Thomas George Southwell, 1st Viscount Southwell (4 May 1721 – 29 August 1780) was an Anglo-Irish military officer, peer and politician who served as the governor of Limerick from 1762 to 1780.

Background

He was the oldest son of Thomas Southwell, 2nd Baron Southwell and his wife Mary Coke, eldest daughter of Thomas Coke. Southwell was educated at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

and went then to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He was commissioned an ensign in the

2nd Regiment of Foot Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

on 1 May 1738, retiring from the Army in November 1741. Between 1753 and 1757, Southwell was Grandmaster of the

Grand Lodge of Ireland The Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second most senior Grand Lodge of Freemasons in the world, and the oldest in continuous existence. Since no specific record of its foundation exists, 1725 is the year celebrated in Grand Lodge anniversaries, as ...

Career

In 1747, Southwell entered 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

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...

, sitting for it until 1761. Subsequently, he was returned for

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, the same constituency his father and his uncle Henry Southwell had represented before, until 1766, when he succeeded his father as baron. Three years later, Southwell delivered his maiden speech in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

. He was appointed Constable of Limerick Castle in 1750 and Governor of County Limerick in 1762, posts he held until his death in 1780. He was made High Sheriff of County Limerick for 1759. In 1776, Southwell was elevated to the title Viscount Southwell, of Castle Mattress, in the County of Limerick.

Family

On 18 June 1741, he married Margaret Hamilton, daughter of Arthur Cecil Hamilton of Castle Hamilton,

Killeshandra Killeshandra or Killashandra () is a small town or village and civil parish in County Cavan, Ireland. It is located west of Cavan Town. Killeshandra town has a long record of participation in the National Tidy Towns competition and has won ...

, Co. Cavan and had by her three sons, Thomas (died young),

Thomas Southwell, 2nd Viscount Southwell Thomas Arthur Southwell, 2nd Viscount Southwell (16 April 1742 – 14 February 1796), styled The Honourable from 1766 until 1780, was an Irish peer and politician. He was the oldest son of Thomas Southwell, 1st Viscount Southwell and his wife M ...

, and Robert, and a daughter, Lucia. Southwell had another daughter, Meliora, named after her paternal great-grandmother. The identity of this daughter's mother is not clear. Southwell recognised her as his daughter and, being her natural father, he was granted guardianship of her by the Court of Chancery of Great Britain. On 19 December 1758, Meliora married, by licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Joseph Otway, at St James's Church, Piccadilly. As a minor, Southwell had to give his permission for the marriage to proceed. The marriage was witnessed by Southwell, his son, Thomas, and his daughter Lucia.''The Register of Marriages solemnized in the Parish Church of St James within the Liberty of Westminster & County of Middlesex. 1754-1765.'' No. 1397. 19 December 1758. Southwell died, aged 59 and was buried at

Rathkeale Rathkeale () is a town in west County Limerick, in Ireland. It is 30 km (18 mi) southwest of Limerick city on the N21 road to Tralee, County Kerry, and lies on the River Deel. The town is in a townland and civil parish of the same n ...

. He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest surviving son,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, while his younger son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, also sat in the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southwell, Thomas Southwell, 1st Viscount 1721 births 1780 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Coldstream Guards officers Members of Lincoln's Inn Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Politicians from County Limerick High sheriffs of County Limerick Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wexford constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Limerick constituencies