Sir William Verner, 1st Baronet, (25 October 1782 – 20 January 1871), was a British soldier who served in the

Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, was wounded at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

and resigned as a colonel. He served as a politician, including 36 years as a Member of Parliament. Two of his sons were also members of Parliament. Verner was made Knight Commander of the Hanoverian Order and a Baronet, and was Grand Master of

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

and

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

of Ireland.

Early life

William Verner was the son of Colonel James Verner, a Member of Parliament, and Jane Clarke. As a boy, he studied at Woodville, which overlooked

Lucan, Dublin Lucan ( ; ) is a suburban village to the west of Dublin, Ireland, located 12 km from Dublin city centre, on the River Liffey. It is near the Strawberry Beds and Lucan Weir, and at the confluence of the River Griffeen. It is mostly in the l ...

. He had the opportunity to attend

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, but preferred a career in the army.

Military

Verner's interest in an army career began when he commanded the Churchill Yeomanry. At first, he was a staff officer under the Lord Lieutenant of Dublin in the

7th Queen's Own Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

. He fought in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

at the

Battle of Corunna The Battle of Corunna (or ''A Coruña'', ''La Corunna'', ''La Coruña'' or ''La Corogne''), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a Briti ...

under Sir John Moore in 1808–1809. He also fought at the

Battle of the Pyrenees The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive (the author David Chandler recognises the 'battle' as an offensive) launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult from the Pyrénées region on Emperor Napoleon's order, ...

under the Duke of Wellington, in 1814 at the

Battle of Orthes The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an First French Empire, Imperial French army led by ...

and the Battle of Toulouse, and in 1815 the

, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, under Lord

Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member ...

. Verner was wounded by a musket shot to the head at Waterloo and retired from the army with the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Public service

William held three positions as High Sheriff: first for

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

in 1820,

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

in 1821 and last for

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

in 1823. He was also a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant of Tyrone. He was a member of the Conservative party and a Member of Parliament for

between 1832 and 1868. A supporter of the Protestant

, he was once struck off the Commission of the Peace by Lord Normanby for toasting the

Battle of the Diamond The Battle of the Diamond was a planned confrontation between the Catholic Defenders and the Protestant Peep o' Day Boys that took place on 21 September 1795 near Loughgall, County Armagh, Ireland. The Peep o' Day Boys were the victors, killi ...

at a public dinner in Ireland.

Personal life

Marriage and family

He married Harriet Wingfield, daughter of colonel the Hon. Edward Wingfield, younger son of The 3rd Viscount Powerscourt and Harriet Esther Westenra, on 19 October 1819. The couple had 2 sons and 8 daughters, at least 2 of which died in infancy. The children were buried at Powerscourt. He seemed to have good relationships with his children, who called their father "Taffy". They were: * Sir William Verner, 2nd Baronet (4 Apr 1822 - 10 Jan 1873) became Member of Parliament for the

* Sir Edward Wingfield Verner, 4th Baronet (1 Oct 1830 - 21 Jun 1899) 1863 an MP for

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

and after his older brother's death, became MP for

, a position he held until 1880 when he resigned. *Emily Verner (d. 13 June 1911) married Rev. Hon. Francis Nathanial Clements, son of

Nathaniel Clements, 2nd Earl of Leitrim Nathaniel Clements, 2nd Earl of Leitrim, KP PC (Ire) (9 May 1768 – 31 December 1854), styled The Honourable from 1783 to 1795, and then Viscount Clements to 1804, was an Irish nobleman and politician. Early life Clements was born in Dublin ...

. They had no children. *Frederica Verner (d. 1909). She married Maj. Henry Guise, son of

Sir John Wright Guise, 3rd Baronet General Sir John Wright Guise, 3rd Baronet (20 July 1777 – 1 April 1865) was a British Army general. Life Guise was born at Elmore, Gloucestershire, the second son of John Guise of Highnam Court, who was created a baronet in 1783, and died in 1 ...

. They had two sons. *Constantia Henrietta Frances Verner (d. 7 Dec 1923). She married William Sandford Pakenham, son of the Very Rev. Hon. Henry Pakenham and Eliza Catherine Sandford. They had six sons and a daughter. *Amelia *Cecelia *Frances Elizabeth *Harriet Jane Isabella

Real estate

Churchill

Following the Battle of Waterloo, and seeing his father in failing health, he took over the running of the family estate, named Churchill, which included the house, a church with a bell inscribed to the Virgin Mary, and graveyard. In 1788, he received the estates following the death of Thomas Verner, Esquire, his paternal great uncle. In addition to Churchill in Armagh, Thomas Verner also had estates in Meath, Monaghan and Tyrone. Since William was only 5 years old in 1788, his parents James and Jane moved into the home with their family and were guardians of the residence until 1807. During the Great Famine of Ireland (1845–1852), Verner offered work to any of his tenants in need and reduced rents by as much as half.

Inismagh

Verner also had property at Annahoe in

, Ireland.

Eaton Square

Verner met his wife in London and after they were married they bought a home there at 86

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest Squares in London, square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main ...

. Harriet also visited her parents often at Corke Abbey.

Death

Verner had good health until 1870 when he began to decline. He died on 20 January 1871 at his home at Eaton Square. His body was sent to

Loughgall Loughgall ( ; ) is a small village, townland (of 131 acres) and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the historic Barony (Ireland), baronies of Armagh (barony), Armagh and Oneilland West. It had a ...

, County Armagh, in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

for his funeral and burial. The procession was two miles long and was estimated to have included 10,000 people.

Honours and arms

In 1837, he was also made

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

of the Hanoverian Order by

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 ...

or William IV. On 22 July 1846, Verner was created a baronet, of Verner's Bridge in the County of

. He was a Grand Master for Armagh and a Deputy Grand Master of the

for Ireland.