John St. Leger Douglas ( – 23 May 1783) was an 18th-century member of the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of th ...

. He owned Springfield Place, near

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

, Essex.

Early life and education

Douglas was the eldest son of John St. Leger Douglas, a West Indian plantation owner, and his wife, Susannah, daughter of Michael Lambert, Deputy- Governor of St Kitts. He was a grandson of Col. Walter Douglas of Baads, Midlothian, Governor of the Leeward Islands. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

(1743), aged 10, and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

(1748). He succeeded his father in 1747.

Career

He was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Hindon from 1769, at a time when bribery was the norm in this constituency, until 1774, and Member of Parliament for

Weobley Weobley ( ) is an ancient settlement and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. Formerly a market town, the market is long defunct and the settlement is today promoted as one of the county's black and white villages owing to its abundance of ...

1774 – 23 May 1783, when he died. In his only recorded speech in the House of Commons, he supported the Government against the interests of the West Indies even after the outbreak of war against America in 1775, declaring that he too 'had a considerable estate in the West Indies'. He bought Springfield Place in Chelmsford and improved the grounds. He bred racehorses, including the undefeated thoroughbred Goldfinder.

Family

Douglas was twice married, having children by both wives. His daughter Charlotte married her cousin Admiral John Leigh Douglas (1741–1810). On his death in 1783 he left his estates in St Kitts in trust for his son William Douglas and his other properties and personal estate on trust to his brother Lieutenant-colonel James Douglas to provide cash amounts for his other children on their majority.

References

Year of birth uncertain 1720s births 1783 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub