Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon
Henry Dillon | |
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Viscount Dillon | |
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Tenure | 1741–1787 |
Predecessor | Charles, 10th Viscount Dillon |
Successor | Charles, 12th Viscount Dillon |
Born | 1705 |
Died | 3 November 1787 |
Spouse(s) | Charlotte Lee |
Issue
Charles, Arthur, & others | |
Father | Arthur Dillon, Count Dillon |
Mother | Christina Sheldon |
Henry Dillon, 11th Viscount Dillon (1705–1787) was an Irish peer and the colonel proprietor of Dillon's Regiment 1741–1744 and 1747–1767. He married the rich heiress Charlotte Lee, daughter of George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield, acquiring land in Oxfordshire, England in addition to his Irish lands.
Birth and origins[]
Henry was born in 1705,[1] most likely at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, where the Jacobite Court was. He was the second of the five sons of Arthur Dillon and his wife Christina Sheldon. His father was born in 1670 in Ireland, had fought for the Jacobites in the Williamite War and had gone to France as the colonel of Dillon's Regiment with the Irish Brigade in April 1690 when Irish troops were sent to France in exchange for French troops sent to Ireland with Lauzun. He was a younger son of the 7th Viscount Dillon. His father's family was Old English Irish and descended from Sir Henry Dillon who came to Ireland with Prince John in 1185.[2] Henry's mother was a daughter of Ralph Sheldon, and Dominic Sheldon, the English Catholic Jacobite, was her uncle. She was a maid of honour to Queen Mary of Modena, wife of James II.[3] Both parents were thus Jacobites and Catholics. They had five sons and several daughters.[4]
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Early life and career[]
While Henry was a child, he lived with his mother at the court in exile of James Francis Edward (the old pretender) at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Louis XIV had recognised James Francis Edward as the rightful heir to the English, Scottish and Irish thrones.[16] Dillon's Regiment, led by Henry's father, fought for France in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). Louis XIV made Henry's father lieutenant-general in 1706 and comte de Dillon in 1711.[17] However, in 1713 France signed the Peace of Utrecht recognising the Hanoverian succession and ending its support for the Jacobites.[18] James Francis Edward had to leave France and went to Lorraine, then to Avignon, a papal territory at the time, and finally to the Papal States in Italy. His mother, the dowager queen Mary of Modena, however, stayed behind at Saint-Germain-en-Laye and died there in 1718.[19]
On 13 January 1714 Henry's uncle the 8th Viscount Dillon died in Dublin, Ireland.[20][21][b] This uncle had been attainted as Jacobite in 1691 but had been pardoned and had obtained the reversal of the attainder in 1693.[22] He therefore got back his title and lands. The 8th Viscount was succeeded by his son Richard as the 9th Viscount Dillon, to whom Charles would succeed later in his life as the 10th Viscount.[23]
In 1716 Henry, aged 11, was made an ensign to the Colonel, his father, in the Regiment.[24] In 1722 James Francis Edward, who now resided in Rome, created Henry's father Earl of Dillon.[25]
In 1730 his father retired from active service[26] and on 1 May 1730 Charles became colonel of Dillon's Regiment.[27] On 5 February 1733 N.S., his father died at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[28] Charles, already colonel, now also succeeded in his father's titles: comte de Dillon in France and Earl of Dillon in the Jacobite peerage. Henry, aged 25, was promoted Captain in May 1730.[29]
During the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1735), Henry and his elder brother Charles fought under Marshal Berwick, the commander of Louis XV's Rhine army, at the Siege of Kehl and then the Siege of Philippsburg where Berwick was beheaded by a chance cannonball.[30]
In 1737 Richard, the 9th Viscount, died and Henry's elder brother Charles, already comte and earl, succeeded as the 10th Viscount in the Irish peerage.[31]
Viscount and colonel[]
On 24 October 1741 Henry's elder brother Charles, the 10th Viscount Dillon and Colonel of Dillon's Regiment, died in London without surviving children. He was buried in St Pancras churchyard where Catholics were usually buried in London.[32][33] Henry succeeded as the 11th Viscount Dillon[34] and as colonel proprietor of Dillon's regiment.[35]
During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748) France challenged the succession of Maria Theresa to the Habsburg Monarchy. Lord Dillon, as he now was, participated in the Battle of Dettingen on 27 June 1743.[36] Being a peer of Ireland, Lord Dillon resigned the colonelcy in favour of his brother James and left France in 1744 as England prepared a law to forbid its citizens to fight for foreign countries.[37] His brother James succeeded him as colonel-proprietor of Dillon's Regiment.[38]
Marriage and children[]
On 26 October 1744 Lord Dillon, aged 39, married Charlotte Lee, second daughter of George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield in a Catholic ceremony at the chapel of the Portuguese Embassy in London.[39][40][41] She was probably born late in 1724 and accordingly was 19 at the time. Her father had died on 13 February 1742 and her brother George Henry had succeeded as the 3rd earl.[42]
Charlotte was a great-granddaughter of Charles II and Barbara Villiers by her paternal grandmother Charlotte Fitzroy.[43]
Henry and Charlotte had at least seven children:
- Charles (1745–1813), succeeded him as the 12th Viscount Dillon;[44]
- Frances (1747–1825), married Sir William Jerningham, 6th Baronet Baronet Jerningham;[45]
- Arthur (1750–1794), became a general in the French service and was guillotined after the French Revolution;[46]
- Catherine (1752–1797)[47]
- Laura (born 1754)[48]
- Charlotte (1755–1782), married Valentine, 1st Earl of Kenmare (1754–1812);[49] and
- Henry (1759–1837), became the last colonel of Dillon's Regiment and married Frances Trant.[50]
Second term as colonel[]
Lord Dillon's brother James commanded the regiment as colonel-proprietor from 1744 to 1745 when he was killed in the Battle of Fontenoy fighting under Maréchal de Saxe for France against the English under the Duke of Cumberland. Thereupon the 4th brother, Edward, succeeded as colonel. He continued to fight with the regiment under de Saxe against the English under Cumberland, but in 1747 he was wounded at the Battle of Lauffeld, taken prisoner, and died.[51]
Dillon's brother Edward's unexpected death created a vacancy in the colonelcy of Dillon's Regiment that was hard to fill. The four brothers Charles, Henry, James, and Edward, had served one after the other as colonel, the fifth brother, Arthur Edward, was in holy orders. The only son born to Lord Dillon, Charles, was 18 months old at the time and destined to be viscount, not colonel. Eventually Louis XV allowed Lord Dillon, to serve a second term as colonel, even if absent abroad.[52] This second term lasted 20 years 1747–1767, during which the regiment fought in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) under several hired commanders. During these twenty years another son was born and grew up. This was Arthur, born on 3 September 1750. He became owner and colonel of Dillon's Regiment on 25 August 1767 at the age of 16.[53][c] He went to France and was sent to America to fight in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).[54]
Lichfield inheritance[]
Charlotte, Lord Dillon's wife turned out to be a rich heiress. Her father, the George Lee, 2nd Earl of Lichfield, had died in 1742, two years before her marriage. The 3rd earl, her only surviving brother George Lee, 3rd Earl of Lichfield married in 1745, but his marriage was childless. When he died in 1772, he was succeeded by their uncle Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield, whose marriage also was childless. When the uncle, the 4th Earl, died on 4 November 1776, the earldom went extinct.[55] Henry's mother, the eldest surviving sister of the 2nd Earl, was the nearest relative and inherited the Lichfield estate.[56] However, Henry and Charlotte never went to live at Ditchley House, which was probably inhabited by the last Earl's widow, Catharine, who died in 1784.[57]
Death, succession, and timeline[]
Lord Dillon died on 15 September 1787 in Mansfield Street, London, and was buried at St. Pancras churchyard.[58] He was succeeded by his eldest son Charles as the 12th Viscount.[59]
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Notes, citations, and sources[]
Notes[]
Citations[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 7a: "HENRY, 11th Viscount Dillon, b. 1705 ..."
- ^ Webb 1878, p. 149, line 7: "... [Sir Henry Dillon] came to Ireland in 1185 as secretary to Prince John ..."
- ^ Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 73: "He m. Christina, Maid of Honour to MARY, wife of James II), dau. of Ralph Sheldon, and d. 5 Feb. 1733 ..."
- ^ O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 36a: "Lieutenant-General Arthur Dillon, besides daughters, had 5 sons."
- ^ La Tour du Pin 1913, pp. 14–15: "Note généalogique sur la Maison des Lords Dillon"
- ^ Debrett 1828b, p. 748, line 26: "... father of Charles, 10th Viscount, who m. Frances, only child and h. of the 9th viscount, and d. without surviving issue, 1741;"
- ^ Jump up to: a b Burke 1949, p. 603, left columns, line 78: "James, Kt. of Malta, Col. of the Dillon Regt., fell at its head at Fontenoy, 30 April 1745."
- ^ Jump up to: a b Burke 1949, p. 603, left columns, line 80: "Edward, b. 1720, s. his brother in the command of Dillon's Regt. and was mortally wounded at Lauffeld, 1747."
- ^ Burke 1949, p. 603, left columns, line 82: "Arthur, in Holy Orders, b. at St Germains in 1721, successively Bishop of Evreux, 1753, Archbishop of Toulouse, 1758, and Archbishop of Narbonne, in 1762, Cmdr. of the Order of the Holy Ghost 1776, Primate of the Gauls, and Pres. of the States of Languedoc; d. in London 5 July 1806 ..."
- ^ Lodge 1789, p. 196, line 1: "Daughter Frances, a Carmelite nun, died at Pontoise."
- ^ Lodge 1789, p. 196, line 2: "Catharine, also a Carmelite nun, died at St. Denis in 1753."
- ^ La Tour du Pin 1913, p. 15: "Mary Dillon, mourut à Saint-Germain-en-Laye en 1786."
- ^ Lodge 1789, p. 196, line 4: "Bridget, was married to the Baron Blaisel, a Lieut.-General in the service of France."
- ^ La Chesnaye des Bois 1863, p. 311, left column, line 29: "Blaisel (du) Seigneur de Belle-Isle, de la Neuville en Picardie ..."
- ^ La Tour du Pin 1913, p. 15, extreme right: "Laura Dillon, épousa Lucius Cary, Lord Viscount Falkland, pair d'Ecosse. Elle mourut en 1741, laissant une fille unique LUCY."
- ^ Burke 1949, p. cclxvii, line 45: "James II (who d. 16 Sept. 1701, at St. Germains, where he was bur.)"
- ^ Burke 1949, p. 603, left column, line 70: "He was created Count Dillon by Louis XIV, 1711 ..."
- ^ Jump up to: a b Miller 1971, p. 147, line 8: "On 11 April 1713 the peace was signed at Utrecht: in return for the acknowledgement of his grandson as Philip V of Spain, Louis had had to recognize the Hanoverian and Protestant succession in England."
- ^ Debrett 1828a, p. cxxv, line 14: "... [Mary] survived him and d. 8 May 1718 ..."
- ^ Burke 1949, p. 603, left column, line 96: "He [Henry, the 8th Viscount] died 13 Jan. 1713 and was s. by his son."
- ^ Jump up to: a b Cokayne 1916, p. 359, line 34: "He [Henry, the 8th Viscount] d. in Dublin, 13 and was bur. 23 Jan 1713/4 at Ballyhawnis, co. Mayo."
- ^ Lodge 1789, p. 195, line 1: "After this period it appears by a rule book of the Court of King's Bench, in Trinity Term (6. Will and Mary) that the outlawry against his father was reversed by the judgement of the said court, and which judgement was duly entered up and enrolled, and also examined by the House of Lords, 2 December 1697, when the Lord Viscount Massereene reported that the said outlawry was reversed."
- ^ Burke 1949, p. 603, left column, last line: "He [the 9th Viscount] was s. by his cousin Charles 10th Viscount Dillon ..."
- ^ Jump up to: a b O'Callaghan 1854, p. 49, line 2: "... was, when very young, or in 1716, Ensign to the colonel, his father;"
- ^ Burke 1949, p. 603, left column, line 72: "... and was created Earl Dillon, 1722, by the Old Pretender."
- ^ Jump up to: a b O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 36b: "In 1730, quitting the service, as he was then in his 60th year, resigned his regiment to his eldest son;"
- ^ O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 42b: "... [Charles Dillon became] and Colonel, May 1st 1730."
- ^ Jump up to: a b c O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 38: "... died February 5th, at the Palace of St. Germain-en-Laye, aged 63 years."
- ^ Jump up to: a b O'Callaghan 1854, p. [httpsarchiveorgdetailshistoryofirishbr01ocalpage49 49, line 3a]: "[Henry] became full captain in May, 1730."
- ^ O'Callaghan 1854, p. 49, line 3b: "... in the war from 1733 to 1735, against the Germans, served at the sieges of Kehl and Philipsburgh ..."
- ^ Jump up to: a b Debrett 1828b, p. 748, line 24: "... whose only son Richard, 9th viscount, d. without male issue, 1737;"
- ^ Cokayne 1916, p. 360, line 18: "He [Charles] d. there [in London] s.p.s., 24 and was buried 27 Oct 1741 at St. Pancras, Midx."
- ^ "A List of Deaths for the year 1741". Gentleman's Magazine. New series. 11. 1741. p. 554, left column, bottom.
[24 October] The Lord Dillon of Ireland and Colonel of a Regiment in the French Service.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 1: "Charles, 10th Viscount Dillon, Col. proprietor of Dillon Regt., 1730–1741 (refer to Arthur, son of Theobald, 7th Viscount). He m. 16 Jan. 1734-5 his cousin Frances, only child of 9th Viscount Dillon and had an only son Charles b. 10 Nov. 1738; d. May 1739. He d. 24 Oct. 1741 ..."
- ^ Jump up to: a b Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 7b: "[Henry] Col. proprietor of Dillon Regt., 1741–1744 and 1747–72;"
- ^ Jump up to: a b O'Callaghan 1854, p. 49, line 8: "... the Battle of Etingen where he was present ..."
- ^ O'Callaghan 1854, p. 49, line 10: "... an Act of Parliament being then in preparation to prevent British subjects from entering foreign service ..."
- ^ O'Callaghan 1854, p. 49, line 18: "When he was about to quit France, in 1744, he resigned his regiment there to his next brother, the Chevalier Jacques (or James) de Dillon, Knight of Malta ..."
- ^ Cokayne 1916, p. 360, line 22: "He m., 26 Oct. 1744, at the Portuguese Embassy Chapel, Charlotte, 1st da. and eventually h. of George Henry [Lee], 2nd Earl of Lichfield ..."
- ^ Jump up to: a b Debrett 1828b, p. 748, line 32: "... [Henry] m. 26 Oct. 1744, Charlotte Lee, eldest da. of George-Henry, 2nd Earl of Lichfield, and at length sole h. to the estates of the earls of Lichfield ..."
- ^ "A List of Marriages for the year 1745". Gentleman's Magazine. New series. 15. 1745. p. 51, right column, bottom.
26. [October] At the Portugal ambassador's chapel, the Lord Viscount Dillon, —to the Lady Charlotte Lee, sister to the Earl of Lichfield.
- ^ Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line : "The earl d. 13 February 1742, and was s. by his eldest son George Henry Lee, 3rd earl."
- ^ Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, line 29: "His lordship [Edward Lee, 1st Earl] m. Lady Charlotte Fits-Roy, natural dau. of King Charles II., by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland ..."
- ^ Debrett 1828b, p. 749: "Charles, 12th viscount, whose claim to the viscountcy was established by the house of lords in Ireland, after a solemn hearing, 18 March 1788; b. 6. Nov 1745 ..."
- ^ Debrett 1828a, p. 315: "Sir William [Jerningham], 6th bart., m. June 1767, Frances Dillon, eldest da. of Henry, 11th Viscount Dillon ..."
- ^ Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 19: "... was guillotined 13 April 1794, during the Reign of terror."
- ^ Debrett 1828b, p. 748, line 51: "Catharine, b. 4 June 1752, d. 24 May 1797."
- ^ Debrett 1828b, p. 748, line 52: "Laura, b. 21 April 1754."
- ^ Debrett 1828b, p. 723, line 44: "Valentine (called) 5th viscount Kenmare ... m. 1st 7 July 1777, Charlotte Dillon, da. of Henry, 11th Viscount Dillon ... "
- ^ Burke 1949, p. 603, right column, line 28: "Henry, Major-Gen in the French and English services, Col. of the Dillon Regt. (in the English army 1794–8) when on the surrender of the 2nd Bn. at San Domingo it passed to the English Army, b. 28 June 1759; m. 1stly 29 Apr. 1790 Frances, dau. of Dominick Henry Trant of Easingwold ..."
- ^ "List of the Killed and Wounded of the Irish Regiments in French Service at the Battle at Lauffield village, neat Maestricht, July 2, 1747". Gentleman's Magazine. New series. 17. 1747. p. 377, right column.
Dillon's [regiment]. Killed, the Col. prisoner, and died.
- ^ O'Callaghan 1854, p. 49, line 48: "From 1747 the proprietorship of the regiment was consequently allowed to remain with the Lord Henry Dillon referred to, who though resident in England drew the profits on the appointments;"
- ^ Jump up to: a b O'Callaghan 1854, p. 50, line 7: "... Arthur, born in September, 1750, was in his seventeenth year; or of an age deemed sufficient for entering upon the Colonel-Proprietorship of the regiment, which had been reserved for him in France. He accordingly obtained it by a brevet of August 25th 1767 ..."
- ^ O'Callaghan 1854, p. 50, line 15: "... distinguished himself, with his regiment, against the English, during the War for the Independence of the United States of America."
- ^ Jump up to: a b Burke 1866, p. 317, right column, bottom: "His lordship d. 4 November 1776, when the earldom of Lichfield and minor honours became extinct."
- ^ Cokayne 1893, p. 75, footnote d: "His [the 2nd earl's] eldest sister, Charlotte, became eventually the heiress of the estates of the family of Lee."
- ^ Cokayne 1893, p. 76, line 11: "His [the 4th Earl's] widow d. 8. March 1784."
- ^ Jump up to: a b Cokayne 1916, p. 360, line 25: "He [Henry the 11th Viscount] d. in Mansfield Str Midx, 15 and was bur. 25 Sep 1787 at St. Pancras, Midx."
- ^ Debrett 1828b, p. 748, last line: "The viscount d. 3 Nov 1787, and was succeeded by his only son."
- ^ Phillips 1910, p. 450: "The definite treaty was signed on the 18th of October …"
- ^ O'Callaghan 1854, p. 48, line 35: "... [his mother] died in Paris in 1757, aged 77 ..."
Sources[]
- Burke, Bernard (1866). A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (New ed.). London: Harrison. (for Lichfield)
- Burke, Bernard (1949). A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (99th ed.). London: Burke's Peerage Ltd. (for Dillon)
- Cokayne, George Edward (1893). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. 5 (1st ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. – L to M (for Lichfield)
- Cokayne, George Edward (1916). Gibbs, Vicary (ed.). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. 4 (2nd ed.). London: St Catherine Press. – Dacre to Dysart (for Dillon)
- Debrett, John (1828a). Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 1 (17th ed.). London: F. C. and J. Rivington. – England (for the Dowager Queen and Jerningham)
- Debrett, John (1828b). Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 (17th ed.). London: F. C. and J. Rivington. – Scotland and Ireland (for Dillon & Kenmare)
- La Chesnaye des Bois, François Alexandre Aubert de (1863). Dictionnaire de la noblesse (in French). 3 (3rd ed.). Paris: Schlesinger Frères. – BER to BRA (for Blaisel)
- La Tour du Pin, Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de (1913). Journal d'une femme de cinquante ans (in French). 1 (7th ed.). Paris: Librairie Chapelot.
- Lodge, John (1789). The Peerage of Ireland. 4. Dublin: James Moore. – Viscounts (for Dillon)
- Miller, Peggy (1971). James: Old Pretender. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9780049230569.
- O'Callaghan, John (1854). History of the Irish Brigade in the service of France. New York: P. O'Shea Publisher.
- Phillips, Walter Alison (1910). "Aix-la-Chapelle, Congresses of". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. pp. 449–450. OCLC 43740094.
- Webb, Alfred (1878). "Dillon, Theobald, Viscount". Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son. p. 149. OCLC 122693688.
- 1787 deaths
- 1705 births
- 17th-century Irish people
- Earls in the Jacobite peerage
- People from County Roscommon
- Viscounts Dillon