John Maxwell, 1st Baron Farnham (1687 – 6 August 1759) was an Irish

peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a net ...

and politician. He was the son of the Reverend Robert Maxwell and Anne Stewart, daughter of Colonel George Stewart. His paternal grandfather was Robert Maxwell, Bishop of Kilmore. He was appointed Prothonotary of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is still ...

and held the office from 1725 until his death. He was a member of parliament (MP) of the Irish House of Commons for

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

from 1727 to 1756. He inherited Farnham estate from his cousin in 1737 and was appointed High Sheriff of Cavan for 1739. The latter year he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Farnham, of Farnham in the County of Cavan. He had married in 1719 Judith Barry, daughter of James Barry of Newton Barry and Anne Meredyth, and had the following children: # Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham, 2nd Baron Farnham (born – died 16 November 1779 without male issue). (Earldom extinct, 1779) # Barry Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham, 3rd Baron Farnham (died 7 October 1800). (Earldom restored, 1785) # Rt. Rev. Henry Maxwell (died 7 October 1798) was Bishop of Dromore (1765–1766) and Bishop of Meath (1766–1798). He married in 1759 Margaret Foster, daughter of the Rt. Hon.

Anthony Foster Anthony Foster (1705 – April 1779), of Collon, County Louth, was an Anglo-Irish politician and judge. He was the eldest son of John Foster, MP for Dunleer, and his wife Elizabeth Fortescue, youngest daughter of William Fortescue of Newrath, ...

, and sister of John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel. Their two sons, John and Henry, eventually succeeded as the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and 6th Baron Farnham. He died in August 1759 and was succeeded in the barony by his son Robert. In 1760 Robert was created Viscount Farnham and three years later created Earl of Farnham.

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. () *
Maxwell family genealogy, part 03
showing the Maxwell of Calderwood, Maxwell of Farnham (co. Cavan), and Maxwell of Finnebrogue families.

External links

Cavan County Museum – The Farnham Gallery

1687 births 1759 deaths Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cavan constituencies High Sheriffs of Cavan 1 Peers of Ireland created by George II {{Ireland-pre1801-MP-stub