Chambré Brabazon Ponsonby (1720 – 20 February 1762) was an Irish Member of Parliament. He was the son of Major-General

Henry Ponsonby Major-General Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby (10 December 1825 – 21 November 1895) was a British soldier and royal court official who served as Queen Victoria's Private Secretary. Biography Born in Corfu, he was the son of Major-General Si ...

by his wife Lady Frances, daughter of

Chambré Brabazon, 5th Earl of Meath Chambré Brabazon, 5th Earl of Meath Privy Council of Ireland, PC (I) ( – 1 April 1715), styled Hon. Chambré Brabazon from 1652 to 1707, was an Irish nobleman and politician. Education and offices He was the third son of Edward Brabazon, ...

. His paternal grandfather was

William Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Duncannon William Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Duncannon (1659 – 17 November 1724), was an Anglo-Irish peer. Background He was born in 1659, the third son of John Ponsonby (colonel), Sir John Ponsonby (c. 1608/9 – 1678) of Bessborough in County Kilkenny, a ...

and

Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough (1679 – 4 July 1758), was a British politician and peer. He was the son of William Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Duncannon, and Mary Moore. He was an active politician from 1705 to 1757 in Great Britain and ...

was his uncle. He sat 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, ...

as member for

Newtownards Newtownards (; ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtow ...

from 1750 to 1761.

Personal life

On 28 September 1746 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Clarke. They had one daughter, Frances, who married George Lowther of Kilrue on 28 July 1767. He married a second time on 23 October 1752, to Louisa, daughter of Henry Lyons of Belmont. They had one daughter, Sarah Ponsonby, (1755–1831). After Sarah was orphaned by her father's death she was sent to stay with distant relations, Lady Elizabeth "Betty" and Sir William Fownes at the

Woodstock Estate Woodstock House and Estate is a derelict Georgian house and estate located near Inistioge, County Kilkenny, Ireland, on the west bank of the River Nore. The Ladies of Llangollen story began here and Mary Tighe died here. The house was destroyed ...

near

Inistioge Inistioge (; ) is a small village in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Historically, its name has been spelt as Ennistioge, Ennisteage, and in other ways. The village is situated on the River Nore, southeast of Kilkenny. Inistioge ...

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

, where she attended school in Kilkenny. She was deeply unhappy there and received unwanted attentions from Sir William, her guardian. She was befriended by Eleanor Butler, (daughter of Walter Butler of

Kilkenny Castle Kilkenny Castle ( ) is a castle in Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, built in 1260 in Ireland, 1260 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways. It was a symbol of Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, N ...

) and they tried to escape together in 1776, but were captured. After Eleanor ran away from home and hid for a time in Sarah's room, supported by Mary Carryl a family servant, they eventually persuaded their families to let them leave in 1778. They moved to

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community (Wales), community, situated on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Val ...

in North Wales where they set up home with Carryl as housekeeper, and lived at Plas Newydd, where they were known as the Ladies of Llangollen. By his third wife, Mary, daughter of Sir William Barker, 3rd Baronet of Kilcooly Abbey, he was the father of Mary, who married Thomas Barton of Grove House, Fethard, and of Chambré Brabazon Ponsonby-Barker.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponsonby, Chambre Brabazon 1762 deaths Year of birth uncertain Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies