Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse (21 May 1758 – 24 February 1841), known as Sir Lawrence Parsons, Bt, from 1791 to 1807, was an Irish peer. Birr Castle, Offaly

Parsons was the son of

Sir William Parsons, 4th Baronet Sir William Parsons, 4th Baronet of Birr Castle (6 May 1731 – 1 May 1791) was an Irish politician and baronet. He was the son of Sir Laurence Parsons, 3rd Baronet and Mary Sprigge. From 1757 until his death in 1797, Parsons served as member o ...

and Mary Clere. He succeeded his father in 1791 to the baronetcy and to

Birr Castle Birr Castle (Irish: ''Caisleán Bhiorra'') is a large castle in the town of Birr in County Offaly, Ireland. It is the home of the 7th Earl of Rosse and his family, and as such the residential areas of the castle are not open to the publi ...

, King's County (now known as

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland ...

). Between 1782 and 1790, he represented

Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Du ...

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 ...

. Parsons sat then as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for King's County from 1791 until the Act of Union in 1801. In the following

co-option Co-option (also co-optation, sometimes spelt coöption or coöptation) has two common meanings. It may refer to the process of adding members to an elite group at the discretion of members of the body, usually to manage opposition and so maintai ...

, he chose to sit for King's County also in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 65 ...

, a seat he held until 1807. In the latter year, he succeeded his uncle as second Earl of Rosse and Lord Oxmantown. He also served as Governor of King's County from 1792 until the position was abolished in 1831. In 1809, he became one of the

Postmasters General of Ireland The Postmasters General of Ireland, held by two people simultaneously, was a new appointment set up as part of the establishment of the Irish Post Office independent from that of Great Britain, by the Act 23, 24 George III in 1784. The post las ...

with

Charles O'Neill, 1st Earl O'Neill Charles Henry St John O'Neill, 1st Earl O'Neill, KP, PC (I) (22 January 1779 – 12 February 1841) was an Irish politician, peer and landowner. He was born in 1779 to John O'Neill, 1st Viscount O'Neill, of Shane's Castle, County Antrim, Irelan ...

, with whom he attended the laying of the foundation stone for the new

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

in Dublin on 12 August 1814 by the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...

Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth, GCB, PC (29 May 1752 – 13 May 1825), known as The Lord Whitworth between 1800 and 1813 and as The Viscount Whitworth between 1813 and 1815, was a British diplomat and politician. Early years Whitwort ...

. He later sat in 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 Westminst ...

as an Irish Representative Peer from 1809 until 1841 and served as

Custos Rotulorum of King's County The Custos Rotulorum of King's County was the highest civil officer in King's County, Ireland (now County Offaly). The position was later combined with that of Lord Lieutenant of King's County. Incumbents *1687–? Robert Grace *1761–1764 Ch ...

from 1828 until his death.

Marriage and children

He married Alice Lloyd, daughter of John Lloyd, on 1 May 1797. They had five children: *

Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inf ...

Jane Parsons (d. 31 December 1883) *

William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse (17 June 1800 – 31 October 1867), was an Irish astronomer, naturalist, and engineer. He was president of the Royal Society (UK), the most important association of naturalists in the world in the nineteenth ...

(b. 17 June 1800 – d. 31 October 1867) * Hon. John Clere Parsons (b. 17 August 1802 – d. 10 August 1828) * Hon. Laurence Parsons (b. 2 November 1805 – d. 22 November 1894) *

Alicia Parsons (b. c. 1815 – d. 21 January 1885) Jane Parsons married

Arthur Edward Knox Arthur Edward Knox (28 December 1808, Dublin – 23 December 1886) was a British sportsman, amateur naturalist, author of three books, and one of the founders of the British Ornithological Union. A. E. Knox graduated M.A. from Brasenose College in ...

. They had two sons and three daughters. One of the sons, Lawrence E. Knox founded the Irish Times.

References and sources

;Notes ;Sources * *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosse, Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl Of 1758 births 1841 deaths Auditors of the College Historical Society Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for King's County constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs who inherited peerages Irish representative peers People from Birr, County Offaly Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for Dublin University Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for King's County constituencies Earls of Rosse (1806 creation) Postmasters General of Ireland