John Mountstephen, also known as John Mountsteven, (28 April 1644 – 19 December 1706) was a Member of Parliament for the Cornish constituency of West Looe until he committed suicide in December 1706 following the disclosure he was an informer selling state secrets to the French.
Familyedit
Mountstephen was the second son of John Mountsteven and Elizabeth (née Tamlyn) of St Mabyn, Cornwall. He was educated at Bodmin school and Christ Church, Oxford. Mountstephen purchased the barton of Lancarffe (Helland) in 1685 from the Bullock family while secretary to the Earl of Sutherland.[1] His brother, William inherited Lancarffe, after a jury returned a verdict of lunacy following John's suicide.[2]
Careeredit
He was sponsored by the Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland for eighteen years, for whom he served as an under-secretary. On 19 December 1706, Mountstephen was at Brown's Coffee House, King Street, Westminster in the company of other MPs when he took out a razor from his pocket and slit his throat. His suicide was probably because it became public about his passing of state secrets to the King of France, in return for a pension, although there were rumours that he took his life after his proposal of marriage was rejected by someone of higher social standing.[2][3]
^ abCruickshanks, Eveline; Handley, Stuart. "Mountstephen (Mountsteven), John (1644–1706), of Westminster, and Lancarfe, Cornw". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
^Gilbert, Davies (1838). The Parochial History of Cornwall, Founded on the Manuscript Histories of Mr. Hals and Mr. Tonkin; with additions and various appendices. London: J. B. Nichols and Son. pp. 83–85.
john, mountstephen, also, known, john, mountsteven, april, 1644, december, 1706, member, parliament, cornish, constituency, west, looe, until, committed, suicide, december, 1706, following, disclosure, informer, selling, state, secrets, french, family, editmou. John Mountstephen also known as John Mountsteven 28 April 1644 19 December 1706 was a Member of Parliament for the Cornish constituency of West Looe until he committed suicide in December 1706 following the disclosure he was an informer selling state secrets to the French Family editMountstephen was the second son of John Mountsteven and Elizabeth nee Tamlyn of St Mabyn Cornwall He was educated at Bodmin school and Christ Church Oxford Mountstephen purchased the barton of Lancarffe Helland in 1685 from the Bullock family while secretary to the Earl of Sutherland 1 His brother William inherited Lancarffe after a jury returned a verdict of lunacy following John s suicide 2 Career editHe was sponsored by the Robert Spencer 2nd Earl of Sunderland for eighteen years for whom he served as an under secretary On 19 December 1706 Mountstephen was at Brown s Coffee House King Street Westminster in the company of other MPs when he took out a razor from his pocket and slit his throat His suicide was probably because it became public about his passing of state secrets to the King of France in return for a pension although there were rumours that he took his life after his proposal of marriage was rejected by someone of higher social standing 2 3 References edit nbsp Cornwall portal Bodmin Genuki Retrieved 1 June 2019 a b Cruickshanks Eveline Handley Stuart Mountstephen Mountsteven John 1644 1706 of Westminster and Lancarfe Cornw The History of Parliament Retrieved 1 June 2019 Gilbert Davies 1838 The Parochial History of Cornwall Founded on the Manuscript Histories of Mr Hals and Mr Tonkin with additions and various appendices London J B Nichols and Son pp 83 85 Parliament of EnglandPreceded byCharles RobartesSir Peter Colleton Member of Parliament for Bossiney1685 1687 With John Cotton Succeeded bySir Peter ColletonHumphrey NicollPreceded byEdward Seymour Jonathan Trelawny Member of Parliament for West Looe1695 1701 With James Kendall Succeeded byThe Earl of RanelaghPreceded byCharles Seymour Henry Poley Member of Parliament for West Looe1705 1706 With Sir Charles Hedges Succeeded byFrancis Palmes nbsp nbsp This article about a 17th century Member of the Parliament of England up to 1707 is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp nbsp This article about an 18th century Member of the Parliament of England up to 1707 is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Mountstephen amp oldid 1192288650, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
