Thomas Staunton (Ipswich MP)

Thomas Staunton (1706? – 1 October 1784) was an Irish lawyer and a member of both the Irish and British Parliaments.[1]

Thomas Staunton
Member of Parliament for Ipswich
In office
1757 – 1784
Member of Parliament for Galway Borough
In office
1732 – 1761
Personal details
Bornc. 1706 (1706)
Died1 October 1784 (aged 77–78)
Political partyIpswich Yellow Party
Spouse(s)Jane Vane
Catherine Thurston
Children4
Parent
EducationTrinity College Dublin

Biography

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He was the son of John Staunton of Galway, Ireland, who was MP for Galway Borough and held the office of Serjeant-at-law (Ireland), and Bridget Donnellan, daughter of Edmund Donnellan, and was educated at Trinity College Dublin from 1723. He was called to the Irish bar in 1729. He then moved to London to study law at the Inner Temple in 1727 and Lincoln's Inn in 1740. He was called to the English bar in 1740.[citation needed]

He was elected to represent Galway Borough (his father's old constituency) in the Irish Parliament, sitting from 1732 to 1761. He was a Member of the British Parliament for Ipswich from 1757 to 1784 in the yellow interest.[citation needed]

He married twice; firstly Jane, the daughter of Gilbert Vane, 2nd Baron Barnard and Mary Randyll (Mary was reputed to be a woman of "scandalous life"), and sister of Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington and Anne Vane, mistress of Frederick, Prince of Wales. They had 2 sons, who both predeceased him, and 2 daughters. He married secondly Catherine, the daughter of Thomas Thurston of Holbrook Hall, Suffolk and the widow of William Peck of Little Sampford, Essex (died 1742), who had been a first cousin of Jane Staunton. After his second marriage, he lived at Holbrook Hall.[citation needed]

He was considered a fine Parliamentary orator, but after 1761 there is no record of his speaking in the House. He would clearly have welcomed a Government appointment, but never received one.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "STAUNTON, Thomas (?1706-84), of Holbrook Hall, Suff". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Ipswich
1757 – 1784
With: Samuel Kent to 1759
George Montgomerie 1759–61
The Lord Orwell 1761–68
Succeeded by