Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, 1st Baronet (1741 - 14 March 1821) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

lawyer and baronet.

Life

Blennerhassett was the son of Robert Blennerhassett and Frances Yielding. He was the great-grandson of Robert Blennerhassett MP.John Debrett, ''Debrett's Baronetage of England: with alphabetical lists of such baronetcies as have merged in the peerage, or have become extinct, and also of the existing baronets of Nova Scotia and Ireland'' (J.G. & F. Rivington, 1835), 347. He trained as an attorney and practised law. He was the colonel of the 'Laune Rangers' militia regiment of volunteers from 1779 to 1782. Between 1796 and 1797 he was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in County Kerry. Blennerhassett resettled his family at Cahirmoreaun, just outside

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

, renaming both the house and the village

Blennerville Blennerville (, meaning "the seat/home of the Morans") is a small village and now a suburb of Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It is approximately west of the town centre on the N86 road to Dingle, where the River Lee enters Tralee Bay. The vill ...

in his family's honour. He built a large new family home at Churchtown House, Knockane. In 1800 he was granted permission to hold four fairs a year and one market a week in Blennerville, which providing him with extra income. Blennerhassett established in Blennerville a

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

around 1800 which still exists and a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

school, called the Erasmus Smith School, in 1812. On 22 September 1809 he was created a

baronet 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 ...

of Blennerville in the County of Kerry, in the

Baronetage of the United Kingdom Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) James I of E ...

. He was confirmed the right to bear the family

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

a year earlier.

Family

Blennerhassett married his first cousin, Millicent Agnes Yielding, the daughter of Richard Yielding, on 31 October 1762; she was killed in an accident in 1801, receiving a blow from one of the sails of their windmill. Together, they had five children: *Sir Robert Blennerhassett, 2nd Baronet (26 January 1769 – 21 September 1831), married Rosanna Blennerhassett *Richard Francis Blennerhassett (23 May 1772 - November 1827), married Agnes Denny, daughter of Sir Barry Denny, 1st Baronet *Arthur Blennerhassett (27 October 1776 – 31 May 1839), married Hon. Helena Jane Mullins, daughter of

Thomas Mullins, 1st Baron Ventry Thomas Mullins, 1st Baron Ventry (25 October 1736 – 11 January 1824) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Biography Mullins was the son of William Mullins and Mary Rowan.Michael C. O'Laughlin, ''Families of Co. Kerry, Ireland'' (Irish Roots ...

*Rowland Blennerhassett (26 December 1780 – 12 April 1854), married Letitia Hurly *William Blennerhassett (26 December 1780 - 1842), married Elizabeth Blennerhassett

References

1741 births 1821 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom 18th-century Anglo-Irish people 19th-century Anglo-Irish people Rowland Lawyers from County Kerry {{UK-baronet-stub