William Parkinson Ruxton (1766 – 11 October 1847) of Red House in
County Louth
County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...
was an Irish Member of Parliament.
Ruxton was the son of
Charles Ruxton by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of
Robert Parkinson of Red House. He inherited the Red House and rebuilt it in its present form. He was elected to 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 fra ...
for
Ardee
Ardee (; , ) is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. The town shows evidence of development from the thirteenth century onward but as a result of the continued devel ...
in 1790 and then again in 1799, sitting until the
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chamb ...
was abolished by the
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...
. He was appointed
High Sheriff of Louth
The High Sheriff of Louth was the Crown's representative for County Louth, a territory known as his bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, he held his office for the duration of a year. He had judicial, ceremonial and administrative func ...
for 1819–20.
Personal life
On 18 January 1802 he married Anna Maria Fortescue (born 6 July 1773 – died 25 August 1865), daughter of
Thomas Fortescue of Dromisken. They had no children and she inherited Red House at his death. She died in 1865 and the estate passed to her nephew,
Chichester Fortescue, who adopted the surname Parkinson-Fortescue.
Fortescue genealogy site (2)
fortescue.org; accessed 3 June 2016.
Arms
References
Links
* , leighrayment.com; accessed 3 June 2016.
1766 births
1847 deaths
Politicians from County Louth
Irish MPs 1790–1797
Irish MPs 1798–1800
High Sheriffs of County Louth
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Louth constituencies
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