Sir Peter George FitzGerald, 1st Baronet, 19th Knight of Kerry (15 September 1808 – 6 August 1880) 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 ...

nobleman.

Early life

Peter George FitzGerald was born on 15 September 1808 and was raised in the banking house of his maternal grandfather in Dublin. He was the eldest surviving son of the Right Hon.

Sir ''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 "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Maurice FitzGerald, 18th Knight of Kerry (1774–1849) of Gleanleam,

Valentia Island Valentia Island () is one of Republic of Ireland, Ireland's most westerly points. It lies in Dingle Bay off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial Bridge at Portmagee ...

, County Kerry and his wife Maria, the daughter of the

Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

David la Touche of Marlay.

Career

Sir Peter entered the civil service and was appointed Vice-Treasurer of Ireland in the last ministry of

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...

. In 1849, he succeeded his father and resided almost constantly on

, devoting himself to the improvement of his estates, and the welfare of his tenantry. He especially earned the thanks of the people by the erection of substantial homesteads in place of the old and poorly-maintained cabins, with which the middleman system had covered the west of Ireland. FitzGerald manifested a keen interest in all questions which had a practical bearing on the progress or prosperity of Ireland and, in contributions to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', he deprecated the censure which at that time and since was cast indiscriminately upon all Irish landlords. His own admirable personal qualities, his hatred of abuses, his engaging manners, and his generous nature, made him a great favourite with the Irish peasantry. His hospitality at Glanleam was enjoyed by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and other distinguished guests. The

Transatlantic telegraph cable Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is a largely obsolete form of communication, and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and dat ...

had its British termination on his Valentia estates, and he evinced much public spirit and energy in connection with the successful laying of the cable. Both his UK baronetcy and his hereditary Irish knighthood have been inherited by his successors.

Personal life

On 11 August 1838, FitzGerald married Julia Hussey, daughter of Peter Bodkin Hussey of Farranikilla House, County Kerry, a lineal descendant of the Norman family of Hoses, which settled on the promontory of Dingle in the thirteenth century. He and Lady Julia had four sons and seven daughters: *Mary Emily Francis FitzGerald (1863–1917), who in 1863 married Sir Capel Molyneux, 7th Baronet (died 1879) of Castle Dillon, County Armagh. *Emily FitzGerald (died 1932), unmarried. *Frances Caroline FitzGerald (died 1921), unmarried. *Katharine FitzGerald (died 1927), who in 1873 married Rev. Henry Bell,

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Muncaster Muncaster is a civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The parish is south west of the city of Carlisle. The settlement of Muncaster itself consists of a small number of houses around Muncas ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

. *Elizabeth Anne FitzGerald (died 1922), who in 1882 married Francis Spring Rice, 4th Baron Monteagle (1852–1937) (the brother of Thomas Spring Rice, 2nd Baron Monteagle). Their son was Charles Spring Rice, 5th Baron Monteagle (1887–1946). *Julia Emma Isabella FitzGerald (died 1936), who in 1888 married Stephen Spring Rice (1856–1902). After Spring Rice's death, Julia married

Baron Monteagle Baron Monteagle or Baron Mount Eagle is a title that has been created three times; in the Peerage of England, in the Peerage of Ireland and in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation, in the Peerage of England, was in 1514 when Edwa ...

, her sister Elizabeth's widower. *Eileen Gertrude FitzGerald, who in 1886 married Brig. Gen. Edward Kaye Daubeney, son of Reverend Robert Thomas Daubeney * Sir Maurice Fitzgerald, 20th Knight of Kerry, 2nd Baronet of Valentia (1844–1916), who in 1883 married Amélie Bischoffsheim (1858–1947), daughter of Dutch banker Henri Louis Bischoffsheim (1829–1908) and granddaughter of Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim (1800–1873). *Robert John La Touche FitzGerald (1852–?), who married Marion Harte, eldest daughter of Mahony Harte, Esq. *Peter David FitzGerald (1855–1935), who in 1890 married Helen Mary Percy (died 1904), daughter of Major William Francis Percy * Brinsley John Hamilton FitzGerald (1859–1931), who in 1918 married Margarita (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Armstrong) Drexel. FitzGerald was a magistrate and deputy-lieutenant for

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

, and was

High Sheriff of Kerry High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

in 1849, and of

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

in 1875. On 8 July 1880, he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Valentia in the County of Kerry, in the

Baronetage of the United Kingdom Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

Death

Peter FitzGerald died on 6 August 1880. He was succeeded in his titles and estates by his eldest son, Captain Maurice FitzGerald, who became 2nd Baronet, 20th Knight of Kerry. Captain Fitzgerald served with distinction in the

Anglo-Ashanti wars The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan people, Akan interior of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African ...

, being present at the battles of Amoaful, Becquah, and Ordahau, and at the capture of Coomassie.

References

(Ireland) {{DEFAULTSORT:FitzGerald, Peter George Irish knights

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

1808 births 1880 deaths Politicians from County Kerry High sheriffs of Kerry Deputy lieutenants of Kerry 19th-century Anglo-Irish people Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom 19th-century Irish landowners

FitzGerald Fitzgerald may refer to: People * Fitzgerald (surname), a surname * Fitzgerald Hinds, Trinidadian politician * Fitzgerald Toussaint (born 1990), former American football running back Place Australia * Fitzgerald River National Park, a nati ...