Henry Bentinck Boyle, 5th Earl of Shannon (22 November 1833 in London – 8 February 1890 in

Castlemartyr Castlemartyr (, formerly anglicised as ''Ballymarter'' or ''Ballymartyr'') is a large village in County Cork, Ireland. It is around east of Cork city Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Irel ...

), styled Viscount Boyle from 1842–68, was an Honorary

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 ...

of the 2nd Brigade, South Irish Division,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Family

He was a son of

Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Shannon Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Shannon (12 May 1809 – 1 August 1868), styled Viscount Boyle until 1842, was a British politician of the Whig party. He served as Member of Parliament for County Cork from 1830 to 1832.

and his wife Emily Henrietta Seymour. Richard served as a Member of Parliament, representing the

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

constituency in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1830 to 1832. Richard was a member of the Whig faction. Emily was a daughter of

Lord George Seymour Lord George Seymour-Conway (21 July 1763 – 10 March 1848), known as Lord George Seymour, was a British politician. A member of the Seymour family headed by the Duke of Somerset, Seymour was the seventh son and youngest child of Francis Seym ...

and Isabella Hamilton. George Seymour was a son of

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 ...

and his wife Lady Isabella Fitzroy. Isabella Hamilton was a daughter of the Reverend George Hamilton,

Canon of Windsor The Dean and Canons of Windsor are the ecclesiastical body of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Foundation The college of canons was established in 1348 by letters patent of King Edward III. It was formally constituted on the feast of S ...

(1718–1787) and his wife Elizabeth Onslow. Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton (25 October 1683 – 6 May 1757) was a British peer and politician. Early life He was the only child and heir of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663–1690) (an illegitimate son of King Charles II ...

and his wife Lady Henrietta Somerset. George Hamilton was a son of

James Hamilton, 7th Earl of Abercorn James Hamilton, 7th Earl of Abercorn PC (Ire) (1686–1744), styled Lord Paisley from 1701 to 1734, was a Scottish and Irish nobleman and peer. An amateur scientist and musician, he published a book on magnetism in 1729 and a treatise on musi ...

and his wife Anne Plumer. Elizabeth Onslow was a daughter of Richard Onslow,

Governor of Plymouth The Governor of Plymouth was the military Captain or Governor of the Royal Citadel, Plymouth, Fortress of Plymouth. The Governorship was abolished in 1842. The Lieutenant Governorship was vested in the General Officer Commanding Western Distric ...

and his second wife Pooley Walton. Henrietta Somerset was a daughter of

Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester (25 December 1660 – 13 July 1698) was an English nobleman and politician. He was the eldest surviving son of Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort and Mary Capell, and was styled Lord Herbert of Raglan ...

and his wife Rebecca Child. Anne Plumer was a daughter of John Plumer and Mary Hale. Her father was a Member of the Parliament, representing

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

in the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

. The Plumers originated in

Old Windsor Old Windsor is a village and civil parish, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is bounded by the River Thames to the east and the Windsor Great Park to the west. Etymology The name originates from old Eng ...

, claiming descent from an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

knight. However, their pedigree as preserved in the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

only dates to the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

. By that time the family already held significant wealth. John Plumer was also

High Sheriff of Hertfordshire The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the foundation of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provi ...

in 1689, appointed during the reign of

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily () * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg (1817–1890) N ...

and

Mary II Mary II (30 April 1662 – 28 December 1694) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland with her husband, King William III and II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Sh ...

. He was a Whig Parliamentary candidate in 1698, defeated by Ralph Freman and Thomas Halsey. Both his rivals were

Tories A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The T ...

. He was again a candidate in the 1708 election, again failing to win against Freman and Halsey. He was supported by most of the local

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 ...

but had little support among others eligible to vote.

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

records the arranged marriage of Anne to the Earl of Abercorn in "The Journal to Stella", placing it in 1711. Stella was his nickname for

Esther Johnson Esther Johnson (13 March 1681 – 28 January 1728) was an Englishwoman known to have been a close friend of Jonathan Swift, known as "Stella". Whether or not she and Swift were secretly married, and if so why the marriage was never made public ...

. In an entry dated 2 March 1711, Swift reports "I dined with Lord Abercorn, whose son Peasley will be married at Easter to ten thousand pounds." The Lord Abercorn mentioned here was Anne's father-in-law,

James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn, PC (Ire) ( – 28 November 1734), was a Scottish and Irish peer and politician. Appointed a groom of the bedchamber to Charles II after his father's death in battle, he took the Williamite side at th ...

. "Peasley" is a reference to the title "Lord Paisley", a courtesy title used at the time for the eldest son of each

Duke of Abercorn The title Duke of Abercorn () is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. Although the Dukedom is in the Peerage of Ireland, it refers to Abercorn, West Lothian, and t ...

. The ten thousand pounds were the

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

of Anne. John Plumer is later noted granting refuge to Jane Wenham, subject of a

witch trial A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or Incantation, incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the ...

, at his estate, New Place at Gilston. New Place had been built by Henry Chauncy in 1550. John Plumer purchased the estate in 1701. Plumer died in 1718 and his estates were inherited by his son

William Plumer William Plumer (June 25, 1759December 22, 1850) was an American lawyer, Baptist lay preacher, and politician from Epping, New Hampshire. He is most notable for his service as a Federalist in the United States Senate (1802–1807), and the sevent ...

(c. 1686 – 1767). William also served as M.P later in life. Pooley Walton was a daughter of Charles Walton of Little Bursted,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. Her paternal uncle Sir

George Walton George Walton ( – February 2, 1804) was a Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence while representing Georgia in the Continental Congress. Walton also served briefly as the second chief ex ...

was a

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. Rebecca Child was a daughter of

Josiah Child Sir Josiah Child, 1st Baronet, (c. 1630/31 – 22 June 1699) was an English economist, merchant and politician. He was an economist proponent of mercantilism and governor of the British East India Company, East India Company. He led the compa ...

, governor of the

Honourable East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and his second wife Mary Atwood. Her maternal grandfather William Atwood was also a merchant.

Life account

He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and then joined the service of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

. In 1852, Boyle was appointed

Attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

to the British envoy at

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, a Free imperial city maintaining its independence. Frankfurt was at the time a member of the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

and served as the seat of its Bundesversammlung. From 1852 to 1853, Boyle served as Attaché to the British embassy at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, capital of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. His father died on 1 August 1868. Henry inherited his title and the estates associated with it. He held said title and estates until his own death.

Marriages and children

On 12 July 1859, Shannon married his first wife Lady Blanche Emma Lascelles. She was a daughter of

Henry Lascelles, 3rd Earl of Harewood Henry Lascelles, 3rd Earl of Harewood DL (11 June 1797 – 22 February 1857), known as Viscount Lascelles from 1839 to 1841, was a British peer and Member of Parliament. Background Lascelles was born in 1797. He was the second son of Henry L ...

and his wife Lady Louisa Thynne. They had three sons: * Richard Henry Boyle, 6th Earl of Shannon (15 May 1860 – 11 December 1906), Lieutenant of the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

from 1880 to 1882. Moved to Canada in 1883, establishing his own

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

there. Later served in the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, federal legislature of Canada. The Monarchy of Canada, Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate of Canada, Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, form the Bicameral ...

. Also a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

The Rocky Mountain Rangers The Rocky Mountain Rangers is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army, one of only four infantry regiments in British Columbia, and the only infantry unit that recruits in Northern BC and much of the Interior. The regimental hea ...

. *Hon. Henry George Boyle (10 February 1862 – 16 December 1908), Lieutenant of the 3rd Battalion,

Yorkshire Regiment The Royal Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated R YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Future of ...

. *Hon. Robert Francis Boyle (12 December 1863 – 11 December 1922),

of the

, served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Blanche died on 26 December 1863, two weeks after giving birth to her last son. On 14 January 1868, Shannon married his second wife, Julia Charlotte Cradock-Hartopp. She was a daughter of William Edmund Cradock-Hartopp, 3rd Baronet,

High Sheriff of Warwickshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Warwickshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

and his wife Jane Mary Keane. They had three sons: *Hon. Walter John Harry Boyle (11 March 1869 – 24 February 1939), Senior Official Receiver of the

Insolvency Service The Insolvency Service is an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade with headquarters in London. It has around 1,700 staff, operating from 22 locations across the UK. The Insolvency Service administers compulsory company liq ...

from 1922 to 1934. He married Ethel Horatia, daughter of Captain Edward Rowe Fisher-Rowe and Lady Victoria Isabella Liddell. Lady Victoria was daughter of

Henry Liddell, 1st Earl of Ravensworth Henry Thomas Liddell, 1st Earl of Ravensworth (10 March 1797 – 19 March 1878) was a British peer and Member of Parliament who represented several constituencies. Biography Liddell was the eldest son of Thomas Liddell. He was educated at E ...

and Isabella Horatia Saymour. *Hon. Edward Spencer Harry Boyle (8 October 1870 – 8 October 1937), Captain of the Royal Navy, served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. Acting Commander of the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

from 1914 to 1918. *Hon. Sir Algernon Douglas Edward Harry Boyle (21 October 1871 – 13 October 1949), Vice Admiral of the Royal Navy. Member of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

in 1901, Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in 1918, Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1924. Served in First World War. Aide-de-camp to

George V of the United Kingdom George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

from 1918 to 1919.

Fourth Sea Lord The Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Supplies, originally known as the Fourth Naval Lord, was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty, which controlled the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. The post is currently ...

from 1920 to 1924.

References

External links

Listing of his ancestors, the Plumers in the History of CommonersSection of the "House of Commons" mentioning John PlumerThe Waltons as mentioned in the "Peerage"Page of "English Merchants" mentioning the marriages of Josiah Child
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon, Henry Boyle, 5th Earl of 1833 births 1890 deaths People educated at Eton College English expatriates in Germany English expatriates in Austria Military personnel from London

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

Earls of Shannon