William Stewart, 1st Viscount Mountjoy
| William Stewart | |
|---|---|
| Viscount Mountjoy | |
| Born | 1650[1] or 1653 |
| Died |
3 August 1692 Battle of Steenkerque |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Coote |
| Issue | |
| Father | Alexander Stewart, 2nd Baronet, of Ramelton |
William Stewart, 1st Viscount Mountjoy (1650 or 1653 – 3 August 1692[2]), was an Anglo-Irish peer and soldier.
Early life
Stewart was born in 1653 or around 1650,[1] the son of Sir Alexander Stewart, 2nd Baronet, of Ramelton.
Career
He was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance and colonel of a regiment of foot and in 1682 was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Viscount Mountjoy and Baron Stewart for services during the Irish Rebellion. In 1686 he served in Hungary at the siege of Buda, where he was twice dangerously wounded, and on his return to Ireland was made a brigadier-general. Macaulay styled him "a brave soldier, an accomplished scholar." In Dublin he was the centre of a small circle of learned and ingenious men, who had, under his presidency, formed themselves into a Royal Society.[3]
In 1688, he commanded a portion of the royal Irish Army of the Catholic King James II stationed at Derry. But as he was a Protestant, the Duke of Tyrconnell, Lieutenant Governor of the Irish Army, feared he might be influenced in favour of the Protestant William III of Orange and sent him at the outbreak of Irish hostilities on a diplomatic mission to France, secretly intimating that his detention would be desirable. He was accordingly thrown into the Bastille, and kept confined there until 1692. During his period of confinement, the Parliament of Ireland passed a bill of attainder requiring Stewart and two to three thousand others to report to Dublin for sentencing; Stewart in particular was directed to break out of the Bastille in order to report, under pain of being drawn and quartered.[4]
On his release, he did indeed switch loyalties and joined William's army in Flanders as a General, losing his life at the battle of Steenkerque on 3 August 1692.
Personal life
He married the Honourable Mary Coote, daughter of Richard Coote, 1st Baron Coote. They had six sons and two daughters, including:[5]
- Sir William Stewart, 2nd Viscount Mountjoy (1675–1728), who married Anne Boyle, daughter of Murrough Boyle, 1st Viscount Blesington, on 23 November 1696.
- Alexander Stewart, who had one daughter, Anne Stewart, his sole heiress.[6]
- Mary Stewart (c. 1677–1765), who first married Archibald Preston (1672–1703). After his death, she married Vice Admiral George Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard (1685–1765).
- Catherine Stewart, who married Arthur Davys (d. 1733), an Irish Member of Parliament, representing Carrickfergus in the Irish House of Commons.
- Charles Stewart (1681–1741), who became an officer in the Royal Navy and a Member of Parliament
On his death in 1692, his title passed to his eldest son William.[5]
Descendants
Through his eldest son William, he was the grandfather of five boys and four girls, including William Stewart, 1st Earl of Blessington and 3rd Viscount Mountjoy (1709–1769). Through his daughter Mary, he was the grandfather of two from her first marriage, including Jane Preston (c. 1690–1746) who married Alexander Breckenridge (1686–1743), Col. John Preston (1699–1747), and three more children from her second marriage, including George Forbes, 4th Earl of Granard who married his cousin Letitia, daughter of Arthur Davys of Hampstead.[7]
References
- Notes
- 1 2 Edwards, David (2015). The Scots in Early Stuart Ireland: Union and Separation in Two Kingdoms. Oxford University Press. p. 87. ISBN 9780719097218.
- ↑ Newmann, Kate. "William Stewart (1650 - 1692): 1st Viscount Mountjoy". The Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Ulster History Circle. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ↑ Lord Macaulay, "XII", The History of England from the Accession of James II
- ↑ Macaulay, History of England from the Accession of James the Second (London, 1855), 216-220
- 1 2 Debrett, John (1820). Debrett's Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland. p. 1065. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ↑ Debrett's Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 1825. p. 984. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ↑ Selby, Walford Dakin (1886). The Genealogist, Vol. III. George Bell & Sons. p. 363. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- Sources
- Burke, Sir Bernard: Peerage and Baronetage.
- Irishmen, Lives of Illustrious and Distinguished, Rev. James Wills, D.D. 6 vols. or 12 parts. Dublin, 1840–'7.
- Macaulay, Lord: History of England, from the Accession of James II. [to 1702]. 5 vols. London, 1849–'61.
Further reading
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| New creation | Viscount Mountjoy 1682–1692 |
Succeeded by William Stewart |
| Baronetage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by Alexander Stewart |
Baronet (of Ramelton) 1653–1692 |
Succeeded by William Stewart |