Oliver St John, 2nd Earl of Bolingbroke (bef. 1634 – 18 March 1688), styled Lord St John of Bletsoe from 1642 to 1646, was a British peer and landowner in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. The eldest son of Sir Paulet St John (d. 1638) and his wife Elizabeth Vaughan, he became

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to his grandfather,

Oliver St John, 1st Earl of Bolingbroke Oliver St John, 1st Earl of Bolingbroke, KB (1580? – June/July 1646), known from 1618 until 1624 as 4th Baron St John of Bletso, was an English nobleman and politician. Life St John was son and heir of Oliver St John, 3rd Baron St John o ...

, after the death of his uncle

Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso KB (1603 – 23 October 1642) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1624 to 1629 and in the House of Lords from 1639. He died fighting in the Parliamentary army in the English ...

at the

Battle of Edgehill The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642. All attempts at constitutional compromise between K ...

in 1642. On 24 November 1654, he married Lady Frances Cavendish (d. 15 August 1678), the daughter of

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, KG, KB, PC (25 December 1676) was an English courtier and supporter of the arts. He was a renowned horse breeder, as well as being patron of the playwright Ben Jonson, and the intellectual gr ...

, by whom he had no children. The St John family were Presbyterians and supported Parliament during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, but did not take part in government during the Interregnum. In 1661, he succeeded his relative Samuel Browne as

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, and took the oath against the

Covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

upon becoming a freeman of the town. He was appointed Custos Rotulorum of Bedfordshire in 1667 after the death of the 1st Earl of Cleveland; the

Earl of Ailesbury Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

was added as a joint holder of the office in 1671, and Bolingbroke was removed from the office by James II in 1681. Bolingbroke died childless on 18 March 1688 and was buried at

Bletsoe Bletsoe is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the A6 road (Great Britain), A6, and about eight miles north of Bedford. The village has a small park, the former site of Bletsoe Castle and a chu ...

. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Paulet St John.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolingbroke, Oliver St John, 2nd Earl of 1630s births 1688 deaths 2 People from the Borough of Bedford Barons St John of Bletso Burials in Bedfordshire