Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone
Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone (16 July 1694 – 4 April 1763),[1] known as Sir Marcus Beresford, 4th Baronet, until 1720 and subsequently as The Viscount Tyrone until 1746, was an Irish peer, freemason and politician.
Background
He was the only son of Sir Tristram Beresford, 3rd Baronet, and his wife Nichola Sophia Hamilton, youngest daughter of Hugh Hamilton, 1st Viscount of Glenawly and his second wife Susanna Balfour.[2]
In 1701 his father died and Beresford, aged only five, succeeded to the baronetcy. His guardian was The 3rd Viscount Dungannon (1669-1706). After Lord Dungannon's death in 1706, his widow (Beresford's maternal aunt), Arabella, Viscountess Dungannon, served as Beresford's guardian.[2]
Career
In 1715, he entered the Irish House of Commons, sitting for Coleraine until 1720,[3] when he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland with the titles Baron Beresford, of Beresford, in the County of Cavan, and Viscount Tyrone by King George I of Great Britain.[4] A year later, he joined the Irish House of Lords.[2] In 1736, he became Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, serving for the next two years.[5] Beresford was further honoured in 1746, when he was created Earl of Tyrone.[6]
Family
On 18 July 1717, he married Catherine, only daughter of James Power, 3rd Earl of Tyrone and had by her seven sons and eight daughters.[7] Beresford died at Tyrone House in Dublin and was succeeded in his titles by his fourth and oldest surviving son George.[7]
His fifth son John was also a Member of Parliament and his seventh son William was ennobled in his own right as Baron Decies.[8]
His third daughter Catherine married Thomas Christmas MP, and after his death remarried to Theophilus Jones MP. His fifth daughter Frances married the statesman Henry Flood, and the sixth daughter Eliza married Colonel Thomas Cobbe MP.[9]
In 1767, four years after the earl's death, his wife claimed the title Baron La Poer and was shortly thereafter confirmed. She died in 1769.[7]
References
- ^ "Leigh Rayment - Peerage". Retrieved 11 November 2009.
- ^ a b c Lodge, John (1789). Mervyn Archdall (ed.). The Peerage of Ireland or A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom. Vol. II. Dublin: James Moore. pp. 300–311.
- ^ "Leigh Rayment - Irish House of Commons 1692-1800". Retrieved 11 November 2009.
- ^ "No. 5860". The London Gazette. 14 June 1720. p. 1.
- ^ Waite, Arthur Edward (2007). A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. Vol. vol. I. Cosimo, Inc. p. 400. ISBN 1-60206-641-8.
{{cite book}}:|volume=has extra text (help) - ^ "No. 8550". The London Gazette. 1 July 1746. p. 6.
- ^ a b c Collins, Arthur (1812). Sir Egerton Brydges (ed.). Collins's Peerage of England. Vol. VIII. London: T. Bensley. pp. 88–98.
- ^ "ThePeerage - Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone". Retrieved 11 November 2009.
- ^ "Tyrone, Earl of (I, 1746)", Cracroft's Peerage, retrieved 5 July 2014