Josias Du Pré Porcher (''ca.'' 1761 – 4 May 1820) was an English politician. After following his uncle into the service of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, he became wealthy and returned to England, although he was frustrated in an attempt to obtain a directorship of the company. His wealth and his friendship with Lord Caledon enabled him to sit in Parliament for various boroughs until 1818, although he was not a particularly conspicuous member. He died at his country home in Devonshire in 1820.

Childhood and Indian career

Born about 1761, Josias was the third son of Paul Porcher, a planter of Charleston, South Carolina, and his wife Esther Du Pré. Esther was the sister of Josias Du Pré, an East India merchant. Porcher moved to England in 1768 under the patronage of his uncle Josias, who was President of Madras from 1770 to 1773. Porcher not unnaturally took up a career in India as well, and became a writer of the

in Madras in 1778. He received a legacy of £1,000 at the death of his uncle in 1780. From 1783 to 1786, he was deputy to the deputy paymaster in Madras, and in 1785, was made a senior merchant. In 1790, he was appointed to the company's Board of Trade and was made clerk to the committee of works. Porcher served as mayor of Madras from 1791 to 1792 and was appointed military storekeeper at Madras in the latter year. Porcher returned home in 1796, bearing a diamond sword presented by the

nawab of Arcot The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

. He invested £2,000 in the 1797 loyalty loan. Porcher sought to become a director of the East India Company with the aid of the Alexander family, who had achieved prominence through a fortune also made in India. His uncle Josias had married Rebecca Alexander, sister of

James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon (1730 – 22 March 1802) was an Irish landlord, merchant, politician and member of the UK's House of Lords (upper chamber of parliament) as a representative peer for Northern Ireland. An Irish 'nabob' Alexan ...

and aunt of Caledon's nephews

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

and

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. Henry, a schoolmate of Porcher's, recommended him to Thomas Pelham as a friend of the family, and Porcher assured Pelham of his attachment to government and his friendship with

Lord Hobart Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire, (6 May 17604 February 1816), styled Lord Hobart from 1793 to 1804, was a British Tory politician. Life Buckinghamshire was born at Hampden House, the son of George Hobart, 3rd Earl of Buckinghamshire ...

. However, Porcher did not receive a directorship, and later joined James Alexander and Edward Fletcher as partners in founding Porcher & Co., a firm of East India agents in 1804.

In Parliament

In 1802, he loaned £25,000 to

Thomas Pitt, 2nd Baron Camelford Thomas Pitt, 2nd Baron Camelford (19 February 1775 – 10 March 1804) was a British peer, naval officer and wastrel, best known for wiktionary:bedevil, bedevilling George Vancouver during and after the latter's Vancouver Expedition, great voyage ...

for six years in exchange for a Parliamentary seat, and was duly returned for Pitt's borough of

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordere ...

. In the same year, he also brokered the purchase of the burgages of

Old Sarum Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...

from Camelford by

Du Pre Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon Du Pré Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon KP (14 December 1777 – 8 April 1839), styled The Honourable Du Pré Alexander from 1790 to 1800 and Viscount Alexander from 1800 to 1802, was an Irish peer, landlord and colonial administrator, and was th ...

. He was Member of Parliament for

Bletchingley Bletchingley (historically "Blechingley") is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill, Surrey, Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with Middle Ages, medieval buildings and is mostly on a ...

from 1806 to 1807, for

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

in 1807, and for

from 1807 to 1818. He was a

Gentleman of the Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

from 1818 to his death in 1820. He married, on 1 Nov. 1787 at Fort George, Madras, Charlotte, the daughter of Admiral

Sir William Burnaby, 1st Baronet Sir William Burnaby, 1st Baronet (c. 17101776) was a British naval officer who became Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station (Royal Navy), Jamaica Station. Naval career Burnaby was the son of John Burnaby of Kensington. He entered the navy and was ...

of Broughton Hall, Oxfordshire. They had 4 sons and a daughter.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porcher, Josias 1761 births Year of birth uncertain 1820 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Louth constituencies (1801–1922) Members of Parliament for Old Sarum Mayors of Chennai British East India Company people Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber