John Samuel Martin Fonblanque
Encyclopedia
John Anthony Fonblanque KC (1759 – 4 January 1837), barrister and MP was a distinguished equity lawyer.
In 1828, late in life, he changed his surname by royal licence to de Grenier Fonblanque, He was descended from a Huguenot
family, his father having exchanged the surname 'de Grenier de Fonblanque' for that of Fonblanque on his naturalization.
Fonblanque was the author of the very extensive notes forming the useful body of the standard legal work, Treatise on Equity nominally ascribed to Henry Ballow. First published in 1792 the fifth edition appeared in 1820.
He was Member of Parliament
(MP) for the borough of Camelford
1802-1806 as a member of the Whig party following members of his wife's family, Samuel Martin
and Sir Ralph Payne. Financial troubles brought an end to his political career by 1810.
He was one of the Whig
'friends' of King George IV
when Prince of Wales
and is also said to have been a personal friend of his Royal Highness. He is supposed to have written the celebrated letters to the King on the subject of his Royal Highness's exclusion from the army which were generally attributed to Lord Moira.
Made King's Counsel 28 April 1804 his brilliant early reputation meant he was spoken of as a future Whig Lord Chancellor
. Vanity led Fonblanque into debt in 1807-08, and money problems, his wife left him in 1834, remained with him and his family the rest of his life. In later years he withdrew a great deal from the profession. It was said that Lord Eldon hearing that his library was to be sold purchased it and presented it to him.
His parents were Jean de Grenier, a banker, naturalized as Jean de Grenier Fonblanque, younger son of Abel de Grenier comte de Fonblanque, of Tarn et Garonne, Languedoc, and of a family of Gentilshommes Verriers, a monopoly granted by St. Louis on his return from the Crusades, and Eleanor, daughter of Thomas Bagshaw.
He married 30 May 1786 Frances Caroline Fitzgerald (1760–1844), sister of the poet William Thomas Fitzgerald
and daughter of Colonel John Austen Fitzgerald and Henrietta Martin sister of Samuel Martin
, and with her he was father of:
In 1828, late in life, he changed his surname by royal licence to de Grenier Fonblanque, He was descended from a Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
family, his father having exchanged the surname 'de Grenier de Fonblanque' for that of Fonblanque on his naturalization.
Career
Called to the bar at the Middle Temple 24 January 1783 he distinguished himself in 1791 as leading counsel at the bar of the House of Commons on behalf of the merchants of London in opposition to the Quebec bill.Fonblanque was the author of the very extensive notes forming the useful body of the standard legal work, Treatise on Equity nominally ascribed to Henry Ballow. First published in 1792 the fifth edition appeared in 1820.
He was 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,...
(MP) for the borough of Camelford
Camelford (UK Parliament constituency)
Camelford 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 1552 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
1802-1806 as a member of the Whig party following members of his wife's family, Samuel Martin
Samuel Martin (Secretary to the Treasury)
Samuel Martin was a British politician and administrator.-Family:He was the son of Samuel Martin, the leading plantation owner on the West Indies island of Antigua, where he was born, and eldest half-brother of Sir Henry Martin, 1st Baronet , for many years naval commissioner at Portsmouth and...
and Sir Ralph Payne. Financial troubles brought an end to his political career by 1810.
He was one of the Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
'friends' of King George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
when Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
and is also said to have been a personal friend of his Royal Highness. He is supposed to have written the celebrated letters to the King on the subject of his Royal Highness's exclusion from the army which were generally attributed to Lord Moira.
Made King's Counsel 28 April 1804 his brilliant early reputation meant he was spoken of as a future Whig Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
. Vanity led Fonblanque into debt in 1807-08, and money problems, his wife left him in 1834, remained with him and his family the rest of his life. In later years he withdrew a great deal from the profession. It was said that Lord Eldon hearing that his library was to be sold purchased it and presented it to him.
Family
John Anthony de Grenier Fonblanque inherited the French title of Marquis near the end of his life although he never assumed it in England. He died on 4 January 1837 in his 77th year, still confined to the area just outside the debtors' prison, retaining his faculties to the last and "with perfect resignation".His parents were Jean de Grenier, a banker, naturalized as Jean de Grenier Fonblanque, younger son of Abel de Grenier comte de Fonblanque, of Tarn et Garonne, Languedoc, and of a family of Gentilshommes Verriers, a monopoly granted by St. Louis on his return from the Crusades, and Eleanor, daughter of Thomas Bagshaw.
He married 30 May 1786 Frances Caroline Fitzgerald (1760–1844), sister of the poet William Thomas Fitzgerald
William Thomas Fitzgerald
William Thomas Fitzgerald was a British poet. He has been described as "one of the foremost loyalist versifiers of his day". He wrote patriotic poetry during the Napoleonic Wars, including Nelson's Triumph and Nelson's Tomb...
and daughter of Colonel John Austen Fitzgerald and Henrietta Martin sister of Samuel Martin
Samuel Martin (Secretary to the Treasury)
Samuel Martin was a British politician and administrator.-Family:He was the son of Samuel Martin, the leading plantation owner on the West Indies island of Antigua, where he was born, and eldest half-brother of Sir Henry Martin, 1st Baronet , for many years naval commissioner at Portsmouth and...
, and with her he was father of:
- John Samuel Martin FonblanqueJohn Samuel Martin FonblanqueJohn Anthony Fonblanque KC , barrister and MP was a distinguished equity lawyer.In 1828, late in life, he changed his surname by royal licence to de Grenier Fonblanque, He was descended from a Huguenot family, his father having exchanged the surname 'de Grenier de Fonblanque' for that of Fonblanque...
(March 1787 - 2 November 1865), - Thomas de Grenier de Fonblanque (26 January 1793 - 1861), vicomte de Fonblanque, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul General and Chargé d'Affaires in Servia and father of Edward Barrington de Fonblanque of the War OfficeWar OfficeThe War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
- Albany FonblanqueAlbany FonblanqueAlbany William Fonblanque was a celebrated English journalist and by his own example a reformer of that profession.-Family:Albany Fonblanque was descended from a noble French Huguenot family, the de Greniers of Languedoc, and was born in London....
(1 October 1794 - 13 October 1872). - and three daughters; Caroline, Harriott and Eliza.
Publications
include but are not limited to:- A serious exhortation to the Electors of Great Britain House of Commons, 1791
- Thoughts on the Canada Bill, Now Depending in Parliament 1791
- A Treatise on Equity, with the addition of marginal references and notes in two volumes, 1792 (5th edition J & W T Clarke, 1820)
- The case of Samuel Howe Showers Esq., Lieutenant Colonel in the military service of the East India Company at Calcutta to which is subjoined the opinions of Mr. Erskine and Mr. Fonblanque thereon 1796
- Doubts as to the expediency of adopting the recommendation of the bullion committee 1810
- The revised opinion of John Fonblanque on the case of the Baron de Bode 1834 (a dispute concerning compensation for lands seized in France during the revolution)