Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Ragley, 1st Baron Conway of Killultagh, MP, PC (Ire) (28 May 1679 – 3 February 1731/1732), was a British politician, born Francis Seymour.

Background

Born Francis Seymour, he was the second son of Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet, by his second wife Letitia, daughter of

Alexander Popham Alexander Popham (1605 – 1669) of Littlecote, Wiltshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1669. He was patron of the philosopher John Locke. Early life Popham was born at Littlec ...

. This branch of the

Seymour family The House of Seymour or St. Maur, is the name of an old English family in which several titles of nobility have from time to time been created, and of which the Duke of Somerset is the head. Origins The family was settled in Monmouthshire in th ...

descended from Sir Edward Seymour, son of

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp (150022 January 1552) was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 during the minority of his nephew King E ...

by his first wife Catherine Filliol. His nephew Sir Edward Seymour succeeded as 8th Duke of Somerset in 1750. On the death of his elder brother Popham Seymour-Conway in 1699, Francis succeeded to the estates of his mother's relative Edward Conway, 1st Earl of Conway, and assumed the same year by Royal licence the additional surname of Conway.

Political career

Conway sat as Tory Member of Parliament for Bramber from 1701 to 1703. In 1703 he was raised to the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

as Baron Conway of Ragley, in the

County of Warwick Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire to the south, and Worcest ...

, and in 1712 he was created Baron Conway of Killultagh, in the County of Antrim, 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 ...

. From 1728 to 1732 Lord Conway was

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

and was sworn of the

Irish Privy Council His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal execut ...

in 1728.

Marriages and issue

Lord Conway married firstly Lady Mary, daughter of

Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, (March 1642 – 2 May 1711) was an English statesman and writer. He was originally a supporter of James II but later supported the Glorious Revolution in 1688. He held high office under Queen Anne, daug ...

, on 17 February 1703/1704. They had four daughters: *Hon. Letitia Seymour-Conway (17 October 1704 – 1723) *Hon. Mary Seymour-Conway (August 1705 – 1728), married Nicholas Price *Hon. Henrietta Seymour-Conway (1706 – 10 May 1771) *Hon. Catherine Seymour-Conway (1708 – 14 June 1737) After Lady Mary's death in Northwicke on 25 January 1708/1709 he married secondly Jane Bowden, of

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, in that same year, by whom he had two children: *Hon. Edward Seymour-Conway (d. 8 April 1710) *Hon. Jane Seymour-Conway (d. 5 May 1749) After Jane's death in Sandywell,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, on 13 February 1715/1716 he married thirdly Charlotte, daughter of John Shorter, of Bybrook,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, and wife, in July 1716. *

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (5 July 1718 – 14 June 1794) of Ragley Hall, Arrow, in Warwickshire, was a British courtier and politician who, briefly, was Viceroy of Ireland where he had substantial estates. Background ...

(1718–1794) *Field Marshal Hon. Henry Seymour Conway (1721–1795) *Hon. Charlotte Seymour-Conway (22 July 1717 – September 1717) *Hon. George Augustus Seymour-Conway (b. August 1723), died an infant *Hon. Arabella Seymour-Conway, died young *Hon. Anne Seymour-Conway (d. 24 March 1774), married John Harris on 10 March 1755 and had issue *Hon. Charles Seymour-Conway, died young Lord Conway died in February 1732 in

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

, aged 52, and was succeeded by his eldest son by his third wife, Francis Seymour-Conway, who was created Earl of Hertford in 1750 and

Marquess of Hertford The titles of Earl of Hertford and Marquess of Hertford have been created several times in the peerages of Peerage of England, England and Peerage of Great Britain, Great Britain. The third Earldom of Hertford was created in 1559 for Edward Sey ...

in 1793. Lady Conway died on 12 February 1733/1734.

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron 1679 births 1732 deaths Barons in the Peerage of England Peers of England created by Queen Anne Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Seymour-Conway, Francis Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by Queen Anne