Garret Colley Wellesley (1735 - 1781)

Born 19 Jul 1735 in Dangan, Meath, Ireland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 22 May 1781 at age 45 in Kensington, London, England

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Biography

Garret Wellesley was born in Ireland.

Garret Wellesley is Notable.

Garret Colley Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington (19 July 1735 – 22 May 1781)^[1] was an Anglo-Irish politician and composer, best known today for fathering several distinguished British military commanders and politicians.

He was born at the family estate of Dangan, near Summerhill, a village near Trim in County Meath, Ireland, to Richard Wesley, 1st Baron Mornington, and Elizabeth Sale. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and was elected its first Professor of Music in 1764. As a composer he is remembered chiefly for glees such as "Here in cool grot" (lyrics by William Shenstone) and for a double Anglican chant.

Wesley represented Trim in the Irish House of Commons from 1757 until 1758, when he succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Mornington. In 1760, in recognition of his musical and philanthropic achievements, he was created Viscount Wellesley, of Dangan Castle in the County of Meath, and Earl of Mornington. He was elected Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland in 1776, a post he held until the following year.

Family

He married The Hon. Anne Hill-Trevor, eldest daughter of the banker Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon, and wife, Anne Stafford, on the 6th of February 1759.^[1]
They had six children:

1. Richard, Viscount Wellesley (20 June 1760 – 26 September 1842); later 1st Marquess Wellesley, 2nd Earl of Mornington.
2. The Hon. William Wellesley (20 May 1763 – 22 February 1845); later William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington, 1st Baron Maryborough.
3. The Hon. Arthur Wellesley (c. 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852); later 1st Duke of Wellington.
4. The Revd and Hon. Gerald Valerian (7 December 1770 – 24 October 1848)
5. The Hon. Henry Wellesley (20 January 1773 – 27 April 1847); later 1st Baron Cowley.
6. Lady Anne Wellesley (1775 – 16 December 1844), married (1) The Hon. Henry FitzRoy (younger son of Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton), (2) Charles Culling Smith.

Four of Lord Mornington's five sons were created peers in the Peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The Barony of Wellesley (held by the Marquess Wellesley) and the Barony of Maryborough are now extinct, whilst the Dukedom of Wellington and Barony of Cowley are extant. The Earldom of Mornington is held by the Dukes of Wellington, and the Barons Cowley have since been elevated to be Earls Cowley. Garret Wesley, Lord Mornington, died at Kensington on 22 May 1781^[2] and was buried at Grosvenor Chapel.^[1] He is also a direct ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III through the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

Research Notes

Cokayne^[1] gives an incorrect year of death and age at death:

b. 19 July and bap. 10 Aug. 1735, at St. Andrews, Dublin ... d. at Kensington, 22 May 1784 [sic], in his 50th [sic] year ...

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} [Cokayne, George Edward], 1825-1911. [From Old Catalog] : The Complete Peerage (Edition 1, Volume 4) : Free Download, Borrow, And Streaming : Internet Archive". 2021. Internet Archive. Garret Wesley, Vol IV, pg 375.
2. ↑ The Scots Magazine, May 1781, p. 279:

   Marriage, Birth, Deaths and Preferments.
   ...
   DEATHS,
   May ...
   22. At Kensington, the Earl of Mrnington, of the kingdom of Ireland

See Also:

• Garret Wesley,Wikipedia Entry