Lawrence Harman Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse (26 July 1749 – 20 April 1807), known as The Lord Oxmantown between 1792 and 1795 and as The Viscount Oxmantown between 1795 and 1806, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician.

Background

Rosse was the second son of

Sir Laurence Parsons, 3rd Baronet Sir Laurence Parsons, 3rd Baronet (1708 – 24 October 1756) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Parsons was the son of William Parsons and Martha Pigott, and the grandson of Sir William Parsons, 2nd Baronet. His father predeceased his grandfather, and ...

, of Birr Castle, County Offaly, by his wife Anne, daughter of Wentworth Harman. He inherited the County Longford estates of his uncle the Rev. Cutts Harman, with the proviso that he would adopt the Harman surname (thus becoming Laurence Harman Parsons).

Political career

He was a Member of the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

for County Longford from 1775 to 1792 and for County Longford from 1790 to 1792. In 1792 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron of Oxmantown, in the County of Dublin, with remainder to his nephew Sir Lawrence Parsons, 5th Baronet. In 1795 he was made Viscount Oxmantown, of Oxmantown in the County of Dublin, also in the Peerage of Ireland but with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body. Lord Oxmantown was even further honoured in 1806 when he was created Earl of Rosse in the Irish peerage, with similar remainder as for the barony. From 1800 to 1807 he sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

sat as one of the 28 original

Irish Representative Peers In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

Family

Lord Rosse married Lady Jane, daughter of

Edward King, 1st Earl of Kingston Edward King, 1st Earl of Kingston PC (I) (29 March 1726 – 8 November 1797) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. He was the eldest son of Sir Henry King, 3rd Baronet and Isabella Wingfield, daughter of Edward Wingfield. He had a twin sister ...

and Jane Caulfield, in 1772. He died in April 1807, aged 57, when the viscountcy became extinct; he was succeeded in the barony and earldom according to the special remainder by his nephew, Lawrence. Lady Rosse died in January 1838 and the estates were inherited by their only child, Lady Frances (1775 - 1841), wife of

Robert King, 1st Viscount Lorton General Robert Edward King, 1st Viscount Lorton (12 August 1773 – 20 November 1854), styled The Honourable from 1797 to 1800, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician. He was notable for his strong support for anti-Catholic policies and his clo ...

, whose descendants were the King-Harman family of Newcastle House, County Longford.

References

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosse, Laurence Parsons, 1st Earl of 1749 births 1807 deaths Peers of Ireland created by George III Irish MPs 1769–1776 Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Members of the Irish House of Lords Irish representative peers Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Longford constituencies Parsons, Laurence Earls of Rosse (1806 creation)