Sir John Simeon, 3rd Baronet (5 February 1815 on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

– 21 May 1870 in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

) was a British politician and naval officer.

Biography

Simeon was born on the

in 1815. He was the eldest son of

Sir Richard Simeon, 2nd Baronet Sir Richard Godin Simeon, 2nd Baronet (21 May 1784 – 4 January 1854) was an English Liberal Party politician. Simeon was born in 1784, the son of Sir John Simeon, 1st Baronet and Rebecca Cornwall. Simeon was elected at the 1832 general elect ...

and his wife Louisa Edith Barrington, the oldest daughter of

Sir Fitzwilliam Barrington, 10th Baronet There have been two baronetcies created for people with the surname Barrington. As of 2014 one creation is extant. The Barrington Baronetcy, of Barrington Hall in the County of Essex was created in the Baronetage of England on 29 June 1611, for ...

. He received his education at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, from where he graduated with a BA in 1837. His first marriage was on 26 November 1840 to Jane Maria Baker, daughter of

Sir Frederick Francis Baker, 2nd Baronet Sir Frederick Francis Baker, 2nd Baronet (1772–1830) was a Fellow of the Royal Society. Life He was the son of Sir George Baker, 1st Baronet, physician to George III, born 13 May 1772 in Westminster. Educated at Eton College, St John's College, ...

Sir John Simeon, 4th Baronet Sir John Stephen Barrington Simeon, 4th Baronet DL (31 August 1850 – 1909) was one of the two Members of Parliament for Southampton at the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century. He was born at Swainston Manor in West Wight ...

and Sir Edmund Charles Simeon, 5th Baronet were sons from this marriage. His wife died in 1860, and he remarried in the following year to the Honourable Catherine Dorothea Colville, a sister of

Charles Colville, 1st Viscount Colville of Culross Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

Career

He initially pursued a naval career before being returned for the

in 1847 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

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 ...

. On 27 March 1848, he became a member of the

Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch. ...

and immediately joined the management committee. The object was to create an Anglican settlement in New Zealand, which happened with the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

region, with

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

as its capital. Together with Lord Lyttelton, Lord Richard Cavendish and

Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Britis ...

, he guaranteed £15,000 to the Canterbury Association in April 1850, which saved it from financial collapse. In 1851 he converted to Catholicism, and resigned his seat in Parliament through appointment as

Steward of the Manor of Northstead The office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead functions as a procedural device to allow a member of Parliament (MP) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. As members of the House of Commons are forbidden ...

on 5 May 1851, "out of a delicate instinct of honour towards those who had elected him while he was a member of the Anglican Church — believing that he had no right to suppose them to be indifferent to the change he had made." He resigned from the Canterbury Association shortly afterwards on 15 May 1851. He was elected again for the same constituency in 1865, for a time serving as the only

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Member of Parliament from an English constituency. During the invasion scare of 1859–60 he raised the

2nd (Newport) Isle of Wight Rifle Volunteer Corps A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

and commanded it with the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, dated 27 August 1860. Shortly afterwards the 2nd RVC was included in the 1st Administrative Battalion, Isle of Wight Rifle Volunteers, and he was promoted to

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

to serve as its second-in-command.''Army List''. His last political act, on 8 April 1870, was to speak in Parliament against a measure proposed by

Charles Newdigate Newdegate Charles Newdigate Newdegate (14 July 1816 – 9 April 1887) was a British Conservative politician. In Hansard the spelling is Newdegate. Early life He was the only son of Charles Parker Newdigate Newdegate of Harefield Park, Uxbridge, Middlese ...

for the state inspection of convents, despite being seriously ill at the time. Bursting a blood-vessel in his throat, he set off on a journey to Switzerland to recover his health but died en route while in

, aged 55.

Legacy

Simeon Street in

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

, is named after him, as well as the Simeon Arms Public House in the same street. Simeon Quay in

Lyttelton, New Zealand Lyttelton (Māori: ''Ōhinehou'') is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and close to Christchurch, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. As a landing ...

is named for the Simeon family. Simeon Street in the

suburb of

Spreydon Spreydon is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, south-south-west of Cathedral Square. The most central street through Spreydon is Barrington Street. Spreydon is flanked by the suburbs Hoon Hay, Sydenham, and Lower Cashmere. State Highway ...

is named for his brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simeon, John 1815 births 1870 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 Members of Parliament for the Isle of Wight Members of the Canterbury Association

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...