Major The Rt. Hon. William Charles Yelverton, 4th Viscount Avonmore (27 September 1824 – 1 April 1883, Biarritz), was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

nobleman and soldier. He was the son of The 3rd Viscount Avonmore and Cecilia O'Keeffe. Major William Charles Yelverton gained the rank of Major in the service of 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 ...

. He was invested as a

Knight 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 ...

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in f ...

5th class. He was usually known to family and friends as Charles.

Marriages

The Hon. William Charles Yelverton (as he was styled 1824–1870) married, firstly, Maria Theresa Longworth (died 1881) on 15 August 1857 in

Rostrevor Rostrevor () is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough, near Warrenpoint. The Kilbroney River flows through the village and Rostrevor Forest is nearb ...

, County Down,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The marriage was dissolved. The union was childless. He married, secondly, Mrs. Emily Marianne Forbes ( née Ashworth), daughter of Maj.-Gen. Sir Charles Ashworth and Mary Anne Rooke, on 26 June 1858, in Trinity Chapel,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Scotland; Emily Forbes, at the time of the marriage, was the widow of Prof.

Edward Forbes Edward Forbes FRS, FGS (12 February 1815 – 18 November 1854) was a Manx naturalist. In 1846, he proposed that the distributions of montane plants and animals had been compressed downslope, and some oceanic islands connected to the mainlan ...

, the naturalist.

''Thelwall v. Yelverton'' lawsuit

The validity of his first marriage was tested in the ''

Yelverton case The Yelverton case was a famous 19th-century Irish law case, which eventually resulted in a change to the law on mixed religion marriages in Ireland. Under a Statute of King George II (19 Geo. 2. c. 13), any marriage between a Catholic (Popish) ...

'', a 19th-century

law case, which eventually resulted in a change to the law on mixed religion marriages in Ireland. Under a Statute of King George II (19 Geo. 2. c. 13), any marriage between a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

(Popish) and a Protestant or a marriage between two Protestants celebrated by a Catholic priest was null and void. Between 21 February 1861 and 4 March 1861, the trial of ''Thelwall v. Yelverton'' found that even though Major Yelverton was a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, and Miss Longworth a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, and though they had been married by a Roman Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

, the marriage was valid. In March 1861 he was suspended from all military duties. On 28 July 1864 on appeal, the decision of ''Thelwall v. Yelverton'' was reversed, and the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

decided that William's first marriage was illegal, and therefore his second marriage was valid.''Yelverton v. Longworth (1864) 2 Paterson 1256''

Children

Major The Hon. William Charles Yelverton and Mrs. Emily Marianne Yelverton ( née Ashworth) had four children: * Captain The Hon. Barry Nugent Yelverton, 5th Viscount Avonmore (1859–1885) *William Walter Aglionby Yelverton (1860–1861) *Olive Ursula Yelverton (1861–1861) *Hon. Algernon William Yelverton, 6th Viscount Avonmore (1866–1910)

Later life

Major Yelverton outlived his older brother, thus succeeding his father in the

viscountcy A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

in October 1870. Henceforth he was styled as The Rt. Hon. The 4th Viscount Avonmore. Lord Avonmore died in Biarritz in April 1883.

Marriages

''Thelwall v. Yelverton'' lawsuit

Children

Later life

See also

References

Further reading