George Forbes, 5th Earl of Granard

George Forbes, 5th Earl of Granard PC (2 April 1740 – 15 April 1780) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer.

The Earl of Granard
Member of Parliament for St Johnstown
In office
1762–1768
Serving with Charles Newcomen
Preceded byViscount Forbes
Charles Newcomen
Succeeded byRalph Fetherston
Charles Newcomen
Personal details
Born
George Forbes

(1740-04-02)2 April 1740
Died15 April 1780(1780-04-15) (aged 40)
Spouse(s)
Dorothea Bayly
(m. 1759; died 1764)

Lady Georgiana Augusta Berkeley
(m. 1766)
RelationsJohn Forbes (uncle)
Children7
Parent(s)George Forbes, 4th Earl of Granard
Letitia Forbes, Countess of Granard
Military service
AllegianceIrish Army, British Army
Branch/serviceTangier Regiment
76th Regiment of Foot
29th Regiment of Foot
RankLt.-Gen.

Early life

edit

Forbes was born on 2 April 1740. He was the only son of Lt.-Gen. George Forbes, 4th Earl of Granard and the former Letitia Davys (d. 1778), who were first cousins (their mother's were sisters).[1][2]

His paternal grandparents were George Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard and the Hon. Mary (née Stewart) Preston (widow of Phineas Preston and eldest daughter of William Stewart, 1st Viscount Mountjoy).[3] His mother was the daughter of Arthur Davys and Hon. Catherine Stewart (second daughter of the 1st Viscount Mountjoy).[2] His paternal uncle was Admiral of the Fleet John Forbes, the father of his cousins, Katherine Wellesley-Pole, Countess of Mornington (wife of William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington) and Maria Villiers, Countess of Clarendon (wife of John Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon).[4][5]

Career

edit

Between 1762 and 1768 he sat in the Irish House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for St Johnstown.[6]

On 16 October 1769 Forbes succeeded to his father's earldom and assumed his seat in the Irish House of Lords. From 1769 to his death he served as Custos Rotulorum of Longford. In 1771, he was made a privy councillor of Ireland.[4]

Personal life

edit

Forbes was twice married. His first marriage was on 12 July 1759 to Dorothea Bayly (1738–1764), the second daughter of Sir Nicholas Bayly, 2nd Baronet of Plas Newydd, by his first wife Caroline Paget (daughter and heiress of Brig.-Gen. Thomas Paget, Governor of Minorca). Dorothea's brother, Henry Bayly, later took the surname of their maternal grandfather was elevated to the peerage as the Earl of Uxbridge. Before Dorothea's death on 19 February 1764, they were the parents of one child:[4]

Forbes remarried on 27 April 1766 to Lady Georgiana Augusta Berkeley (1749–1820) in London. Lady Georgiana was the eldest daughter of Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley and Elizabeth Drax (eldest daughter of Henry Drax of Ellerton Abbey). Together, they were the parents of six children, including:[4]

Upon his death on 15 April 1780, he was succeeded in his title by his eldest son from his first marriage, George Forbes. His widow remarried to Rev. Samuel Little in January 1781.[4]

Coat of arms

edit
Coat of arms of George Forbes, 5th Earl of Granard
Coronet
A coronet of an Earl
Crest
Azure three Bears' Heads couped Argent muzzled Gules.
Escutcheon
A Bear statant Argent guttée de sang muzzled Gules.
Supporters
Dexter: an Unicorn Erminois armed maned tufted and unguled Or; Sinister: a Dragon wings expanded Ermine.
Motto
Fax Mentis Incendium Gloriae (The incitement to glory is the firebrand of the mind)[7]

References

edit
  1. ^ Forbes (hon.), John (1868). Memoirs of the Earls of Granard, ed. by George Arthur Hastings, earl of Granard. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b Gasper, Julia (13 April 2018). Elizabeth Craven: Writer, Feminist and European. Vernon Press. ISBN 978-1-62273-408-5. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  3. ^ Lodge, Edmund (1832). The Peerage of the British Empire as at Present Existing: Arranged and Printed from the Personal Communications of the Nobility : to which is Added a View of the Baronetage of the Three Kingdoms. Saunders and Otley. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cracroft-Brennan, Patrick. "Granard, Earl of (I, 1684)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  5. ^ Cokayne, George Edward (1926). The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom: Gordon to Hurstpierpoint. St. Catherine Press, Limited. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  6. ^ E. M. Johnston-Liik, MPs in Dublin: Companion to History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800 (Ulster Historical Foundation, 2006), p.89 (Retrieved 7 April 2020).
  7. ^ Debrett's peerage & baronetage 2003. London: Macmillan. 674. p. 456.
edit
Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by Member of Parliament for St Johnstown
1762–1768
With: Charles Newcomen
Succeeded by
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Earl of Granard
1769–1780
Succeeded by
Viscount Granard
1769–1780
Baronetage of Nova Scotia
Preceded by Baronet
(of Castle Forbes)
1769–1780
Succeeded by