John Rashleigh was an English merchant and Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

. The son of John Rashleigh, a merchant at Fowey

Fowey

Fowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,273.-Early history:...

 in Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, he built himself a mansion at nearby Menabilly

Menabilly

Menabilly is an Elizabethan house on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the Rashleigh Estate, seat of the Rashleigh family. Menabilly is situated on the Gribben peninsula about west of Fowey...

. He was Member for Fowey

Fowey (UK Parliament constituency)

Fowey was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1571 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...

 in the parliaments of 1588 and 1597, and High Sheriff of Cornwall

High Sheriff of Cornwall

High Sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list:Note: The right to choose High Sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall, rather than the Privy Council, chaired by the Sovereign, which chooses the Sheriffs of all other English counties, other than those in the Duchy of...

 in 1608. He married Alice Bonython (c. 1556-1606) in 1575: their six children included Jonathan Rashleigh

Jonathan Rashleigh

Jonathan Rashleigh , was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1675. He supported the Royalist cause during the Civil War....

, who was his father's heir and was Fowey's MP for many years.