John Garth (c. 1701–1764), of Garth House, Devizes, Wiltshire, was a British lawyer and Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1740 to 1764.

Early life

Garth was second, but eldest surviving, son of Colonel Thomas Garth of Harrold, Bedfordshire and his wife Elizabeth Colleton, granddaughter of

Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet (1608–1666) served King Charles I during the English Civil War. He rose through the Royalist ranks during the conflict, but later had his land-holdings seized when the Cavaliers were finally defeated by Parliamen ...

, one of the original proprietors of South Carolina. John Garth was also a nephew of Sir

Samuel Garth Sir Samuel Garth FRS (1661 – 18 January 1719) was an English physician and poet. Life Garth was born in Bolam in County Durham and matriculated at Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1676, graduating B.A. in 1679 and M.A. in 1684. He took his M.D. an ...

the physician. He was admitted at Lincoln's Inn on 7 May 1718, and matriculated at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...

on 24 October 1719. He was admitted at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

on 5 May 1727 and was called to the bar in 1728. In 1731 he succeeded to the estates of his father. He married Rebecca Brompton (1713–1785), daughter of John Brompton of Whitton and granddaughter of Sir

Richard Raynsford Sir Richard Rainsford SL (1605–1680) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1660 and 1663. He became Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Career Rainsford was the second son of Robert Raynsford of Stavert ...

, English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench in about 1730. His family home in Devizes was

Brownston House Brownston House (or Brownstone House) is a Grade I listed building on New Park Street, Devizes, Wiltshire, England, dating from the beginning of the 18th century. It is a Grade I listed building. Description Built of dark rubbed brickwork of fin ...

, renamed Garth House, a large

Grade 1 listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

house on New Park Street.

Career

Garth became the Recorder for Devizes in 1732, a role roughly equivalent to the Town Clerk today and usually held by a lawyer. He was returned unopposed as

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 o ...

(MP) for

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...

on his own interest at a by-election on 26 February 1740. He was returned unopposed again in

1741 Events January–March * January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. *February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a speech ...

and

1747 Events January–March * January 31 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital. * February 11 – King George's War: A combined French and Indian force, commanded by Captain Nicolas Antoine II Co ...

. Garth was returned again as MP for Devizes at the 1754 and was considered one of the Old Whigs. In 1756 he spoke of fifteen years of constant attendance and steady concurrence in the support of the measures of Government in Parliament without any assistance or return. In 1759 he suffered a stroke of palsy and was not expected to recover. As a result, there was a flurry of prospective candidates for Devizes at the next election, but he was encouraged to stand and was returned unopposed at the

1761 British general election The 1761 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. This was the first ...

. He was reported absent on many occasions and there is no record of his voting in the Parliament.

Death and legacy

Garth died on 24 December 1764 and was buried in St Mary's Churchyard, Devizes on 2 January 1765. One monument of St. Mary's commemorates John Garth himself and in the chancel there are monuments to the memory of his widow and children. Their children were: *

George Garth George Garth (1733–1819) was a British General, a commander in the American Revolutionary War, and Colonel of the 17th Regiment of Foot. Life He was son of John Garth MP and Rebecca, the daughter of John Brompton and granddaughter of Sir ...

(about 1733–1819) British General in

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Colonel of the

17th Regiment of Foot 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...

* Charles Garth MP, (1734–1784) Government Agent for

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, Georgia and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He succeeded his father as MP for Devizes, and was also Recorder of Devizes. * Elizabeth (1739–1790) * Frances (1743- 1768) * Thomas Garth (1744–1829), Army general and Royal Equerry to George III. Rebecca, Frances and Elizabeth were also buried in St Mary's.

Notes

References

*The Annual Register, Edmund Burke, 1830 *Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, 1819, page 506 {{DEFAULTSORT:Garth, John 1701 births 1764 deaths People from Wiltshire Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768