John Fitzgerald (25 December 1775 – 18 March 1852) was a British Member of Parliament.
John Fitzgerald
He was born John Purcell, the son of John Purcell, a Dublin physician and his wife Eleanor, the daughter of John Fitzgerald of Waterford. The Purcells were an Anglo-Irish family who had arrived in England at the time of the Norman conquest and settled in Ireland by 1172. John Purcell, junior was educated at Trinity College Dublin (1790) and trained in the law at the Middle Temple (1792) and King's Inns (1793). He was called to the Irish bar in 1796, but never practised.
He married in 1801 his cousin Mary Frances, the daughter and heiress of his uncle John Fitzgerald of Little Island, Waterford, who also had estates at Pendleton in Lancashire and Gayton, Staffordshire. The couple lived at the Bredfield House, also known as the White House, Bredfield, near Woodbridge, Suffolk and had three sons and five daughters. In 1810 Mary Frances, whose elder brother had died in 1807, inherited her great-aunt's estate, including the 3,000-acre manor of Naseby Wooleys, Northamptonshire. In 1823 he erected an obelisk to mark the site of the battle of Naseby. When she then inherited her father's estates in 1818, Purcell took the name of Fitzgerald. His wealthy wife spent much of her time circulating in London and Brighton society, travelling in a yellow carriage pulled by black horses, whilst Fitzgerald preferred the life of a Suffolk squire. He was appointed High Sheriff of Suffolk for 1824–25.
The following year he leased Wherstead Lodge, near Ipswich and also bought property in Seaford, Sussex in order to stand for Parliament in 1826 as candidate for the Seaford constituency. He was duly elected, sitting until the constituency was abolished in the Great Reform Act of 1832. In the late 1820s he commissioned Robert Stephenson, (brother of George Stephenson), to commence coal-mining on his Lancashire estate, but fraud and flooding made the Pendleton Colliery venture unsuccessful and he was forced to file for bankruptcy. He and his wife were now formally separated and she left to live at Little Island, where she died in 1855. In 1835 he moved into Boulge Hall, near Woodbridge. His younger son Edward Fitzgerald, the poet and translator of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, lived in a cottage in the grounds.
On his death in 1852, his remaining estates were inherited by his eldest son John, a lay preacher, who took the name Purcell.
References
"FITZGERALD, John (1775-1852), of Wherstead Lodge, nr. Ipswich, Suff. and Millburgh, Seaford, Suss". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
john, fitzgerald, 1775, 1852, john, fitzgerald, december, 1775, march, 1852, british, member, parliament, john, fitzgerald, born, john, purcell, john, purcell, dublin, physician, wife, eleanor, daughter, john, fitzgerald, waterford, purcells, were, anglo, iris. John Fitzgerald 25 December 1775 18 March 1852 was a British Member of Parliament John Fitzgerald He was born John Purcell the son of John Purcell a Dublin physician and his wife Eleanor the daughter of John Fitzgerald of Waterford The Purcells were an Anglo Irish family who had arrived in England at the time of the Norman conquest and settled in Ireland by 1172 John Purcell junior was educated at Trinity College Dublin 1790 and trained in the law at the Middle Temple 1792 and King s Inns 1793 He was called to the Irish bar in 1796 but never practised He married in 1801 his cousin Mary Frances the daughter and heiress of his uncle John Fitzgerald of Little Island Waterford who also had estates at Pendleton in Lancashire and Gayton Staffordshire The couple lived at the Bredfield House also known as the White House Bredfield near Woodbridge Suffolk and had three sons and five daughters In 1810 Mary Frances whose elder brother had died in 1807 inherited her great aunt s estate including the 3 000 acre manor of Naseby Wooleys Northamptonshire In 1823 he erected an obelisk to mark the site of the battle of Naseby When she then inherited her father s estates in 1818 Purcell took the name of Fitzgerald His wealthy wife spent much of her time circulating in London and Brighton society travelling in a yellow carriage pulled by black horses whilst Fitzgerald preferred the life of a Suffolk squire He was appointed High Sheriff of Suffolk for 1824 25 The following year he leased Wherstead Lodge near Ipswich and also bought property in Seaford Sussex in order to stand for Parliament in 1826 as candidate for the Seaford constituency He was duly elected sitting until the constituency was abolished in the Great Reform Act of 1832 In the late 1820s he commissioned Robert Stephenson brother of George Stephenson to commence coal mining on his Lancashire estate but fraud and flooding made the Pendleton Colliery venture unsuccessful and he was forced to file for bankruptcy He and his wife were now formally separated and she left to live at Little Island where she died in 1855 In 1835 he moved into Boulge Hall near Woodbridge His younger son Edward Fitzgerald the poet and translator of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam lived in a cottage in the grounds In 1838 39 he served as High Sheriff of County Waterford On his death in 1852 his remaining estates were inherited by his eldest son John a lay preacher who took the name Purcell References Edit FITZGERALD John 1775 1852 of Wherstead Lodge nr Ipswich Suff and Millburgh Seaford Suss History of Parliament Online Retrieved 9 April 2013 Parliament of the United KingdomPreceded byCharles Rose Ellis George Welbore Agar Ellis Member of Parliament for Seaford1826 1832 With Augustus Frederick Ellis 1826 27 George Canning 1827 Augustus Frederick Ellis 1827 31 William Lyon 1831 32 Succeeded byConstituency abolished Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Fitzgerald 1775 1852 amp oldid 1063666409, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
