Thomas Staunton (1706? – 1 October 1784) was an Irish lawyer and a member of both the Irish and British Parliaments. He was the son of John Staunton of

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

, Ireland, who was MP for Galway Borough 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 ...

, and Bridget Donnellan, daughter of Edmund Donnellan, and 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 ...

from 1723. 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 ...

in 1729. He then moved to London to study law at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1727 and at Lincoln's Inn in 1740. He was called to the English bar in 1740. He was elected to represent Galway Borough (his father's old constituency) in the Irish Parliament, sitting from 1732 to 1761. He was a Member of the British Parliament for

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

from 1757 to 1784 in the

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...

interest. He married twice; firstly Jane, the daughter of Gilbert Vane, 2nd

Baron Barnard Baron Barnard, of Barnard Castle in the Bishopric of Durham, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1698 for Christopher Vane, who had previously served as a member of parliament for County Durham and Boroughbridge. Vane was ...

and Mary Randyll (Mary was reputed to be a woman of "scandalous life"), and sister of

Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington, PC (c. 1705 – 6 March 1758), known as Lord Barnard between 1753 and 1754, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1726 to 1753 when he succeeded to a peerage as Baron Barnard. Lif ...

and of

Anne Vane Anne Vane (17 September 1710 - 27 March 1736), also known as "the Hon. Mrs. Vane," was a maid of honour to Caroline of Ansbach and mistress to her son Frederick, Prince of Wales. Life Vane was the first daughter of Gilbert Vane, second Baron B ...

, mistress of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fa ...

. They had 2 sons, who both predeceased him, and 2 daughters. He married secondly Catherine, the daughter of Thomas Thurston of Holbrook Hall, Suffolk and the widow of William Peck of Little Sampford,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

(died 1742), who had been a first cousin of Jane Staunton. After his second marriage, he lived at Holbrook Hall. He was considered a fine Parliamentary

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

, but after 1761 there is no record of his speaking in the House. He would clearly have welcomed a Government appointment, but never received one.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staunton, Thomas 1707 births 1784 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Inner Temple Members of Lincoln's Inn 18th-century Irish lawyers Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Galway constituencies Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Ipswich British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Lawyers from County Galway Politicians from County Galway