780, when he succeeded as

Earl of Altamont Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

. He served as

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

for 1779. He became Marquess of Sligo on 29 December 1800 and was appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick on 5 August 1800. He died on 2 June 1809 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Family

He was married to Lady Louisa Catherine Howe, daughter of

Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a British naval officer. After serving throughout the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations aga ...

in 1787.''Westport House and the Brownes'' by the Marquess of Sligo 1981 After their marriage, she was known as the Countess of Altamont and then the Marchioness of Sligo. His great-grandnephew was the British composer and poet, William Charles Denis Browne (1888–1915).

References

1756 births 1809 deaths Westport, John Browne, Viscount Irish representative peers Irish slave owners Knights of St Patrick Politicians from County Mayo Westport, John Browne, Viscount Members of the Privy Council of Ireland High Sheriffs of Mayo

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Members of the Irish House of Lords

John 1 John 1 is the first chapter in the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. The author of the book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that John composed this gospel.Holman Illust ...

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