Edward Thompson (1697–1742)

Edward Thompson (26 February 1697 – 5 July 1742) was a prominent Yorkshire politician of the early 18th century.

Life

Thompson was the son of Edward Thompson of Long Marston (1670–1734) and Lucy Tindall, and the grandson of Henry Thompson, a wine merchant of York who established the prominence of the Thompson family. His sister, Henrietta, married Colonel Edward Wolfe and became the mother of James Wolfe.^[1] He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield.

In 1722, Thompson was elected Member of Parliament for York, a seat he held for the remainder of his life. Employed as a Commissioner of the Land Revenue in Ireland, he issued a pamphlet justifying the introduction of a general excise there. This, and the pomp with which he carried out his office, aroused the scorn of Jonathan Swift in 1733 in a polemic against holders of civil office.^[2] From 1729 until 1733, he was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of York.^[3]

Family

Thompson first married Arabella Dunch (d. 1734), daughter of Edmund Dunch, on 6 February 1725. By her he had one daughter:^[1]

• Arabella Thompson (d. 28 February 1735).

Thompson separated from Arabella, who later bore two children to her brother-in-lawSir George Oxenden.^[4] By his second wife, Mary Moor (d. 1784), he had a second daughter:^[1]

• Mary Thompson (14 September 1738 – 29 June 1747).

On 5 May 1741, he was appointed a Commissioner of the Admiralty, but died the following year.

References

1. Foster, Joseph (1874). Pedigrees of the County Families of Yorkshire. London.
2. Swift, Jonathan (1733). Advice to the Freemen of the City of Dublin in the choice of a member to represent them in Parliament. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
3. "Old Grand Lodge at York". Retrieved 2006-11-30.
4.  Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1888). "Dunch, Edmund". Dictionary of National Biography 16. London: Smith, Elder & Co.