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Lieutenant-colonel Sir Jacob Henry Astley, 5th Baronet (12 September 1756 – 28 April 1817) was an English landowner and Member of Parliament.


Life

He was the third son of Sir Edward Astley, 4th Baronet of Melton Constable and Rhoda Delaval, daughter of Francis Blake Delaval of
Seaton Delaval Seaton Delaval is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Seaton Valley, in Northumberland, England, with a population of 4,371. The largest of the five villages in Seaton Valley, it is the site of Seaton Delaval Hall, comple ...
, Northumberland. He attended
Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
and
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
. On 14 January 1789 he married Hester Browne, by whom he had three sons and six daughters. His father Edward was MP for
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
for twenty-two years and gave it up in 1790 rather than contest it. Jacob was given a commission as a captain in the East Norfolk
Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
in 1780, which he held until 1794, when he was made lieutenant colonel in the Norfolk
Fencible The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...
Light Dragoons, a role he held for five years. A brother Edward J.Astley was appointed as a major. He was on military service in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
in 1797 when his mother announced his candidature for one of the seats in his father's old constituency, which had fallen vacant when Sir John Wodehouse was made a peer. The constituency's other MP Thomas William Coke offered him financial help and Astley was returned unopposed, despite Wodehouse threatening to refuse his peerage and remain MP to block his election. Astley professed neutrality and publicly distanced himself from Coke, but he did vote with the Whigs against
William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...
's assessed taxes and land tax redemption in late 1797 and early 1798, against the refusal to enter into peace negotiations with France in 1800 and for the censure motion by Grey on 25 March 1801. By his father's death in 1802 both his elder brothers had died and so he inherited the
baronetcy 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 ...
and Melton Constable Hall in Norfolk. Again assisted by Coke, his re-election campaign of 1802 was fierce and he was attacked as "a liar, a coward, an assassin, a scoundrel, a murderer; and ... he murderer ofhis own father". He initiated a libel case, though the defence cited his own father's words just before his death and Astley was only awarded a fifth of the £10,000 damages he claimed. When his mother's brother Edward Hussey Delaval died in 1814 he inherited his estate of
Seaton Delaval Hall Seaton Delaval Hall is a Grade I listed building, Grade I listed country house in Northumberland, England, near the coast just north of Newcastle upon Tyne. Located between Seaton Sluice and Seaton Delaval, it was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh i ...
in
Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
. The 1806 election elected Coke and William Windham as the MPs for Norfolk, but on petition this result was declared invalid and in a by-election the following year Coke's younger brother
Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
and Astley were elected instead. Astley took leaves of absence in 1815 and 1816 and died in 1817. His eldest son
Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...
succeeded him in the baronetcy.


Issue

*Anne (d. 1833), who married Thomas Potter Macqueen, MP for East Looe and
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
. They had five children. *Hester (d. 31 Aug 1867), wife of Rev. Augustus Dashwood, son of Sir Henry Watkin Dashwood, 3rd Baronet. They had three children *Agnes (d. 30 Jul 1872), who married Rev. John Henry Sparke. No known issue. *Editha (17 June 1793 – 27 March 1871), who married Warden George Sergison, JP for Sussex. They had four children. *Sir Jacob (13 Nov 1797-27 Dec 1859) *Edward (Jan 1799-4 Apr 1846). Unmarried. *Lt.-Col. Francis L'Estrange (27 Feb 1810-9 Apr 1866), first married to Charlotte Micklethwait, granddaughter of
John Rous, 1st Earl of Stradbroke John Rous, 1st Earl of Stradbroke (30 May 1750 – 27 August 1827), known as Sir John Rous, Bt, from 1771 to 1796 and as The Lord Rous from 1796 to 1821, was a British nobleman, race horse owner and Member of Parliament. He married Charlotte Mari ...
. after Charlotte's death he married Rosalind Alicia Frankland, daughter of
Sir Robert Frankland-Russell, 7th Baronet Sir Robert Frankland-Russell, 7th Baronet (1784–1849) was an English politician, known also as an artist. In early life he was called Robert Frankland. Life He was the son of Sir Thomas Frankland, 6th Baronet and his wife Dorothy, daughter o ...
. He had three children with each.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astley, Jacob 1756 births 1817 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Norfolk Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Norfolk British MPs 1796–1800 UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 Baronets in the Baronetage of England