Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Most Honorable The Marquess of Londonderry PC (Ire)
The Marquess of Londonderry, by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, c. 1800–08
Tenure	1816–1821
Successor	Robert, 2nd Marquess
Born	27 September 1739 Mount Stewart
Died	6 April 1821 Mount Stewart
Buried	Newtownards Priory
Spouse(s)	Sarah Frances Seymour Frances Pratt
Issue Detail	Robert, Charles, & others
Father	Alexander Stewart
Mother	Mary Cowan

Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry (1739–1821), was an important landowner in County Down, Ireland. He was also a member of the Irish Volunteers, a group of armed citizens. He became a Member of Parliament (MP) in Ireland.

It was unusual for someone from a Scottish-Irish Presbyterian background like him to rise so high in the "Anglican Ascendancy." This was the ruling class in Ireland, mostly made up of members of the Church of Ireland. Robert Stewart became successful thanks to smart marriages that brought him wealth. His son, Viscount Castlereagh, also had a very successful political career. Castlereagh helped create the Acts of Union, which joined Ireland and Great Britain. He also became the British Foreign Secretary, a top government job.

In 1798, Robert Stewart became well-known for not helping James Porter. Porter was his local Presbyterian minister and was executed as a rebel near the Stewart family home, Mount Stewart.

Robert Stewart's Early Life and Family

Robert Stewart was born on September 27, 1739, at Mount Stewart. He was the oldest son of Alexander Stewart and Mary Cowan. His father was a local official in Derry. His grandfather, Colonel William Stewart, was a military leader. Robert's mother was the daughter of John Cowan, who was also a Derry official. His parents got married in Dublin on June 30, 1737.

Robert was the second of his parents' seven children:

• Anne (1738–1781)
• Robert (1739–1821)
• William (1741–1742)
• Francis (born 1742)
• John (1744–1762)
• Alexander (1746–1831), who married Mary Moore
• Mary (born 1747), who died young

How Robert's Family Became Wealthy

Just three months after Robert's parents married, his mother inherited a large fortune. This money came from her half-brother, Robert Cowan. He had earned it while working for the East India Company as the Governor of Bombay.

This inheritance allowed Robert's father, Alexander Stewart, to stop working in the linen trade. He used the money to buy land and become part of the wealthy landowning class. In 1743, he bought a large estate and many small towns from the Colville family. This land was in Newtownards and Comber in County Down.

Robert's Education and First Marriage

Robert Stewart grew up in the Calvinist faith, which is a branch of Protestantism. His father sent him to the University of Geneva in Switzerland, where he studied literature. This meant he avoided universities like Oxford, which were strongly linked to the official Established Church.

After returning from his studies, he met Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. Her father, Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, owned a lot of land near Lisburn. In 1765, her father became the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, which was the King's representative. Robert Stewart went to the Lord Lieutenant's court in Dublin and successfully asked for Lady Sarah's hand in marriage. They were married in Dublin Castle, and Lord Hertford gave them a home in the city.

Robert and Sarah had two sons:

• Alexander-Francis, who died as a baby.
• Robert (1769–1822), who later became a very famous statesman known as "Castlereagh."

Sadly, Lady Sarah died during childbirth in 1770.

Robert Stewart as a Member of Parliament

The year after his first wife died, Robert Stewart became a member of the Irish House of Commons. He represented County Down. He filled a spot left open when Bernard Ward moved to the House of Lords.

Robert was supported by local Whigs and his fellow Presbyterians. They were a large group of voters in the county. His political rivals were the "official" party of the Earl of Hillsborough, who was the Lord-Lieutenant of the county.

Robert Stewart's early success was due to public support for John Wilkes and the unhappy American colonists. People also wanted to change the government and parliament. These feelings led to the Volunteer movement.

He always voted and sometimes spoke against the government in the House of Commons. His actions pleased the people who elected him. At a dinner in Belfast, they toasted "The memory of John Hampden" (who fought against King Charles I) and "All those who would rather die in jack-boots than live in wooden shoes." This showed their strong desire for freedom.

Second Marriage and More Children

Robert Stewart married again on June 7, 1775. His second wife was Frances Pratt. She was the daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, a Whig politician.

Robert and Frances had 11 more children: three sons and eight daughters:

• Charles William (1778–1854), who became the 3rd Marquess after his father.
• Frances Ann (1777–1810), married Lord Charles Fitzroy.
• Elizabeth Mary (1779–1798).
• Caroline (1781–1860), married Colonel Thomas Wood MP.
• Alexander John (1783–1800).
• Georgiana (1785–1804), married the politician George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh.
• Selina Sarah Juliana (1786–1871), married David Guardi Ker MP.
• Matilda Charlotte (1787–1842), married Edward Michael Ward.
• Emily Jane (1789–1865), married John James, and later Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge.
• Thomas Henry (1790–1810).
• Octavia (1792–1819), married Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough.

Robert Stewart and the Irish Volunteers

Robert Stewart by Anton Raphael Mengs, c. 1760–76

From 1775 to 1783, Robert Stewart lived in Bangor with his wife. His father was living at Mount Stewart during this time.

In 1776, Robert Stewart was re-elected as an MP for County Down. He served until 1783.

Stewart was part of the Irish Volunteers. This was a group of armed citizens who formed to keep order and defend Ireland. This happened while the British army was busy with the American War. After an American ship attacked Belfast Lough in 1778, Stewart formed a volunteer company in Newtownards. This group of 115 men, called the Arms Independents, was meant to act as local defenders. However, like other volunteer groups, they soon started discussing political ideas.

Robert's father, Alexander Stewart, died on April 2, 1781. As the oldest son, Robert moved into the family home, Mount Stewart. He completed the Temple of the Winds in the park there. On September 17, 1782, he became a member of the Irish Privy Council, a group of advisors to the King.

That same month, Robert Stewart was chosen to lead the second Ulster Volunteer Convention in Dungannon. This convention, mostly made up of Presbyterians, did not succeed in uniting different groups against the ruling class. They rejected ideas to give more rights to Catholics.

In the general election of October 1783, Stewart ran for County Down again. However, wealthy families like the Hills won the seats. Stewart tried to challenge the results, claiming there were problems, but he lost. The Hills' influence was too strong.

At a convention in Dublin, Stewart was put in charge of a committee to plan government reforms. But this time, the Volunteers' actions did not lead to success, unlike in 1781 when they helped Ireland gain more independence. A bill to change the voting system was rejected. Britain had ended the war in America and could now send more troops to Ireland. Neither the parliament nor the government in Dublin would be pressured.

Stewart believed that Presbyterians should have more representation to stop them from supporting Catholic rights. However, he joined his friend, the Earl of Charlemont, in telling the Volunteers to accept their defeat quietly.

Robert Stewart's Rise in Nobility

In 1789, Robert Stewart was given the title of Baron Londonderry in the Peerage of Ireland. As a peer, he could not run for election himself. So, for the 1790 election, he brought his oldest son, Robert, home from Cambridge University to run for County Down. Robert Stewart still convinced the voters that his family supported reforms. His son won, but it cost Robert Stewart a lot of money.

The arms of Robert Stewart, Earl of Londonderry. The Stewart family symbols are combined with the Cowan family symbols.

Robert Stewart changed his religion from Presbyterianism to the Church of Ireland. It's not clear exactly when this happened, but it was likely before he was given the title of Viscount Castlereagh in 1795. The next year, he became the Earl of Londonderry. His oldest son, now Viscount Castlereagh, also quietly became an Anglican. He was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, working under Lady Frances's brother, Earl Camden, who was the Lord Lieutenant.

Londonderry's second son, Charles, became an MP for Thomastown in County Kilkenny. With these new connections to the powerful establishment, and worried about his tenants' unhappiness, Stewart made a deal with the Hill family. From then on, the two families would share the two county seats in Down. Each family would choose one person to represent them in the Irish parliament without opposition.

In 1796, after a theft of gunpowder, Londonderry gathered his tenants at Mount Stewart. He made them swear an oath of loyalty. He and his sons were willing to consider reforms, including more rights for Catholics. But they wanted this to happen within the safer context of a union with Great Britain. When the parliament in Dublin rejected the bill for the Union in 1799, they fought to have it presented again.

When the bill finally passed in 1801, Londonderry became one of the 28 original Irish representatives in the new United Kingdom parliament in Westminster. In 1816, because his son Castlereagh was doing so well as Foreign Secretary, Robert Stewart was given an even higher title: Marquess of Londonderry. He achieved something rare: he rose from being a Presbyterian commoner to one of the highest ranks of the Irish nobility.

The Execution of James Porter in 1798

During the Irish Rebellion of 1798, rebels briefly took over Mount Stewart from June 10-13, 1798. In August, the wife of James Porter, the local Presbyterian minister, came to the house with her seven children. They begged Lady Londonderry to save her husband's life. One of the children later said that when Lord Londonderry saw his wife writing a letter to General Nugent, he insisted she add a note. This note said he would not get involved in Mr. Porter's case. He then handed the letter to Mrs. Porter with a smile that filled her with "much horror."

Lord Londonderry was present at the court martial that found the minister guilty. He also saw the execution. Porter was hanged where his own church and family home were visible. Lord Londonderry's tenants reportedly defied his wish that they attend the execution. Reverend Henry Montgomery, another Presbyterian minister, later said that Porter's execution was "extremely cruel" to him and his family.

Londonderry was content for other rebels to be sent away instead of executed. David Bailie Warden, who led rebels in north Down, and Reverend Thomas Ledlie Birch, a rebel leader, were allowed to go to the United States. William Sinclair, who swore loyalty to Londonderry but also worked with the rebels, was also allowed to leave.

Porter's crime might have been his popular writings, Billy Bluff. In this story, the master of Mount Stewart is clearly shown as a mean ruler. Porter knew his writings might cause trouble. He wrote in the preface: "I am in danger of being hanged or put in gaol, perhaps both."

It is also possible that Londonderry believed Porter, who was close to the family, was influencing his wife's political views. Lady Frances was rumored to still read Porter's newspaper, the Northern Star. In letters, she even called herself a "republican countess."

Robert Stewart's Reputation as a Landlord

Even though he had political disagreements with his tenants, Robert Stewart was known as a fair landlord. He and his father rarely forced tenants off their land unless they owed more than five years of rent. They also followed the Ulster custom of tenant right, which gave tenants certain rights to their land.

They supported the local town of Newtownards. They helped raise money for a Catholic primary school, showing good will. They also built a market house with a clock tower. This building was attacked by rebels in 1798. During times of food shortages in 1800 and 1801, Londonderry paid to bring food into the affected areas.

Death and Succession

Lord Londonderry died on April 6, 1821, at Mount Stewart, County Down. He was buried at the Newtownards Priory, where his father was also buried. His oldest son, Robert (Castlereagh), briefly became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. However, he died the following year.

Robert Stewart's Life Timeline

Images for kids

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  The Marquess of Londonderry, by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, c. 1800–08

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  Robert Stewart by Anton Raphael Mengs, c. 1760–76

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  The arms of Robert Stewart, Earl of Londonderry. The Stewart family symbols are combined with the Cowan family symbols.