Sir Thomas Frankland, 5th Baronet

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Sir Thomas Frankland, 5th Baronet
Henry Walton - Portrait of Admiral Sir Thomas Frankland, Fifth BT of Kirby Hall, Berkshire, and Thirkleby, near Thirsk wearing naval uniform.jpg
Sir Thomas Frankland
Born26 June 1718
Died21 November 1784 (1784-11-22) (aged 66)
Bath
Allegiance Great Britain
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service1731–1757
RankAdmiral
Commands held
HMS Dragon
Leeward Islands Station
Battles/warsWar of the Austrian Succession
Seven Years' War

Admiral Sir Thomas Frankland, 5th Baronet (26 June 1718 – 21 November 1784) was a British naval officer, MP and slave trader.[1] He was the second son of Henry Frankland and Mary Cross. Frankland was born in the East Indies (probably India), his father being a member of the East India Company and briefly Governor of Bengal.

Naval career[]

Midshipman Thomas Frankland

He entered the navy in 1731, serving in HMS York under Capt. Philip Vanbrugh, HMS Scarborough, and HMS Oxford before becoming a lieutenant in 1737. On 23 February 1738, he was sent to HMS Chatham, again under Capt. Vanbrugh, where he served for two years. He was briefly transferred to HMS Cumberland in March 1740 before promotion to captain on 15 July 1740 aboard .

He was promptly assigned to carry the newly appointed Governor of the Bahamas, John Tinker, to the islands, and remained in the Bahamas until 1746, fighting Spanish privateers and taking a number of prizes. He then returned home and was given command of HMS Dragon and sent to the West Indies. On 31 July 1755, he was given command of the Leeward Islands Station[2] as a commodore, arriving aboard HMS Winchester in October. Able but stubborn and of a difficult temper, he was involved in quarrels with his predecessor, Thomas Pye, and the local authorities in Antigua. He was promoted rear admiral while there, but refusing to accede to the Admiralty's wish to control some of the patronage at his disposal (declaring in a letter to the secretary "I have friends of my own to provide for") fell into immediate disfavour with his superiors. On 5 May 1757, he was replaced by Commodore John Moore, and returned to England in October, never to return to active duty. His promotions, however, continued in the usual manner as he gained seniority, culminating in the rank of Admiral of the White. During his stay in the West Indies he profiteered actively from slave trade.[1]

He had entered Parliament for the family's borough of Thirsk in 1747, and held the seat until 1780, when he sought the governorship of Greenwich Hospital. Unsuccessful, he returned as member for Thirsk in April 1784, but died in November of that year. He had inherited the baronetcy from his older brother in 1768.

The Frankland Islands off Queensland were named after him.

Family[]

He married Sarah Rhett (of South Carolina, d. 1808) in May 1743 and had a large number of children, of whom nine survived him:

  • Sir Thomas Frankland, 6th Baronet (1750–1831)
  • Roger Frankland (d. 1826), canon of Wells, married in 1792 Catherine Colville, daughter of John Colville, 8th Lord Colville of Culross and had issue
  • Mary Frankland, married Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet
  • Anne Frankland (d. 1842), married first John Lewis (by whom she bore Thomas Frankland Lewis), second Rev. Robert Hare
  • Dinah Frankland, married Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Bowles
  • Catharine Frankland, married Thomas Whinyates,[3] once captain of HMS Frolic
  • Charlotte Frankland, married Robert Nicholas M.P.
  • Grace Frankland (d. 1801), married Matthew Gosset (d. 6 Sept 1842)
  • (d. 10 June 1816), no issue

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Simon David Smith. Slavery, Family, and Gentry Capitalism in the British Atlantic: The World of the Lascelles, 1648-1834, Cambridge University Press, 2006. pp. 113-114, 122-125.
  2. ^ Haydn, Joseph (13 June 2008). The Book of Dignities: Containing Lists of the Official Personages of the British Empire ... from the Earliest Periods to the Present Time ... Together with the Sovereigns and Rulers of Europe, from the Foundation of Their Respective States; the Peerage of England and Great Britain Original 1851 Digitized by the University of Michigan. Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 279.
  3. ^ For more on Thomas Whinyates see: O'Byrne, William R. (1849). "Whinyates, Thomas" . A Naval Biographical Dictionary. London: John Murray.

Other sources[]

External links[]

Military offices
Preceded by
Thomas Pye
Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Station
1756–1758
Succeeded by
John Moore
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Sir Thomas Frankland, Bt
Member of Parliament for Thirsk
17471780
With: 1747–1749
1749–1754
1754–1761
Henry Grenville 1761–1765
James Grenville 1765–1768
1768–1774
Thomas Frankland 1774–1780
Succeeded by
Sir Thomas Gascoigne, Bt
Beilby Thompson
Preceded by
Sir Thomas Gascoigne, Bt
Beilby Thompson
Member of Parliament for Thirsk
Apr. 1784 – Nov. 1784
With:
Succeeded by

Robert Vyner
Baronetage of England
Preceded by
Baronet
(of Thirkleby)
1768–1784
Succeeded by
Thomas Frankland
Retrieved from ""