Richard Meade, 2nd Earl of Clanwilliam (10 May 1766 – 3 September 1805) was an Irish peer, ''styled'' Lord Gilford from 1776 to 1800.

Early life

Richard was born on 10 May 1766. He was the eldest of ten children born of the heiress Theodosia Magill, and

John Meade, 1st Earl of Clanwilliam John Meade, 1st Earl of Clanwilliam (21 April 1744 – 19 October 1800), was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish nobleman, known as Sir John Meade, 4th Baronet, until 1766. Elevated to the Peerage of Ireland, his debauchery and reckless spending l ...

. Among his siblings were Lady Anne Meade (wife of William

Whaley Whaley may refer to: * Whaley, Derbyshire, a village in England * Whaley (surname) * Whaley Hall (1941–2015), an American football player See also *Whaley Bridge, another town in Derbyshire, England * Whaley House (disambiguation), several ...

), Lady Catherine Meade (wife of

Richard Wingfield, 4th Viscount Powerscourt Richard Wingfield, 4th Viscount Powerscourt (29 October 1762 – 19 July 1809) was an Irish nobleman, landowner, and a prominent figure in Anglo-Irish society. As a member of the Irish Parliament he opposed the 1800 Act of Union. Biography Ric ...

), Hon. Robert Meade, Lady Theodosia Sarah Frances Meade (wife of

John Cradock, 1st Baron Howden General John Francis Cradock, 1st Baron Howden (11 August 1759 – 26 July 1839), was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. Life He was son of John Cradock, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin. In 1775 he was admi ...

), Hon. John Meade, Hon. Pierce Meade, the

Archdeacon of Dromore The Archdeacon of Dromore is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Anglican Diocese of Down and Dromore. The archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of clergy within the diocese. History The archdeaconry can trace its hist ...

(who married Elizabeth Percy, a daughter of Bishop Thomas Percy), Hon. Edward Meade, who was killed at the Battle of Abukir, Lady Melosina Adelaide Meade (wife of The 10th Earl of Meath), and Lady Maria Rose Arabella Sarah Meade. His paternal grandparents were

Sir Richard Meade, 3rd Baronet Sir Richard Meade, 3rd Baronet (1697 – 26 May 1744) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Meade was the second eldest surviving son of Sir John Meade, 1st Baronet and Hon. Elizabeth Butler. He was a graduate of Trinity College Dublin. He sat in the I ...

and Catherine Prittie (a daughter of Henry Prittie of Kilboy). His maternal grandparents were Robert Hawkins-Magill, of Gill Hall, Dromore, and, his second wife, Anne Bligh (a daughter of the 1st Earl of Darnley and the 10th Baroness Clifton).

Career

In October 1793, while Gilford was abroad on the Continent, his mother announced him as a candidate for a by-election in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, apparently seeking an electoral pact with the

Marquess of Downshire Marquess of Downshire is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1789 for Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough, a former Secretary of State. Hill had already been created Earl of Hillsborough and Viscount Kilwarlin of County Down ...

, who had just vacated the seat. Ultimately, his candidacy was withdrawn and Downshire's candidate was elected unopposed. In October 1800, Gilford's father died and he became

Earl of Clanwilliam Earl of Clanwilliam is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for John Meade, 1st Viscount Clanwilliam. The Meade family descends from Sir John Meade, who represented Dublin University and County Tipperary in the Irish Hous ...

, briefly returning to Ireland. His wife died shortly thereafter. He realized little in the way of an inheritance: he was left the Gill Hall estate in Gilford,

, part of his mother's inheritance, but part of her

jointure Jointure was a legal concept used largely in late mediaeval and early modern Britain, denoting the estate given to a married couple by the husband's family. One of its most important functions was providing a livelihood for the wife if she became ...

was still charged on its revenues, and her more valuable estate in

Rathfriland Rathfriland () is a market town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is north-east of Newry town centre. History In older documents written in English, the town's name was usually spelt ''Rathfylan'' or ''Rathfrilan''.

went to his younger brother Hon. Robert Meade instead.

Personal life

Meanwhile, Gilford was laying the foundations for a family rupture. He fell in love with and married Marie-Caroline, Countess of Thun (1769–1800), daughter of Count Franz Josef Anton von

Thun und Hohenstein The House of Thun und Hohenstein, also known as Thun-Hohenstein, belonged to the historical Austrian nobility, Austrian and Bohemian nobility. There is one princely and several count, comital branches of the family. The princely branch of the fami ...

and Countess Maria Wilhelmine Uhlfeldt (the daughter of

Imperial Count Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from a prince wh ...

Anton Corfiz Ulfeldt), on 16 October 1793. Marriage to a penniless

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

noblewoman was unacceptable in his Ascendancy family, and the marriage estranged him from his parents, who, at the time, were liquidating his father's estates to pay the enormous debts they had accumulated. His consent was necessary to break the

entail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust, established by deed or settlement, that restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents that property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise ali ...

, but as he had his own debts and a newborn daughter to provide for, he was obliged to agree to the sale of his patrimony. The couple returned from Ireland to Vienna in 1795 or 1796, where they ultimately had three children: * Lady Caroline Meade (1794–1820), who married Count

Pál Széchenyi Pál is a Hungarian masculine given name, the Hungarian version of Paul. It may refer to: * Pál Almásy (1818–1882), Hungarian lawyer and politician * Pál Bedák (born 1985), Hungarian boxer * Pál Benkő (1928–2019), Hungarian-American che ...

, a son of Count

Ferenc Széchényi Count Ferenc Széchényi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (28 April 1754 – 13 December 1820) was a Hungarian nobleman and statesman, known for founding the Hungarian National Library and the Hungarian National Museum, National Museum in Budapest. Ear ...

and Countess Julia Festetics de Tolna, in 1811. After her death, he married Countess Emilie Zichy-Ferraris. *

Richard Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam Richard Charles Francis Christian Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam GCH (15 August 1795 – 7 October 1879), styled Lord Gillford between 1800 and 1805, was a British diplomat and politician of Anglo-Irish background. A protégée of the Briti ...

(1795–1879), who married Lady Elizabeth Herbert, daughter of

George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

and

Catherine Vorontsov Catherine Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery (born Yekaterina Semyonovna Vorontsova; ; 24 October 1783 – 27 March 1856), was a Russian noblewoman who married the 11th Earl of Pembroke. Early life She was born in Saint Petersburg, th ...

in 1830. Lady Elizabeth's maternal uncle was the Russian

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Mikhail Vorontsov. * Lady Selina Meade (1797–1872), who married Karl Johann Nepomuk, Count of

Clam-Martinic The House of Clam-Martinic is the name of an old and influential noble family, whose family members occupied many important positions within the Habsburg Empire. History The family originates from Berg near Henndorf am Wallersee and appeare ...

. After his wife died, he spent the rest of his life in Vienna, where he was an avid gardener; while manuring a flowerbed, he contracted an infection that killed him on 3 September 1805. After his death, his two daughters were raised by their aunt Maria Christiane and her husband

Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky of Woschütz (, also known as ''Carl Alois, Fürst von Lichnowsky-Woschütz''; 21 June 1761 – 15 April 1814) was the second Prince Lichnowsky and a chamberlain at the Imperial Austrian court. He is remembered for ...

, while his son was raised in England.

Descendants

Through his son Richard, he was a grandfather of one girl and four boys, including

Richard Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Richard James Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam, (3 October 1832 – 4 August 1907), styled Lord Gillford until 1879, was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he served at the Battle o ...

, Sir

Robert Henry Meade Sir Robert Henry Meade (16 December 1835 – 8 January 1898) was a British civil servant and the Head of the Colonial Office between 1892 and 1897. Life Meade was the second son of the 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam and Lady Elizabeth Herbert. ...

, and Hon. Sidney Meade, Perpetual

Curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

of Christ Church in Bradford on Avon, and

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

. Through his daughter Selina, he was a grandfather of Austrian statesman Count .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clanwilliam, Richard Meade, 2nd Earl of 1766 births 1805 deaths Earls of Clanwilliam