Earl of Caledon
Encyclopedia
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
. It was created in 1800 for James Alexander, 1st Viscount Caledon
James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon
James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon was an Irish landlord, merchant, politician and peer of the realm. The second son of Alderman Nathaniel Alexander of Derry, he was the effective founder of the Caledon family, and certainly the founder of its fortune.-An Irish 'nabob':Alexander began his career...
. He was a merchant who had made an enormous fortune in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He also represented the constituency of Londonderry City
Londonderry City (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Londonderry City was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-1692–1801:...
in the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...
. Alexander had already been created Baron Caledon in 1790 and Viscount Caledon in 1797, also in the Peerage of Ireland.
He was succeeded by his son, the 2nd Earl. He was the first Governor of the Cape Colony and sat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
as an Irish Representative Peer
Representative peer
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...
from 1804 to 1839. His son, the 3rd Earl, briefly represented County Tyrone in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
as a Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
and was an Irish Representative Peer between 1841 and 1855. His eldest son, the 4th Earl, sat in the House of Lords as an Irish Representative Peer from 1877 to 1898. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the 5th Earl. He never married and was succeeded by his nephew, the 6th Earl. He was the son of the Hon. Herbrand Charles Alexander, second son of the 4th Earl. Today the titles are held by his only son, the 7th Earl, who succeeded in 1980. The Earl of Caledon was made Lord Lieutenant of County Armagh in 1989.
Another member of the Alexander family was Field Marshal Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis
Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis
Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis was a British military commander and field marshal of Anglo-Irish descent who served with distinction in both world wars and, afterwards, as Governor General of Canada, the 17th since Canadian...
, who was the third son of the 4th Earl of Caledon. Also, William Alexander, cousin of the 1st Earl, was created a Baronet, of Belcamp, County Dublin, in 1809.
The family's lineage can be traced to Captain Andrew Alexander, of Errigal, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
who was granted lands at Ballyclose near Limavady
Limavady
Limavady is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. It lies east of Derry and south west of Coleraine. It had a population of 12,135 people in the 2001 Census, an increase of some 17% compared to 1991...
, County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
in 1663 and was later attainted by the parliament
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. In its early mediaeval period during the Lordship of Ireland it consisted of either two or three chambers: the House of Commons, elected by a very restricted suffrage, the House of Lords in which the lords...
called by James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
in Dublin in 1689. He had no children by his first wife, a Miss Phillips, who was a relative of the Alexanders, but by his second wife, Miss Hillhouse, he had a son, John Alexander, who married Anne White, daughter of John White, of Cadyhill, County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
, and had four children. His second son Nathaniel Alexander was born in 1689 and became an Alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
of the city of Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
in 1755 and died on September 22, 1761, having had with other children a third son, James Alexander, who became the 1st Earl of Caledon.
Robert Alexander, son of Alderman Nathaniel Alexander and elder brother of the 1st Earl of Caledon, had several sons, including Nathaniel Alexander
Nathaniel Alexander (bishop)
Nathaniel Alexander , was an Anglican Bishop in Ireland during the first half of the 19th century.He was born in 1760 and educated at Harrow and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He was appointed Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh in 1802 and translated to Killaloe in 1804. Only six months later he...
, Bishop of Meath; Henry Alexander, MP for the Londonderry City
Londonderry City (UK Parliament constituency)
Londonderry City was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system .-Boundaries and Boundary Changes:...
and for Old Sarum
Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)
Old Sarum was the most infamous of the so-called 'rotten boroughs', a parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which was effectively controlled by a single person, until it was abolished under the Reform Act 1832. The constituency was the site of what had been...
; Lieutenant-General William Alexander, Mayor of Derry
Mayor of Derry
The Mayor of Derry, legally the Mayor of Londonderry is an honorary position bestowed upon a Citizen of Derry in Northern Ireland, who is in practice a member of Derry City Council, chosen by his or her peers on the Council to serve a one year term. The Mayor is Chairman of the Council as well as...
; James Alexander, MP for Old Sarum; and Joseph Josias Du Pré Alexander, MP for Old Sarum. Bishop Nathaniel Alexander was grandfather of Nathaniel Alexander
Nathaniel Alexander (MP)
Nathaniel Alexander was an Irish politician.He was elected as Member of Parliament for County Antrim at a by-election on 14 April 1841, replacing John Bruce Richard O'Neill who had succeeded as Viscount O'Neill...
, MP for Antrim
Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)
Antrim is former UK Parliament constituency in Ireland. It was a two member constituency and existed in two periods, 1801–1885 and 1922-1950.-Boundaries:...
. Lieutenant-General William Alexander was grandfather of William Alexander, Archbishop of Armagh.
The style Viscount Alexander is used as a courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
for the Earl's eldest son and heir apparent.
Earls of Caledon (1800)
- James Alexander, 1st Earl of CaledonJames Alexander, 1st Earl of CaledonJames Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon was an Irish landlord, merchant, politician and peer of the realm. The second son of Alderman Nathaniel Alexander of Derry, he was the effective founder of the Caledon family, and certainly the founder of its fortune.-An Irish 'nabob':Alexander began his career...
(1730–1802) - Du Pre Alexander, 2nd Earl of CaledonDu Pre Alexander, 2nd Earl of CaledonDu Pré Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon KP , styled The Honourable from 1790 to 1800 and then Viscount Alexander to 1802, was an Irish peer, landlord and colonial administrator, and was the second child and only son of James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon.-Education and Inheritance:He was educated...
(1777–1839) - James Du Pre Alexander, 3rd Earl of CaledonJames Alexander, 3rd Earl of CaledonJames Du Pre Alexander, 3rd Earl of Caledon styled Viscount Alexander from birth until 1839, was a soldier and politician....
(1812–1855) - James Alexander, 4th Earl of CaledonJames Alexander, 4th Earl of CaledonJames Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon KP, DL was a soldier and politician and the son of James Du Pre Alexander, 3rd Earl of Caledon and Lady Jane Grimston, styled Viscount Alexander until 1855....
(1846–1898) - Eric James Desmond Alexander, 5th Earl of CaledonEric Alexander, 5th Earl of CaledonEric James Desmond Alexander, 5th Earl of Caledon was a soldier and the eldest son of James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon and Lady Elizabeth Graham-Toler....
(1885–1968) - Denis James Alexander, 6th Earl of CaledonDenis Alexander, 6th Earl of CaledonDenis James Alexander, 6th Earl of Caledon was a soldier and landownerHe was the son of Lt.-Col. Hon. Herbrand Charles Alexander and Millicent Valla Meredyth and grandson of James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon. He was educated at Eton College and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst...
(1920–1980) - Nicholas James Alexander, 7th Earl of CaledonNicholas Alexander, 7th Earl of CaledonNicholas James Alexander, 7th Earl of Caledon is the son of Denis Alexander, 6th Earl of Caledon and Baroness Anne Louise de Graevenitz ....
(b. 1955)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's son Frederick James Alexander, Viscount Alexander (b. 1990)
See also
- Earl Alexander of TunisEarl Alexander of TunisEarl Alexander of Tunis is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 14 March 1952 for the prominent military commander Field Marshal Harold Alexander, 1st Viscount Alexander of Tunis...
- Cable-Alexander Baronets, of BelcampCable-Alexander BaronetsThe Alexander, later Cable-Alexander Baronetcy, of the City of Dublin, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 December 1809 for William Alexander, Lord Mayor of Dublin. The second Baronet was a Director of the Bank of Ireland. The third Baronet was Attorney-General...