Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Alexander Montgomery (1686 – 19 December 1729) was an Irish soldier and politician. Montgomery, of the

Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

, lived in Convoy House,

Convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was born into an Ulster Scots

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

family in 1686, the second son of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

John Montgomery and his first wife Catherine, the daughter of the Reverend James Auchinleck. The Montgomerys of Convoy were part of the County Donegal branch of the Clan Montgomery. He was elected member of parliament (MP) for Donegal Borough in 1725 until the general election in 1727 and was then returned for County Donegal in 1727 until his death on 19 December 1729, at the age of 43. He was buried at the Church of St. Nicholas Within the Walls, Nicholas Street, Dublin on 22 December 1729. He married Elizabeth Percy, a daughter of Colonel Henry Percy (or Piercy) of Seskin,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

. His wife predeceased him in December 1724 and was also interred at St. Nicholas on 5 January 1725. He inherited lands at Croghan, just outside

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...

in East Donegal, and in 1711 he purchased more lands at Tullydonell from James Nesbit. By 1720 he had also bought his main residence of Convoy, County Donegal. As it took more than a day to travel during his commute between

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and his estate in Convoy, he bought the Gwyllym estate of for £8,000 in 1724, halfway between both, at Ballyconnell in

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

to allow him to break the journey overnight. In his will, he left it to his

nephew In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of an individual's sibling or sibling-in-law. A niece is female and a nephew is male, and they would call their parents' siblings aunt or uncle ...

George Leslie, who then assumed the name George Leslie Montgomery, MP for

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

until 1787. He left no issue. His will is dated 4 July 1727 with a codicil dated 17 December 1728 stating- "''Alexander Montgomery of Dublin City and of Ballyconnell, County Cavan to be buried with wife in Dublin if he dies there. My estates in Counties Cavan and

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh (), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin or ...

and leaseholds in County Donegal to trustees for my nephew George Leslie, aged under 21, son of Rev. George Leslie of Clownish, County Monaghan, and of my sister Margaret Leslie Montgomery, his wife, then for Robert Montgomery, fourth son of my uncle Alexander, then for Matthew Montgomery''". (The 'uncle Alexander', referred to in the will, was Colonel Alexander Montgomery (1667–1722) M.P. for County Monaghan and the grandfather of the famous American Revolution war-hero, Major-General

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

). Probate was granted on 5 January 172

Up to 1729, Alexander Montgomery shared the parliamentary patronage of

, County Donegal, with the Creighton family, later the Earl of Erne, Earls of Erne. There is an agreement in the Erne papers (held in P.R.O.N.I. in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

) dated 1727 between Alexander Montgomery and General David Creighton about the sharing of Lifford Corporation and its representation 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 the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

, to which it sent two MP's. One of the articles of agreement was that, if Montgomery should die without a son, then his interest should pass to the Creightons. Montgomery was elected as an MP for

in the general election held later in 1727Johnston-Lilk (2006), p. 108 so the said General David Creighton and his son and heir, Abraham Creighton, (later the 1st Lord Erne) were returned as the two Lifford MPs. General David Creighton died in 1728 so the Lifford seat was filled by Thomas Montgomery (1700– April 1761), the 1st cousin of Alexander and father of the aforementioned Major-General

. On the death of the said Thomas Montgomery in 1761, full control of the Lifford seats passed to said Abraham Creighton.

Notes

References

* * (Readable online at http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/john-gough-nichols/the-topographer-and-genealogist-volume-2-hci/page-48-the-topographer-and-genealogist-volume-2-hci.shtml, pages 48+) {{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Alexander 1686 births 1729 deaths Irish MPs 1715–1727 Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Donegal constituencies Royal Scots Greys officers People from County Donegal Clan Montgomery Military personnel from County Donegal Politicians from County Donegal

See also

Notes

References