Richard Wilson (Barnstaple MP)

Richard Wilson (c. 1755 – 1815) was an Irish-born politician whose origins are obscure.

He was Member of Parliament (MP) in the Parliament of Great Britain for Barnstaple from 1796 to 1802.^[1]

He married Anne, daughter of Charles Townshend. They were divorced in 1798.^[2] Lady Louisa Stuart wrote of his elopement with Anne Townshend that:

...this Mr Wilson - whose name, when known, made nobody the wiser - was an Irishman, born to an inheritance of three hundred a year, but greatly in debt, of no profession, accounted a black-leg, and chiefly remarkable for having fought two or three duels... His conversation was bragging and his manner familiar and aisy like those of the Paddy in a farce. All his friends had ten thousand a year; he talked of his horses and carriages, his estate and his interest; and when he addressed you as a lady, you could not help drawing back for fear he should give you a kiss.^[3]

He died, laden with debts, sometime in 1815. He had 3 sons, one of whom died in the West Indies, and 2 daughters.

References

1. "WILSON, Richard I (?1755-1815), of Datchworth, Herts. and Owna Lodge, co. Tyrone.". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
2.  "Townshend, Charles (1725-1767)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
3. Lady Louisa Stuart, Memoire of Frances, Lady Douglas, Edinburgh and London, Scottish Academic Press, 1985

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