John Crichton, 3rd Earl Erne, KP (30 July 1802 – 3 October 1885), was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

peer and politician.

Early life

He was the eldest son of Lt.-Col. Hon. John Creighton, Governor of Hurst Castle and the former Jane Weldon (a daughter of Walter Weldon). His siblings included Maj. Hon. Henry Crichton (who married Elizabeth Hawkshaw), Lt.-Col. Hon. Samuel Crichton, Jane Anne Crichton (wife of Robert Fowler, eldest son of Rt. Rev.

Robert Fowler Robert Fowler may refer to: * Robert Fowler (archbishop of Dublin) (1724–1801), bishop in the Church of Ireland * Robert Fowler (artist) (1853–1926), English artist * Robert Fowler (athlete) (1882–1957), American marathoner * Robert Fowler (A ...

Bishop of Ossory The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Ireland, Province of Leinster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remain ...

), Lady Catherine Crichton (wife of the Rev. Francis Saunderson Rural), Lady Helen Crichton, Lady Charlotte Crichton, Lady Mary Crichton (wife of the Rev. John H. King). His paternal grandfather was

John Creighton, 1st Earl Erne John Creighton, 1st Earl Erne PC (1731 – 15 September 1828), known as The Lord Erne between 1772 and 1781 and as The Viscount Erne between 1781 and 1789, was an Irish peer and politician. Erne was the eldest surviving son of Abraham Creighton, ...

(eldest surviving son of

Abraham Creighton, 1st Baron Erne Abraham Creighton, 1st Baron Erne (December 1703 – 10 June 1772), was an Irish peer and politician. He was the only son of David Creighton of Crom Castle and Catherine Southwell, daughter of Richard Southwell. He married Elizabeth Rogerson, ...

) and the former Catherine Howard (sister of The 1st Viscount Wicklow).

Career

In 1842, he succeeded to the earldom of Erne upon the death of his uncle, The 2nd Earl Erne. His uncle Abraham had been an MP for

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 ...

from 1790 to 1797 before he was declared insane in November 1798 and then incarcerated at Brooke House, London, for the next forty years. Abraham had succeeded to the titles upon the death of his father in September 1828. The third earl subsequently changed the spelling of the family name to Crichton. In 1845 he was elected an

Irish Representative Peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords after the Kingdom of Ireland was brought into union with the Kingdom of Great Britain. No new members were added to the House after ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, where he remained until his death. He also served as

Lord Lieutenant of County Fermanagh A list of the Lord Lieutenants of Fermanagh, located County Fermanagh of Northern Ireland, U.K. The Lord Lieutenant is a ceremonial local government position. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they we ...

from 1845 to 1885. Erne was made a

Knight of the Order of St Patrick The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, The 3rd Earl Temple (later cre ...

in 1868 and in 1876 he was created Baron Fermanagh, of

Lisnaskea Lisnaskea () is the second-biggest settlement in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated mainly in the townland of Lisoneill, with some areas in the townland of Castle Balfour Demesne, both in the civil parish of Aghalurcher and the ...

in the County of Fermanagh, in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

. This title gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in the House of Lords. Lord Erne is also remembered as the employer of

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

Charles Boycott Charles Cunningham Boycott (12 March 1832 – 19 June 1897) was an English land agent whose ostracism by his local community in Ireland gave the English language the verb "to boycott". He had served in the British Army 39th Foot, which ...

, whose mishandling of relations with agricultural workers on Lord Erne's estate in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

caused a political and public order crisis and provoked the strategy that gave the English language the term to ''

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

''.

Personal life

On 6 July 1837, Lord Erne was married to Selina Griselda Beresford, the second daughter of The Rev. Charles Cobbe Beresford, Rector of

Termonmaguirk Termonmaguirk is a civil parish in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Omagh East, with a small portion in Strabane Upper. The Parish contains the following towns and villages: *Carrickmore *Drumnakilly *Lo ...

, and Amelia Montgomery (a daughter of

Sir William Montgomery, 1st Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

). Together, they were the parents of: * Lady Louisa Anne Catherine Crichton (1838–1866), who died unmarried. * John Henry Crichton, 4th Earl Erne (1839–1914), who married Lady Florence Mary Cole, daughter of The 3rd Earl of Enniskillen. * Hon. Charles Frederick Crichton (1841–1918), who married Lady Madeline Olivia Susan Taylour, eldest daughter of The 3rd Marquess of Headfort and Amelia Thompson (only child of

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

William Thompson), in 1873 * Hon. Sir Henry George Louis Crichton (1844–1922), the '' aide de camp'' to

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

. He married Letitia Grace Cole-Hamilton, third daughter of Maj. Arthur Willoughby Cole-Hamilton in 1869. After her death in 1888, he married Lady Emma Baring, only daughter of The 1st Earl of Northbrook, in 1890. Lord Erne died in October 1885, aged 83, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, who became a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

government minister.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,

References

External links

* * *
John Crichton, 3rd Earl of Erne (1802-1885), Representative peer and politician
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erne, John Crichton, 3rd Earl 1802 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Anglo-Irish people High Sheriffs of County Fermanagh Knights of St Patrick Lord-Lieutenants of Fermanagh Irish representative peers Earls Erne Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria