Richard Fitzgerald (bef. 1733 - 1776)

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1776 after age 43 in Kilminchy, Queen's County, Ireland

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Biography

Richard Fitzgerald was the fifth son of Gerald Fitzgerald of Coolanawle, Queen's County, by his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Robert Hartpole, of Shrule Castle in Queen's County. He lived at Kilminchy Castle, Port Laoise, and Mount Offaly, County Kildare. ^[1]

BUT

Richard FitzGerald was the son of Robert FitzGerald, 19th Earl of Kildare and Lady Mary O'Brien.. ^[2]Richard FitzGerald lived at Mount Ophaly, County Kildare, Ireland

He married firstly, Margaret, daughter of James King, 4th Baron Kingston, of Mitchelstown Castle. They had one daughter Caroline, who married Robert King, Lord Kingsborough.[citation needed]

He married, secondly, Mary, daughter and heiress of Fairfax Mercer, of Fair Hill, County Louth. Their son Gerald was the father of the New Zealand politician James FitzGerald and Gerard George Fitzgerald.

Probate ^[3]

Richard Fitzgerald of Kilminchy, Queen's County, Esq.

Will dated 14 January , proved 13 March 1776

Wife - Mary, once Mercer

Brother - Captain George Fitzgerald

Niece - Susanna [unclear]

Father-in-Law - Fairfax Mercer

Son - Gerald Fitzgerald

Grandson - Robert Edward King, 2nd son of Robert, Lord Kingsborough

Grandson - Edward King, 3rd son [of above]

Grandson - George King, son [of above]

Nephew - Robert Euan Fitzgerald

Daughters - not named

Research Notes

Based on the article “Mary Wollstonecraft and the Kingsborough Scandal.” the Colonel [Henry] Gerald Fitzgerald who seduced and eloped with Mary King, Richard's grandaughter, was the son of his brother George. This was in October 1797 and resulted in a duel between Colonel [Henry] Gerald Fitzgerald and Colonel Robert Edward King, a brother of Mary King, The duel was inconclusive and on 18 December 1797 Colonel [Henry] Gerald Fitzgerald was shot dead in his bedchamber in Kilworth by Robert, 2nd Earl of Kingston, Mary's father. Robert had succeeded his father as Earl of Kingston in November 1797. The trial was on 18 May 1798 and he was acquitted as no evidence was produced.

The Dictionary of National Biography has a different ancestry. Henry Gerard Fitzgerald, was an illegitimate son of Lady Kingsborough's brother [Gerald], who was brought up with her own family. He became a colonel in the army, and was married, but in the summer of 1797 eloped with Mary Elizabeth, Lord and Lady Kingsborough's third daughter.

It is more likely that Colonel Henry Gerard Fitzgerald is the son of Richard's brother George. Richard Fitzgerald and Mary Mercer married sometime between 1764 and 1770 and their son Gerald would have been too young to have had a married son, who was a Colonel, in 1797.

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Fitzgerald_(died_1776)
2. ↑ http://www.thepeerage.com/p11741.htm#i117403
3. ↑ FindmyPast - Betham's Genealogical Abstracts Prerogative Wills.(Phillips Mss) F. 1754-1777

• Lowe, N. F. “Mary Wollstonecraft and the Kingsborough Scandal.” Eighteenth-Century Ireland / Iris an Dá Chultúr 9 (1994): 44–56. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30071339.
• Dictionary of National Biograpy - Robert King