John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira (17 March 1720 – 20 June 1793), known as Sir John Rawdon, Bt, between 1724 and 1750 and as The Lord Rawdon between 1750 and 1762, was an

Irish peer The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisio ...

Background

Rawdon was the only son of Sir John Rawdon, 3rd Baronet and Dorothy (daughter of

Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet (2 May 1656 – 13 July 1724) was an Irish politician and judge, who played a leading part in Irish public life for more than 30 years. Background Levinge was born at Leek, Staffordshire, the second son of Ric ...

, Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas and his first wife, Mary Corbin).thepeerage.com John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira
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Career

Rawdon succeeded his father in the baronetcy in February 1724, aged three. His mother remarried

Charles Cobbe Charles Cobbe (1686 in Swarraton – 1765) was Archbishop of Dublin from 1743 to 1765, and as such was Primate of Ireland. Early life Cobbe was the second son of Thomas Cobbe, of Swarraton, Winchester, Receiver General for County Southampton ...

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...

, and died in childbirth in 1733. In 1750 he was elevated to the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

as Baron Rawdon, of Moira in the County of Down. In 1761 he was further honoured when he was made Earl of Moira in the Irish peerage.

Family

Lord Moira married, firstly, Helena Perceval (1718-1746), daughter of

John Perceval, 1st Earl of Egmont John Perceval, 1st Earl of Egmont, PC, FRS (12 July 16831 May 1748), known as Sir John Perceval, Bt, from 1691 to 1715, as The Lord Perceval from 1715 to 1722 and as The Viscount Perceval from 1722 to 1733, was an Anglo-Irish politician. Earl ...

and Lady Catherine Parker, on 10 November 1741. They had three children: *Lady Helena Rawdon, married Stephen Moore, 1st Earl Mountcashell and had issue. *Lady Catherine Rawdon (b. 27 May 1744), married Joseph Henry. *Lady Dorothea Rawdon (b. 17 October 1745) Helena "died at the Hotwell, near Bristol, of the consumption"''Diary of Viscount Percival (afterwards 1st Earl of Egmont)'' (3 volumes, HMSO for Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1920–1923), 316. in June 1746. Lord Moira married, secondly, Anne Hill, daughter of

Trevor Hill, 1st Viscount Hillsborough Trevor Hill, 1st Viscount Hillsborough (1693 – 5 May 1742) was an Anglo-Irish landowner and politician who sat in the Irish House of Commons from 1713 to 1715 and in the British House of Commons from 1715 to 1722. Hill was the eldest son of ...

and Mary Rowe, on 23 December 1746. They had no children. After her death in August 1751, he married, thirdly, Elizabeth Hastings, 16th Baroness Botreaux, daughter of

Theophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdon Theophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdon (12 November 1696 – 13 October 1746) was the son of Theophilus Hastings, 7th Earl of Huntingdon and Mary Frances Fowler. Hastings married Lady Selina Shirley, daughter of Washington Shirley, 2nd Earl ...

and Lady Selina Shirley, on 26 February 1752. They were cousins, her grandmother Mary Levinge being his aunt. They had five children: *Lady Selina Frances Rawdon (d. 1827), married

George Forbes, 6th Earl of Granard George Forbes, 6th Earl of Granard PC (Ire) (14 June 1760 – 9 June 1837), was an Irish general and peer. Early life Forbes was born on 14 June 1760 and was educated at Armagh. He was the eldest son of George Forbes, 5th Earl of Granard, by hi ...

and had issue. *Lady Charlotte Adelaide Constantia Rawdon (d. 1834), married Hamilton Fitzgerald. In 1800, the royal

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

being in exile from France, Lady Charlotte's hand was sought in marriage by one of that dynasty's

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

princes, Antoine Philippe d'Orléans, Duc de Montpensier, but he was refused authorisation by Louis, Count of Provence (the future King Louis XVIII), and the marriage did not occur. *Lady Anne Elizabeth Rawdon (1753–1813), married

Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury KT (30 April 1729 – 19 April 1814), styled The Honourable Thomas Brudenell until 1747 and known as The Lord Bruce of Tottenham between 1747 and 1776, was a British courtier. Background and educatio ...

without issue. *

Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings, (9 December 175428 November 1826), styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762, Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783, The Lord Rawdon from 1783 to 1793 and The Earl of Moira b ...

(1754–1826) *Hon. John Theophilus Rawdon (1756–1808), father of

Elizabeth, Lady William Russell Elizabeth Anne, Lady William Russell (2 October 1793 – 10 August 1874) was the wife of Lord George Russell and a well-known socialite. Early life Elizabeth Anne Theophila Rawdon was born on 2 October 1793, child of Frances (''née'' Hall-S ...

Lord Moira died in June 1793, aged 73, and was succeeded by his eldest son by his third marriage, Francis, who had already been created Baron Rawdon in his own right in 1783 and was created

Marquess of Hastings Marquess of Hastings was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 6 December 1816 for Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd Earl of Moira. History The Rawdon family descended from Francis Rawdon (d. 1668), of Rawdon, Yorkshire. Hi ...

in 1816. The Countess of Moira died in April 1808.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moira, John Rawdon, 1st Earl Of 1720 births 1793 deaths Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Rawdon, John Peers of Ireland created by George II