Elizabeth Pakenham, 1st Countess of Longford (26 July 1719 (baptised) – 27 January 1794), formerly Elizabeth Cuffe, was an Irish noblewoman. She was the wife of

Thomas Pakenham, 1st Baron Longford Thomas Pakenham, 1st Baron Longford (May 1713 – 30 April 1766) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Early life He was born in May 1713 at Pakenham Hall, County Westmeath, Ireland, eldest son of Edward Pakenham and Margaret Bradestan. His maternal ...

, the mother of Edward Michael Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford, and the grandmother of

Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford, (14 May 1774 – 28 May 1835), known as The Lord Longford between 1792 and 1794, was an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer. Early life Pakenham was born in 1774, the eldest son of Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Lon ...

. Elizabeth was the only child and heiress of

Michael Cuffe Michael Cuffe (1694 – 24 July 1744) was an Irish Member of Parliament. The son of Francis Cuffe by his wife Honora, daughter of Archbishop Michael Boyle, his paternal grandmother was the sister of Francis Aungier, 1st Earl of Longford. M ...

, MP, and his wife, the former Frances Sandford, a descendant of

George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare (23 January 1612 – 29 May 1660) was known as the "Fairy Earl", apparently for no other reason than that his portrait, which is extant, was painted on a small scale." Biography FitzGerald was the son of T ...

. She married The Baron of Longford, then Thomas Pakenham, on 5 March 1740. Their children were: * Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford (1743-1792), who married Catherine Rowley and had children, including the 2nd Earl *Frances (1744-1779), who married John Ormsby Vandeleur (1750-1777), and had one child *Robert Pakenham, MP in the Irish Parliament (died 1775) *Helena (1745-1777), who married William Sherlock and had children *Mary (1749-1775), who married Thomas Fortescue and had children *William Pakenham (1756-1769), who died in childhood * Admiral Sir Thomas Pakenham (1757-1836), who married Louisa Staples and had children In 1756 the Longford barony held by Elizabeth's great-great-uncles,

Francis Aungier, 1st Earl of Longford Francis Aungier, 1st Earl of Longford PC (Ire) (ca. 163223 December 1700) was an English politician, who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1679. He was an administrator in Ireland. Aungier was the eldest son of Ambrose Aungier, Chancel ...

, and Ambrose Aungier, 2nd Earl of Longford, of the first creation, was revived when her husband Thomas Pakenham was created Baron Longford in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

. In 1785 the earldom was revived and Lady Longford was created Countess of Longford in her own right. The family seats were Pakenham Hall in County Westmeath and Longford Castle in County Longford (demolished in 1972). The Countess of Longford survived her husband, who died in April 1766, aged 52; his title was inherited by their eldest son, Edward. When the countess died in January 1794, aged 74, she was succeeded in the earldom by her grandson,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, her eldest son Edward having predeceased her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longford, Elizabeth Pakenham, 1st Countess Of 1719 births 1794 deaths Irish countesses Hereditary peeresses of Ireland created by George III

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...