John Fenton-Cawthorne (5 January 1753 – 1 March 1831) was a British Conservative politician, who served as MP for

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

between 1783 and 1796 and as MP for Lancaster for four terms in the early 19th century. Fenton-Cawthorne was born in 1753 to Elizabeth née Cawthorne and James Fenton of Lancaster, a barrister, and educated at

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

(1771) and

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

(1792). He succeeded to the Cawthorne estate in 1781 and took the additional surname of Cawthorne. He was first elected as an MP for Lincoln in January 1783 and was an opponent of the abolition of the slave trade. On 27November 1795, as

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the Westminster Regiment of Middlesex Militia, Fenton-Cawthorne was arraigned before a

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

on 14 charges including that of embezzling "marching

guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

s" paid to militiamen of the British Army. Found guilty on seven of the charges, he was

cashiered Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline. Etymology From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard ...

as "unworthy of serving His Majesty in any military capacity whatever" having "acted fraudulently and in a scandalous and infamous manner". Fenton-Cawthorne returned to Parliament in 1806 as MP for Lancaster. His older brother also entered Parliament at the same time as MP for Fife. He married Frances Delaval (1759–1838), the daughter and coheiress of John Delaval, 1st Baron Delaval. Fenton-Cawthorne died on 1March 1831 in Hanover Street, Hanover Square, London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenton-Cawthorne, John 1753 births Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Members of Gray's Inn Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British politicians convicted of corruption Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 Middlesex Militia officers Politicians convicted of embezzlement Expelled members of the Parliament of Great Britain 1831 deaths