Sir Thomas Pakenham (1649-1703) was an Irish barrister and politician: he sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

as MP for Augher and held the office of

Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) This is a list of lawyers who held the rank of serjeant-at-law at the Irish Bar. Origins of the office of serjeant The first recorded serjeant was Roger Owen, who was appointed between 1261 and 1266, although the title itself was not commonly ...

. He was the grandfather of the first

Baron Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

.''Debrett's Peerage'' London 1828 Vol. 2, p 690 He was the eldest son of Henry Pakenham, of Pakenham Hall, County Westmeath, and his first wife Mary Lill, daughter of Robert Lill of

Trim, County Meath Trim () is a town in County Meath, Ireland. It is situated on the River Boyne and has a population of 9,194. The town is noted for Trim Castle – the largest Norman castle in Ireland. One of the two cathedrals of the United Dioceses of Mea ...

and Eleanor, sister of

James Ussher James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ident ...

, Archbishop of Armagh. The Pakenham family, who were originally from Suffolk, had come to Ireland about 1575, in the entourage of Sir Henry Sidney, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, to whom they were related. The family acquired substantial lands in Westmeath and County Wexford. He was educated at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1674. He was called to the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...

and became King's Counsel in 1685.Hart, A.R. ''History of the King's Serjeants-at-law in Ireland'' Four Courts Press Dublin, 2000 As a barrister he was held in high regard, and enjoyed the patronage of Charles Porter, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland. In 1692 he was recommended for promotion to be one of the three serjeants-at-law, being described by Porter as "the fittest that can be picked on for the King's service". He became Second Serjeant in that year, with a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

, and was made Prime Serjeant in 1695, on Porter's recommendation, holding that office until his death in 1703. He was MP for

Augher Augher (from ga, Eochair meaning "edge/border") is a small village in south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies just 6 miles to the County Monaghan Border and is 16 miles south of Dungannon. It is situated in the historic barony of Clog ...

from 1695 to 1699. He married firstly in 1673 to Mary Nelmes, daughter of Richard Nelmes, an Alderman of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He married secondly in 1696 Mary Bellingham, daughter of Sir Daniel Bellingham, first of the

Bellingham Baronets There have been three baronetcies created for persons with the surname Bellingham, one in the Baronetage of England, one in the Baronetage of Ireland and one in the Baronetage of Great Britain. As of 2014 one creation is extant. The Bellingham ...

of Dubber, who had been created the first

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...

in 1665; her mother was Jane Barlow, daughter of Richard Barlow of Cheshire. Thomas had at least six children by his first marriage, including: Edward Pakenham (died 1721), his eldest son, who married Margaret Bradestan, daughter of John Bradestan, (who married secondly Reverend Ossory Medlicott of

Ticehurst Ticehurst is both a village and a large civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The parish lies in the upper reaches of both the Bewl stream before it enters Bewl Water and in the upper reaches of the River Rother flowi ...

, Sussex), and was the father of: *

Thomas Pakenham, 1st Baron Longford Thomas Pakenham, 1st Baron Longford (May 1713 – 30 April 1766) was an Irish peer and politician. Early life He was born in May 1713 at Pakenham Hall, County Westmeath, Ireland, eldest son of Edward Pakenham and Margaret Bradestan. His mate ...

. Sir Thomas also had four younger sons, Thomas, Philip, Henry and Robert, and a daughter, Frances, who married George Nugent of Castlerichard, County Louth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakenham, Thomas 1649 births 1703 deaths Irish MPs 1695–1699 Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of Lincoln's Inn

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Tyrone constituencies Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) Irish Queen's Counsel People from Castlepollard Lawyers from County Westmeath