John William Plunkett, 17th Baron of Dunsany
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John William Plunkett, 17th Baron of Dunsany (31 August 1853 – 16 January 1899), whose seat was Dunsany Castle, County Meath
, Ireland
, was the second son of Edward Plunkett, 16th Baron of Dunsany (1808–1889), and Lady Anne Constance Dutton (1816–1858).
John William Plunkett received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Trinity College, Dublin
(1877). He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge
(B.A., 1878; M.A., 1881). He was Lieutenant R.N. Artillery Volunteers and a Conservative Party
Member of Parliament
for the Thornbury (or Southern) division of Gloucestershire
from 1886 to 1892. He proved his right to vote at the elections of Representative Peers (Ireland) 1890 and Representative Peers (Ireland) 1893-99.
John William married on 3 April, 1877, at St George's, Hanover Square, London
, England
, his second cousin, Ernle Elizabeth Louisa Maria Grosvenor Burton (later Ernle-Erle-Drax), the only daughter and heir to Colonel Francis Augustus Plunkett Burton, Coldstream Guards, by Sarah Frances Elizabeth, younger daughter and coheir of John Samuel Wanley Sawbridge-Erle-Drax, of Charborough Park, Dorset
. Her paternal grandmother, the Hon. Anna Maria Plunkett, wife of Admiral James Ryder Burton, was a sister of her husband's paternal grandfather, Edward Wadding Plunkett, 13th Baron of Dunsany. In addition, Ernle, Lady Dunsany, was descended via her maternal line from James Drax, a young Englishman who, with a few hundred pounds, had sailed from the Port of London for Barbados in the late 1620s. There he had made a fortune developing sugar and slave-trading into a hugely profitable business. Just before the turn of the seventeenth century, the family returned to England and purchased an estate in Dorset. Lady Dunsany inherited Charborough Park in 1905. Her unusual Christian name, Ernle
, was inherited from an ancestress, Elizabeth Ernle
(1697-1759), wife of Henry Drax, Esq., who was the daughter and eventual heiress of Sir Edward Ernle, 3rd Baronet
, P.C., M.P., (1673-1729) of Maddington, Wiltshire, by his wife, Frances (d. 1728) only daughter and heir of Lieutenant General Thomas Erle
(1650-1720), of Charborough House, the source of a further barrel of her surname.
John William and Ernle Elizabeth had two sons, Edward John Moreton Drax, 18th Baron of Dunsany and Admiral The Honourable Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax
(Charborough Park was left to Reginald, who changed his name to include Drax, the family who had formerly owned it, as well as including references to the Ernle
and Erle families from which various of his mother's legacies to him came).
Lady Dunsany was a cousin of Sir Richard Burton
, the great traveller, scholar, writer, and translator of the "Arabian Nights." Her son and heir, Edward, may have inherited his imaginative streak from the Burton family.
John William was an exceptional sportsman, and was reputed to have been the best marksman in England. He was deeply interested in mechanical things and developed his own X-Ray machine, which was in operation in Dunsany Castle before his death in 1899. The Dunsany version of the Röntgen ray machine was given to Sevenoaks
Hospital in 1918. He had acquired the right to drive the Irish Mail Train and regularly took charge of the branch line train from Dublin to Drumree, near Dunsany. He was also responsible for having the first Irish telephone system installed in Dunsany Castle.
The 17th Baron of Dunsany died after a short illness on 16 January 1899 at Dunsany Castle, aged forty-five years.
His widow, who by Royal Licence, 20 December 1905, assumed the names of Plunkett-Ernle-Ernle-Drax, died at her residence, Dunstall Priory, Shoreham
, near Sevenoaks, Kent, England, on 28 February 1916.
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, was the second son of Edward Plunkett, 16th Baron of Dunsany (1808–1889), and Lady Anne Constance Dutton (1816–1858).
John William Plunkett received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
(1877). He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
(B.A., 1878; M.A., 1881). He was Lieutenant R.N. Artillery Volunteers and a Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
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,...
for the Thornbury (or Southern) division of Gloucestershire
Thornbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Thornbury was a county constituency centred on the town of Thornbury in Gloucestershire. 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.-History:...
from 1886 to 1892. He proved his right to vote at the elections of Representative Peers (Ireland) 1890 and Representative Peers (Ireland) 1893-99.
John William married on 3 April, 1877, at St George's, Hanover Square, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, his second cousin, Ernle Elizabeth Louisa Maria Grosvenor Burton (later Ernle-Erle-Drax), the only daughter and heir to Colonel Francis Augustus Plunkett Burton, Coldstream Guards, by Sarah Frances Elizabeth, younger daughter and coheir of John Samuel Wanley Sawbridge-Erle-Drax, of Charborough Park, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. Her paternal grandmother, the Hon. Anna Maria Plunkett, wife of Admiral James Ryder Burton, was a sister of her husband's paternal grandfather, Edward Wadding Plunkett, 13th Baron of Dunsany. In addition, Ernle, Lady Dunsany, was descended via her maternal line from James Drax, a young Englishman who, with a few hundred pounds, had sailed from the Port of London for Barbados in the late 1620s. There he had made a fortune developing sugar and slave-trading into a hugely profitable business. Just before the turn of the seventeenth century, the family returned to England and purchased an estate in Dorset. Lady Dunsany inherited Charborough Park in 1905. Her unusual Christian name, Ernle
Ernle
Ernle was the surname of an English gentry or landed family descended from the lords of the manor of Earnley in Sussex who derived their surname from the name of the place where their estates lay.-Onomastic:...
, was inherited from an ancestress, Elizabeth Ernle
Ernle
Ernle was the surname of an English gentry or landed family descended from the lords of the manor of Earnley in Sussex who derived their surname from the name of the place where their estates lay.-Onomastic:...
(1697-1759), wife of Henry Drax, Esq., who was the daughter and eventual heiress of Sir Edward Ernle, 3rd Baronet
Ernle Baronets
The Ernle Baronetcy, of Etchilhampton in the County of Wiltshire, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 2 February 1660 for Walter Ernle, later Member of Parliament for Devizes. He died 25 July 1682, and was buried at Bishops Cannings, Wiltshire...
, P.C., M.P., (1673-1729) of Maddington, Wiltshire, by his wife, Frances (d. 1728) only daughter and heir of Lieutenant General Thomas Erle
Thomas Erle
Lieutenant-General Thomas Erle PC was an English army general and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England and of Great Britain from 1678 to 1718. He was Governor of Portsmouth and a Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance....
(1650-1720), of Charborough House, the source of a further barrel of her surname.
John William and Ernle Elizabeth had two sons, Edward John Moreton Drax, 18th Baron of Dunsany and Admiral The Honourable Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax
Reginald Drax
Admiral The Hon. Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, KCB, DSO, JP, DL was a British admiral...
(Charborough Park was left to Reginald, who changed his name to include Drax, the family who had formerly owned it, as well as including references to the Ernle
Ernle
Ernle was the surname of an English gentry or landed family descended from the lords of the manor of Earnley in Sussex who derived their surname from the name of the place where their estates lay.-Onomastic:...
and Erle families from which various of his mother's legacies to him came).
Lady Dunsany was a cousin of Sir Richard Burton
Richard Francis Burton
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his...
, the great traveller, scholar, writer, and translator of the "Arabian Nights." Her son and heir, Edward, may have inherited his imaginative streak from the Burton family.
John William was an exceptional sportsman, and was reputed to have been the best marksman in England. He was deeply interested in mechanical things and developed his own X-Ray machine, which was in operation in Dunsany Castle before his death in 1899. The Dunsany version of the Röntgen ray machine was given to Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
Hospital in 1918. He had acquired the right to drive the Irish Mail Train and regularly took charge of the branch line train from Dublin to Drumree, near Dunsany. He was also responsible for having the first Irish telephone system installed in Dunsany Castle.
The 17th Baron of Dunsany died after a short illness on 16 January 1899 at Dunsany Castle, aged forty-five years.
His widow, who by Royal Licence, 20 December 1905, assumed the names of Plunkett-Ernle-Ernle-Drax, died at her residence, Dunstall Priory, Shoreham
Shoreham, Kent
Shoreham is a village and civil parish in the valley of the River Darent six miles north of Sevenoaks in Kent: it is in the District of Sevenoaks. The parish includes the settlements of Badgers Mount and Well Hill....
, near Sevenoaks, Kent, England, on 28 February 1916.
Sources
- Source: "The Story of Dunsany Castle," by Malachy Lynch and Mary-Rose Carty, ppg. 50-51
- ThePeerage.com