Ernest Augustus Vaughan, 4th Earl of Lisburne

From Wikipedia: Ernest Vaughan, 4th Earl of Lisburne

Ernest Augustus Vaughan, 4th Earl of Lisburne (Thursday, 30 October 1800 – Saturday, 8 November 1873), styled Viscount Vaughan from 1820 to 1831, was a prominent landowner in Cardiganshire, Wales, who served from 1854 until 1859 as a Conservative member of the British House of Commons.

Early life

Lisburne was the son of John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Lisburne, whom he succeeded on Wednesday, 18 May 1831, by his spouse the Hon. Lucy (died 1821), fifth daughter of William, 2nd Viscount Courtenay. As this was an Irish peerage after 1801 it did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords unless elected as a Representative Peer. He did however have the right, confirmed in August 1831, to vote for the representative peers from Ireland.

Family

The Earl of Lisburne married firstly, on Thursday, 27 August 1835, Mary (died 1851), second daughter of Sir Laurence Palk, baronet., by his spouse Lady Elizabeth Vaughan. There were four children from the marriage, namely:

• Ernest Augustus Malet Vaughan, 5th Earl of Lisburne (born 1836) who eventually succeeded to the titles. He was married on Thursday, 24 June 1858 to Gertrude Laura, third daughter of Edwyn Burnaby of Bargrave, Leicestershire.
• the Hon. William Shafto Vaughan, born 1839, died 1853.
• Lady Elizabeth Malet Vaughan, who was married in 1860 to Inglis Jones of Derry Ormond, Lampeter.
• the Hon. Edward Courtney Vaughan, born Saturday, 23 October 1841.

He married secondly, on Tuesday, 5 April 1853, Elizabeth Augusta Harriet Mitchell (died Thursday, 13 December 1883), daughter of Lady Harriett Isabella Somerset and widow of Colonel. Hugh Henry Mitchell (died Sunday, 20 April 1817). Lady Lisburne, as a child, is said to have been a Maid of Honour to Queen Adelaide at Kew on Saturday, 11 July 1818. There was one child from the second marriage:

• Lady Gertrude Dorothy Harriet Adeilade Vaughan, born 1855, died 1869.

Parliamentary career

Lisburne was regarded as the leading figure within the Conservative party in Cardiganshire. In 1854, he was elected to the House of Commons as the MP for Cardiganshire, succeeding Colonel W.E. Powell who had held the seat since 1816. Lisburne's political views and allegiance to the Conservative Party were expected to attract opposition and Thomas Lloyd of Bronwydd was mentioned as a possible candidate. However, Lloyd declined to stand and the Liberals, following the lead of the Pryse family of Gogerddan, chose not to contest the seat.

Having been returned unopposed, there was speculation of a renewed challenge from Thomas Lloyd at the 1857 General Election. Once again, however, Lloyd withdrew and Lisburne held the seat until 1859 when he stood down. He served as High Sheriff of Cardiganshire in 1851.

At the 1868 General Election, his nephew, Edmund Malet Vaughan, was the Conservative candidate for Cardiganshire, in a contest overshadowed by accusations of coercion. Following the retirement of Sir Thomas Lloyd, he was for a time the only candidate. He was eventually defeated by the Liberal candidate, Evan Mathew Richards.

Later life

Lisburne concentrated much of his attention on improving the Crosswood estate. Large tracts of land in the Ystwyth valley were converted to woodland, while he also developed the Home Farm at Crosswood. The estate's herd of Hereford cattle was considered amongst the finest in Wales, while he also took a personal interest in maintaining hisflock of Shropshire Downs. Lisburne was involved in the restoration of several churches in the locality and was also endowed a number of schools. Relationships with his tenants were said to be good.

Lisburne's health deteriorated during 1872 and he spent that winter and the following spring at Torquay. Apparently in better health he returned to Crosswood for the summer, but he became ill again in the autumn and he died in early November.

From British Newspaper Archive: Pall Mall Gazette Wednesday, 12 November 1873 Page 4 Summary Of This Morning's News

The Earl of Lisburne died on Sunday, 9 November 1873 [inst.], at Crosswood House, Trawscoed, Ceredigion, Wales SY23 4HS 52.339512, -3.952447, his residence, near Aberystwyth, in North Wales, in the seventy-third year of his age. The deceased nobleman (Ernest Augustus Vaughan), who was an Irish peer, was the eldest son of the third Earl by the Hon. Lucy, fifth daughter of William, second Viscount Courtenay, which title is now extinct. He was born in 1800, and succeeded to the family honours on the death of his father in 1831.

From British Newspaper Archive: Morning Post Wednesday, 12 November 1873 Page 5 Fashionable world: The Late Earl of Lisburne

The Late Earl of Lisburne. — The late Right Hon. Ernest Augustus Vaughan, Earl of Lisburne, county Antrim, Viscount Lisburne and Lord Vaughan, Baron of Fethard, county Tipperary, in the peerage of Ireland, whose death was briefly recorded in our columns yesterday, was the second son of John, 3rd earl, by Hon. Lucy Courtenay, fifth daughter of William, 2nd Viscount Courtenay, and sister of the 9th Earl of Devon. The deceased peer was born Thursday, 30 October 1800, so that he had only recently entered his 74th year.

He married, first, Thursday, 27 August 1835, Mary Palk, second daughter of the late Sir Lawrence Palk, baronet., by Lady Elizabeth Vaughan, his lordship's aunt; this lady died in July 1851; and secondly, Tuesday, 5 April 1853, Hon. Harriet Elizabeth Mitchell, maid of honour to Queen Adelaide, daughter of the late Colonel Henry Hugh Mitchell, by Lady Harriet Isabella Somerset, daughter of the 5th Duke of Beaufort.

His lordship leaves surviving issue by his first marriage two sons and a daughter, namely, Ernest Augustus Vaughan, Lord Vaughan, his successor in the earldom; born Sunday, 26 June 1836; married Thursday, 24 June 1858, Laura Gertrude Burnaby, third daughter of Mr. Edwin Burnaby, of Baggrave Hall, Leicestershire, and by her, who died Wednesday, 29 March 1865, he has issue a son, Henry Arthur Vaughan, and three daughters, Captain Hon. Henry Courtenay Vaughan (Rifle Brigade), and Lady Elizabeth, married to Mr. T. Inglis Jones, of Derry Ormonde, Cardiganshire; and by his second marriage he had an only daughter, Lady Gertrude Dorothy Harriet Adelaide Vaughan, who died in September 1869.

The late earl for a few years, from February 1854, to May 1859, represented Cardiganshire in the House of Commons, having succeeded Colonel Powell, who vacated his seat at the commencement of the Parliamentary session in the first-named year. He was a Conservative in politics.

The earl belonged to an old Welsh family long seated in Cardiganshire, from whom was descended Sir John Vaughan, Knight, a most learned lawyer, who sat for Cardigan in Parliament. During the Commonwealth he retired to his residence in Cardiganshire, and lived quietly till the Restoration, when he was again returned to Parliament as representative for the county of Cardigan, and was soon afterwards made Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He died in 1674, and was buried in the Temple Church, near the grave of his friend Selden.

His eldest son, Edward Vaughan, was M.P. for the county of Cardigan, and for a short time one of the Lords of the Admiralty. His eldest son, John Vaughan, was elevated to the peerage of Ireland in June 1695, by the title of Lord Vaughan, and Viscount Lisburne. He married Mallet, third daughter of John, Earl of Rochester. His eldest son, John, dying without issue, the honours devolved upon his brother Wilmot, who was succeeded in 1766 by his eldest son, 4th viscount, who was created Earl of Lisburne in July 1776, and was great grandfather of the late earl.

• Burke, Bernard, Sir. A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the peerage and baronetage of the British Empire. London : Harrison 1869. page 698