William Monsell, 1st Baron Emly

The Right Honourable
The Lord Emly
PC
President of the Board of Health
In office
9 February 1857  24 September 1857
Monarch Victoria
Prime Minister The Viscount Palmerston
Preceded by Hon. William Cowper
Succeeded by Hon. William Cowper
Paymaster-General and
Vice-President of the Board of Trade
In office
12 March 1866  26 June 1866
Monarch Victoria
Prime Minister The Earl Russell
Preceded by George Goschen
Succeeded by Stephen Cave
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies
In office
10 December 1868  14 January 1871
Monarch Victoria
Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by Charles Adderley
Succeeded by Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen
Postmaster General
In office
14 January 1871  18 November 1873
Monarch Victoria
Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by Marquess of Hartington
Succeeded by Lyon Playfair
Personal details
Born 21 September 1812 (1812-09-21)
Died 20 April 1894 (1894-04-21) (aged 81)
Nationality Irish
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) (1) Lady Anna Wyndham-Quin (1814–1855)
(2) Bertha de Montigny Boulainvilliers (1835–1890)
Alma mater Oriel College, Oxford

William Monsell, 1st Baron Emly PC (21 September 1812 – 20 April 1894)[1][2] was an Anglo-Irish landowner and Liberal politician. He held a number of ministerial positions between 1852 and 1873, notably as President of the Board of Health in 1857 and as Postmaster General between 1871 and 1873.

Background and education

Monsell was born to William Monsell (1778–1822), of Tervoe, Clarina, County Limerick[2] and Olivia, daughter of Sir John Johnson-Walsh, 1st Baronet, of Ballykilcavan. He was educated at Winchester (1826–1830) and Oriel College, Oxford, but he left the university without proceeding to a degree[1] in 1831[2] As his father had died in 1824, he succeeded to the family estates on coming of age and was a popular landlord, the more so as he was resident.[1] In 1843 he helped found St Columba's College, now near Dublin.

Political career

"The painstaking Irishman"
As depicted by "Ape" (Carlo Pellegrini) in Vanity Fair, 11 February 1871

Monsell served as the Sheriff of County Limerick in 1835.[2] In 1847, he was elected Member of Parliament for County Limerick as a Liberal, and represented the constituency until 1874. In 1850, he became a Roman Catholic and thereafter took a prominent part in Catholic affairs, especially in Parliament. As a friend of Wiseman, Newman, Montalambert, W. G. Ward, and other eminent Catholics, he was intimately acquainted with the various interests of the Church, and his parliamentary position was often of great advantage to the Church.[1]

In 1852 Monsell was appointed Clerk of the Ordnance by Lord Aberdeen, a post he retained until 1857, the last two years under the premiership of Lord Palmerston. In 1855 he was sworn of the Privy Council.[3] He was briefly President of the Board of Health under Palmerston in 1857 and later served under Lord Russell as Paymaster-General and Vice-President of the Board of Trade in 1866 and under William Ewart Gladstone as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies between 1868 and 1871 and as Postmaster-General between January 1871 and November 1873.[1] He was also Lord Lieutenant of County Limerick between 1871 and 1894[4] and Vice-Chancellor of the Royal University of Ireland between 1885 and 1894.[2]

On 12 January 1874 Monsell was raised to the peerage as Baron Emly, of Tervoe in the County of Limerick.[1][2] He lost much of his popularity in Ireland during his later years, because of his opposition to the Irish National Land League and to the home rule movement in Ireland. His work being chiefly parliamentary, he wrote little, but published some articles in the Home and Foreign Review and a "Lecture on the Roman Question" (1860).[1]

Family

Lord Emly was twice married. He married firstly Lady Anna Maria Charlotte Wyndham-Quin (1814–1855), only daughter of Windham Quin, 2nd Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, in August 1836,[1] with whom he had two sons, both of whom died in infancy. After her death on 7 January 1855,[2] he married Bertha (1835–1890), youngest daughter the Comte de Montigny of the house of Montigny de Perreux, in 1857, by whom he had one son Gaston (1858–1932), later the second Lord Emly, and one daughter Mary Olivia (1860–1942).[1][2] Lord Emly died in April 1894, aged 81.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "William Monsell, Baron Emly". Catholic Encyclopedia (1 ed.). 1913.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 National Archives of Ireland. Papers of William Monsell, 1817–1899 (PDF). pp. 2–4. Retrieved 4 April 2006.
  3. The London Gazette: no. 21762. p. 3082. 14 August 1855.
  4. thepeerage.com William Monsell, 1st Baron Emly

Sources

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
William Smith O'Brien
Caleb Powell
Member of Parliament for Limerick
18471874
With: William Smith O'Brien 1847–1849
Samuel Dickson 1849–1850
Wyndham Goold 1850–1854
Stephen Edward de Vere 1854–1859
Samuel Auchmuty Dickson 1859–1865
Edward John Synan 1865–1874
Succeeded by
Edward John Synan
William Henry O'Sullivan
Political offices
Preceded by
Hon. William Cowper
President of the Board of Health
1857
Succeeded by
Hon. William Cowper
Preceded by
George Goschen
Paymaster-General
1866
Succeeded by
Stephen Cave
Vice-President of the Board of Trade
1866
Preceded by
Charles Adderley
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies
1868–1871
Succeeded by
Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen
Preceded by
Marquess of Hartington
Postmaster-General
1871–1873
Succeeded by
Lyon Playfair
Military offices
Preceded by
Francis Plunkett Dunne
Clerk of the Ordnance
1852–1857
Office abolished
Honorary titles
Preceded by
The Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl
Lord Lieutenant of Limerick
1871–1894
Succeeded by
Thomas Enraght O'Brien
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Emly
1874–1894
Succeeded by
Gaston Monsell
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