Sir Charles Kemeys, 4th Baronet (1688–1735) was a British Tory 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 ...

between 1713 and 1734 .

Early life

Kemeys was born on 23 November 1688, the only son of Sir Charles Kemeys, 3rd Baronet of Cefn Mably and his first wife Mary Wharton, daughter of

Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton (18 April 1613 – 4 February 1696) was an English soldier, politician and diplomat. He was a Parliamentarian during the English Civil War. Wharton was the son of Sir Thomas Wharton of Aske Hall and his wife ...

. His father died in December 1702 and he succeeded to his father's estates and the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. His maternal uncle

Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton PC (August 1648 – 12 April 1715) was an English nobleman and politician. A man of great charm and political ability, he was also notorious for his debauched lifestyle. Background He was the son o ...

and two Tory MPs Robert Price and Thomas Edwards were his guardians. He was admitted at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

in May 1706 but abandoned his studies and decided to tour Europe. In the course of his travels he met and became a friend of the Elector of Hanover – later King George I.

Political career

Kemeys contested Appleby on his uncle's interest at the 1710 election but was defeated. He was High Sheriff of Glamorganshire from 1712 to 1713. At the 1713 general election, he was returned 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 ...

for Monmouthshire with the support of

Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort, KG PC (2 April 1684 – 24 May 1714) was an English peer and politician. He was the only son of Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, and Rebecca Child. He was styled Earl of Glamorgan until 1698, ...

. Kemeys was a strong Jacobite, despite being a friend of King George before his accession and nephew to the Whig leader, Lord Wharton. He did not stand in

1715 Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

, but was returned unopposed for

Glamorganshire , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

at a by-election on 22 February 1716. He was again returned unopposed in

1722 Events January–March * January 27 – Daniel Defoe's novel ''Moll Flanders'' is published anonymously in London. * February 10 – The Battle of Cape Lopez begins off of the coast of West Africa (and present-day Gabon), a ...

and

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

. He decided to retire at the 1734 general election on grounds of ill-health.

Death and legacy

Kemeys died unmarried on 29 January 1735. His estate passed to his sister, who married Sir John Tynte, 2nd Baronet of Halswell, Somerset. Their son

Sir Charles Tynte, 5th Baronet Sir Charles Kemys Tynte, 5th Baronet (19 May 1710 – 25 April 1785), of Halswell House, near Bridgwater, Somerset and Cefn Mably, Glamorganshire, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1745 and 1774. Tynte was a yo ...

was Tory MP for Monmouthshire and Somerset.

References

External links

Art Collections Online - National Museum Wales Sir Charles Kemeys (1688-1734) and ? William Morgan (1688-1699)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemeys, Sir Charles, 4th Baronet 1688 births 1735 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 High Sheriffs of Glamorgan Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of England