Lawrence Harman Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse (26 July 1749 – 20 April 1807), known as The Lord Oxmantown between 1792 and 1795 and as The Viscount Oxmantown between 1795 and 1806, 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 State rel ...

peer and politician.

Background

Rosse was the second son of

Sir Laurence Parsons, 3rd Baronet Sir Laurence Parsons, 3rd Baronet (1708 – 24 October 1756) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Parsons was the son of William Parsons and Martha Pigott, and the grandson of Sir William Parsons, 2nd Baronet. His father predeceased his grandfather, an ...

, of

Birr Castle Birr Castle ( Irish: ) is a large castle in the town of Birr in County Offaly, Ireland. It is the home of the 7th Earl of Rosse and his family, and as the castle is generally not open to the public, though the grounds and gardens of the deme ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

, by his wife Anne, daughter of Wentworth Harman. He inherited the

County Longford County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...

estates of his uncle the Rev. Cutts Harman, with the proviso that he would adopt the Harman surname (thus becoming Laurence Harman Parsons).

Political career

He was a Member of 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, ...

for

from 1775 to 1792 and for

from 1790 to 1792. In 1792 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron of Oxmantown, in the County of Dublin, with remainder to his nephew Sir Lawrence Parsons, 5th Baronet. In 1795 he was made Viscount Oxmantown, of Oxmantown in the County of Dublin, also in the Peerage of Ireland but with normal remainder to the heirs male of his body. Lord Oxmantown was even further honoured in 1806 when he was created Earl of Rosse in the Irish peerage, with similar remainder as for the barony. From 1800 to 1807 he sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

sat as one of the 28 original

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 ...

Family

Lord Rosse married Lady Jane, daughter of Edward King, 1st Earl of Kingston and Jane Caulfield, in 1772. He died in April 1807, aged 57, when the viscountcy became extinct; he was succeeded in the barony and earldom according to the special remainder by his nephew, Lawrence. Lady Rosse died in January 1838 and the estates were inherited by their only child, Lady Frances (1775 - 1841), wife of Robert King, 1st Viscount Lorton, whose descendants were the King-Harman family of Newcastle House, County Longford.

References

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosse, Laurence Parsons, 1st Earl of 1749 births 1807 deaths Peers of Ireland created by George III Irish MPs 1769–1776 Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Members of the Irish House of Lords Irish representative peers Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Longford constituencies Parsons, Laurence Earls of Rosse (1806 creation)