Background

He was the third son of Richard Southwell

Richard Southwell (Askeaton politician)

Richard Southwell was an Irish politician.He was the only son of Sir Thomas Southwell, 1st Baronet and his wife Elizabeth Starkey, daughter of William Starkey. Southwell was elected to the Irish House of Commons for Askeaton in 1661, representing the constituency until 1666.He married Lady...

 of Castle Mattress, Co. Limerick, and his wife Lady Elizabeth O'Brien, daughter of Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin

Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin

Murrough McDermod O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin and 6th Baron Inchiquin , was known as Murchadh na dTóiteán ....

. His older brothers were Thomas Southwell, 1st Baron Southwell

Thomas Southwell, 1st Baron Southwell

Thomas Southwell, 1st Baron Southwell PC , known as Sir Thomas Southwell, 2nd Baronet from 1681 to 1717, was an Irish peer and politician.-Background:...

 and Richard Southwell

Richard Southwell (Limerick politician)

Richard Southwell was an Irish politician.He was the fifth and youngest son of Richard Southwell and his wife Lady Elizabeth O'Brien, daughter of Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin. His older brothers were Thomas Southwell, 1st Baron Southwell and William Southwell...

. During the Glorious Revolution

Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...

 of 1689, he and his brother were attainted by the parliament of King James II of England.

Career

Southwell entered the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 under King William III of England

William III of England

William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...

 in 1693. During the Nine Years' War, he was wounded at the 2nd Siege of Namur

Siege of Namur (1695)

The Siege of Namur, 2 July–1 September 1695, was the second siege of the city of Namur in the Nine Years' War. The Allied forces of the Grand Alliance retook the city from the French, who had captured it in the first siege in 1692...

 in 1695 and was afterwards promoted to captain. In the War of the Spanish Succession

War of the Spanish Succession

The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...

, he took part in the Battle of Cádiz

Battle of Cádiz (1702)

The Battle of Cádiz, fought in August/September 1702, was an Anglo-Dutch attempt to seize the southern Spanish port of Cádiz during the War of the Spanish Succession. The Andalusian city of Cádiz was the great European centre of the Spanish–American trade...

 and Battle of Vigo Bay

Battle of Vigo Bay

The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande , was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement followed an Anglo-Dutch attempt to capture the Spanish port of Cádiz in September in an effort to secure a naval...

 as major of the 6th Foot in 1702. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel a year later. Southwell commanded four hundred grenadiers in the 1st Siege of Barcelona

Siege of Barcelona (1705)

The Siege of Barcelona took place between 14 September and 19 October 1705 during the War of the Spanish Succession when an Allied army supporting the Austrian pretender to the Spanish throne led by Lord Peterborough captured the city of Barcelona from its Franco-Spanish Bourbonic defenders.An...

 in 1705 and became colonel in the following year. He sold his regiment in 1708 and was appointed captain of the Battleaxe Guards in 1714, protecting the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

.

He was elected to 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...

 for Kinsale

Kinsale (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Kinsale was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Kinsale was represented with two members.-Members of Parliament, 1334–1801:...

 in 1703, representing the constituency until 1713. Subsequently Southwell sat for Castlemartyr

Castlemartyr (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Castlemartyr was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons from 1676 to 1800.- Boundaries and boundary changes :...

 until 1715 and then for Baltimore

Baltimore (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Baltimore was a potwalloper constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons from 1614 to 1801.-Boundaries and Boundary Changes:This constituency was based in the town of Baltimore in County Cork.-Potwalloper:...

 until his death in 1720.

Family

In 1709, he married Lucy Bowen, younger daughter of William Bowen, and by her he had six sons and nine daughters. His second son Bowen

Bowen Southwell

Bowen Southwell was an Irish politician.He was the second son of William Southwell and his wife Lucy Bowen, daughter of William Bowen. His uncles were Thomas Southwell, 1st Baron Southwell and Richard Southwell...

 was a 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 Downpatrick

Downpatrick (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Downpatrick was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Downpatrick was not represented.-1689–1801:...

.