John Dawson, 1st Earl of Portarlington

The Right Honourable
The Earl of Portarlington
PC (Ire)
The Right Honourable The Earl of Portarlington PC (Ire)
Member of Parliament for Queen's County
	In office; 1768–1779 Serving with William Pole, Charles Coote
Preceded by	William Dawson; William Pole
Succeeded by	John Warburton; Charles Coote
Member of Parliament for Portarlington
	In office; 1766–1768 Serving with John Damer, Sir Roger Palmer, Bt
Preceded by	George Hartpole; John Damer
Succeeded by	William Henry Dawson; Sir Roger Palmer, Bt
Personal details
Born	John Dawson; 23 August 1744; Northamptonshire, England
Died	30 November 1798 (aged 54)
Spouse	Lady Caroline Stuart; (m. 1778; died 1798)
Children	9
Parent(s)	William Dawson, 1st Viscount Carlow; Mary Damer

John Dawson, 1st Earl of Portarlington PC (Ire) (23 August 1744 – 30 November 1798) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer.

Early life

Dawson was born on 23 August 1744 in Northamptonshire, England. He was the only surviving son of William Dawson, 1st Viscount Carlow and Mary Damer.^[1] His sister, Hon. Mary Dawson, married Col. Mervyn Archdall, Governor of Fermanagh.^[2]

His paternal grandparents were Ephraim Dawson, an MP for Portarlington and Queen's County in the Irish House of Commons who was a successful banker that acquired an estate at Portarlington, County Laois, and the former Anne Preston (daughter of Samuel Preston). His maternal grandfather was Joseph Damer and his uncle was Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester.^[3]

Career

Between 1766 and 1768 he was a Member of Parliament for Portarlington in the Irish House of Commons. In 1768 he was elected to represent Queen's County.^[4] He resigned his seat in the Commons upon succeeding to his father's peerage in 1779 and assumed his seat in the Irish House of Lords. On 21 June 1785, Dawson was created Earl of Portarlington in the Peerage of Ireland. Between 1779 and his death he was Governor of Queen's County.^[1] He raised the Queen's County Militia, being appointed its first Colonel on 23 April 1793^[5] and soon turning it into a well-regarded regiment.^[6] In 1796 he was made a member of the Privy Council of Ireland.^[1]

Personal life

On 1 January 1778, he married Lady Caroline Stuart (1750–1813), the fifth daughter of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, who served as Prime Minister from 1762 to 1763, and Mary Wortley-Montagu, Baroness Mount Stuart of Wortley. Together they had five sons and four daughters, including:^[1]

John Dawson, 2nd Earl of Portarlington (1781–1845), who had no issue and died unmarried.^[1]
Lady Caroline Elizabeth Dawson-Damer (1782–1861), who married Henry Parnell, 1st Baron Congleton, son of Sir John Parnell, 2nd Baronet, in 1801.^[1]
Lady Louisa Mary Dawson (1783–1845), who married Rev. Walter Davenport Bromley (who assumed the surname Bromley on inheriting Wootton Hall and Baginton from a distant relation in 1822),^[7] son of Davies Davenport, in 1829.^[1]
Hon. Henry Dawson-Damer (1786–1841), a Captain in the Royal Navy who married Eliza Moriarty, daughter of Capt. Edmund Joshua Moriarty and Lady Lucy Luttrell (daughter of the 1st Earl of Carhampton), in 1813.^[1]
Hon. George Lionel Dawson-Damer (1788–1856), a Colonel and MP for Portarlington and Dorchester; he married Mary Georgiana Emma Seymour, daughter of Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour and Lady Anne Horatia Waldegrave (daughter of the 2nd Earl Waldegrave and Maria Walpole, later Duchess of Gloucester), in 1825.^[1]
Lady Mary Harriet Dawson (c. 1790–1827), who married Very Rev. Hon. Henry David Erskine, son of Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, in 1813.^[1]
Hon. Lionel Charles Dawson (1790–1842), who married Lady Elizabeth Emily Nugent, daughter of George Nugent, 7th Earl of Westmeath and Lady Elizabeth Emily Moore (daughter of the 1st Marquess of Drogheda), in 1820.^[1]
Hon. William Mackenzie Dawson (1793–1859), who married Patience Scott, daughter of Gen. Scott, in 1820. After her death, he married Louisa Frances Wright, daughter of S. T. Wright, in 1827. After her death, he married Julia Hopkinson, daughter of Capt. Hopkinson, in 1856.^[1]
Lady Anna Maria Dawson (1795–1866), who died unmarried.^[1]

Lord Portarlington died on 30 November 1798. He was succeeded in his title by his eldest son, John.^[3]

Descendants

As his eldest son died unmarried with no issue, the earldom passed to his grandson, Henry Dawson-Damer (1822–1889),^[8] who married Lady Alexandrina Octavia Maria Vane, second daughter of Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry.^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, page 3180.
^ "ARCHDALL, Mervyn I (?1724-1813), of Castle Archdall, Enniskillen, co. Fermanagh and Trilleck, co. Tyrone". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
^ ^a ^b Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1850. p. 772.
^ Johnston-Liik, E. M. (2006). MPs in Dublin: Companion to History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800. Ulster Historical Foundation. p. 83. ISBN 1903688604.
^ Lt-Col Frederick Ernest Whitton, The History of the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians), Part I: The Old Army, Aldershot: Gale & Polden, ca 1922, p. 460.
^ Sir Henry McAnally, The Irish Militia 1793–1816: A Social and Military Study, Dublin: Clonmore & Reynolds/London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1949, p. 69.
^ "Live Auction 1164 - OLD MASTER & BRITISH PAINTINGS EVENING SALE".
^ "Death of the Earl of Portarlington". Morning Post. 2 January 1846. Retrieved 10 September 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Alexandrina Octavia Maria ('Aline', née Vane), Countess of Portarlington". www.npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 1 March 2024.

Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by George Hartpole John Damer	Member of Parliament for Portarlington 1766–1768 With: John Damer (1766–1768) Sir Roger Palmer, Bt (1768)	Succeeded by William Henry Dawson Sir Roger Palmer, Bt
Preceded by William Dawson William Pole	Member of Parliament for Queen's County 1768–1779 With: William Pole (1768–1776) Charles Coote (1776–1779)	Succeeded by John Warburton Charles Coote
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Viscount Carlow	Governor of Queen's County 1779–1798	Succeeded by The Marquess of Drogheda
Peerage of Ireland
New creation	Earl of Portarlington 1785–1798	Succeeded by John Dawson
Preceded by William Dawson	Viscount Carlow 1779–1798	Succeeded by John Dawson

[Mosley2003-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, page 3180.

[hop-2] "ARCHDALL, Mervyn I (?1724-1813), of Castle Archdall, Enniskillen, co. Fermanagh and Trilleck, co. Tyrone". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

[CCC-3] Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1850. p. 772.

[4] Johnston-Liik, E. M. (2006). MPs in Dublin: Companion to History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800. Ulster Historical Foundation. p. 83. ISBN 1903688604.

[5] Lt-Col Frederick Ernest Whitton, The History of the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians), Part I: The Old Army, Aldershot: Gale & Polden, ca 1922, p. 460.

[6] Sir Henry McAnally, The Irish Militia 1793–1816: A Social and Military Study, Dublin: Clonmore & Reynolds/London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1949, p. 69.

[Christies-7] "Live Auction 1164 - OLD MASTER & BRITISH PAINTINGS EVENING SALE".

[MP-8] "Death of the Earl of Portarlington". Morning Post. 2 January 1846. Retrieved 10 September 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[npg-9] "Alexandrina Octavia Maria ('Aline', née Vane), Countess of Portarlington". www.npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 1 March 2024.

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