Robert Maxwell (abt. 1720 - 1779)

Born about 1720 in Farnham Estate, County Cavan, Ireland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 16 Nov 1779 at about age 59 in County Cavan, Ireland

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Biography

Robert Maxwell was born in Ireland.

This profile is part of the Maxwell Name Study.

Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham (c. 1720 – 16 November 1779), styled The Honourable Robert Maxwell from 1756 to 1759, was an Irish peer and a Member of both the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland.

Farnham was the son of John Maxwell, 1st Baron Farnham and Judith Barry, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He inherited the Farnham estate in Cavan on the death of his father in 1759. He was appointed High Sheriff of Cavan in 1757.

He succeeded as 2nd Baron Farnham on the 6 August 1759. He was created Viscount Farnham on 10 September 1760, and Earl of Farnham on 13 May 1763. He also became a Privy Councillor in Ireland on the 19 September 1760. He remained in the British House of Commons until 1768, being re-elected in 1761 and supporting the governments of Lord Bute and George Grenville,

Family

Lord Farnham married twice, firstly in 1759 to Henrietta Cantillon, Countess Dowager of Stafford (died 1761), daughter of Philip Cantillon. They had two children, John (died 1777) and Henrietta (died 1852). He married secondly in 1771 to Sarah, daughter of Pole Cosby. On his death the earldom and the viscountcy titles became extinct, whilst the barony passed to his brother, Barry Maxwell.

Children of Robert Maxwell, 1st and last Earl of Farnham and Henrietta Cantillon

• Lady Henrietta Maxwell d. 6 Mar 1852
• John Maxwell, Viscount Maxwell1 b. a 1760, d. 7 Aug 1778

Sources

http://www.thepeerage.com/p42119.htm#i421186

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Maxwell,_1st_Earl_of_Farnham

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