Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Fitzwilliam Lenox-Conyngham, (25 April 1824 – 4 December 1906) was an Irish soldier. The eldest son of William Lenox-Conyngham and Charlotte Melosina Staples, third daughter of the Rt Hon. John Staples (of

Lissan House Lissan House is a historic house and tourist attraction in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, that was the seat of the Staples baronets. Lissan lies nestled at the foot of the Sperrin Mountains amid ancient woodland near the historic market town o ...

), he was born at Springhill,

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

and was a Deputy Lieutenant,

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 ...

and High Sheriff of County Tyrone. He married Laura Calvert Arbuthnot (1830-1917) and had thirteen children; William Arbuthnot Lenox-Conyngham, Rev. George Hugh Lenox-Conyngham, Elizabeth Mary Clark, John Staples Molesworth Lenox-Conyngham, Charlotte Melosina Leonox-Conyngham, Arthur Beresford Lenox-Conyngham, Sir Gerald Ponsonby Lenox-Conyngham, Ernest Lenox-Conyngham, Edward Fraser Lenox-Conyngham, Hubert Lenox-Conyngham, Alwyn Lenox-Conyngham, Laura Eleanor Duff and (Harriet) Alice Katherine Lenox-Conyngham (a passenger on the

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

). When he retired as a soldier (with the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

) he was rewarded 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 Gr ...

. He also, after 1882, accepted the Agency of the Drapers' Company in Londonderry and in this capacity lived in the Manor House,

Moneymore Moneymore () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,897 in the 2011 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District. It is an example of a plantation village in Mid-Ulster built by the Drap ...

. When, after the passing of the

Ashbourne Act The Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act 1885 ( 48 & 49 Vict. c.73), commonly known as the Ashbourne Act is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed by a Conservative Party government under Lord Salisbury. It extended the terms that had b ...

, the lands of the Drapers' Company were sold, Sir William and his family went for a short time to live in England, where Sir William died in 1906.PRONI
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References

1824 births 1906 deaths British Militia officers Deputy Lieutenants of Tyrone Royal Artillery officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Irish justices of the peace Military personnel from County Londonderry High Sheriffs of Tyrone Lenox-Conyngham family Lawyers from County Londonderry {{Ireland-mil-bio-stub