Sir John Legard, 1st Baronet (1631 – 1 July 1678), of

Ganton Ganton is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the south side of the Vale of Pickering immediately north of the Yorkshire Wolds. Ganton lies west of the coastal town of Filey, and ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, was an English landowner and

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 of ...

. He was the eldest son of John Legard of Ganton (b. 1606) and was made a baronet in 1660 by King Charles II for his family's support for the Royalist cause. He was elected to Parliament in 1660 as member for

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, though he only represented the borough for a few months. In December of the same year he was created a baronet.History of Parliament Online - Legard, John
/ref> Legard died in 1678. In 1655 he had married Grace Darcy (d. 1658), daughter of The Earl of Holderness. They had one child Grace, who married John Hill of Thornton. After the death of his first wife he remarried, on 12 August 1658, his second wife being Frances Widdrington, daughter of Sir Thomas Widdrington, a former

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

. They had six children: * John (1659–1715), who succeeded him in the baronetcy * Dorothy, who married Thomas Grimston of Grimston Garth * Frances, who married George Bowes * Thomas * William * Widdrington

References

, - Legard, John Legard, John People from Ganton English landowners Legard, John, 1st Baronet Legard, John Members of the Parliament of England for constituencies in Yorkshire {{17thC-England-MP-stub