Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda

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For other people named Charles Moore, see Charles Moore (disambiguation).

The Most Honourable
The Marquess of Drogheda
KP PC (Ire)
Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda
Chief Secretary for Ireland
In office
1764–1765
Preceded byWilliam Gerard Hamilton
Succeeded bySir Charles Bunbury
Personal details
Born
Charles Moore

(1730-06-29)29 June 1730
Died22 December 1822(1822-12-22) (aged 92)
Dublin, Ireland
Resting placeDrogheda, Ireland
Spouse
Lady Anne Seymour-Conway
​
​
(after 1766)​
RelationsBrabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough (grandfather)
Parent(s)Edward Moore, 5th Earl of Drogheda
Lady Sarah Ponsonby
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/service British Army
Years of service1744–1797
RankField Marshal
Battles/warsJacobite risings
Campaign against the Whiteboys

Field Marshal Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda KP PC (Ire) (29 June 1730 – 22 December 1822[1]), styled Viscount Moore from 1752 until 28 October 1758 and then as the 6th Earl of Drogheda until 2 July 1791, was an Irish peer and later a British peer, and military officer. He bore the colours of his regiment at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 during the Jacobite risings and later commanded the 18th Light Dragoons during operations against the Whiteboys in Ireland. He also sat as Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons and, having served as Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, he went on to become Master-General of the Irish Ordnance.

Early life[edit]

Moore was the eldest of six sons and two daughters of Edward Moore, 5th Earl of Drogheda and, his first wife, Lady Sarah Ponsonby.[2]

His paternal grandparents were Charles Moore, Lord Moore (a son of Henry Hamilton-Moore, 3rd Earl of Drogheda) and Jane Loftus. His maternal grandparents were the former Sarah Margetson and Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of Bessborough.[3]

Career[edit]

The Battle of Culloden at which Moore bore the colours of his regiment into battle

Moore joined the Army in 1744 as a cornet in the 12th Dragoons,[4] and bore the colours at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 during the Jacobite risings.[5] He was promoted captain in 1750 and reached the rank of major in 1752 and the rank of brevet lieutenant-colonel on 18 January 1755.[4] Promoted to brevet colonel of dragoons on 19 February 1762,[6] Moore became honorary colonel of his regiment on 3 August 1762.[7] He commanded the 18th Light Dragoons during operations against the Whiteboys in Ireland which started in 1762.[8]

Promoted to major-general on 30 April 1770,[9] Moore became Master-General of the Irish Ordnance and colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Artillery in 1770.[5] Moore served as Muster-Master-General in Ireland from May to November 1807 and was promoted to field marshal on 17 July 1821, aged 91.[10]

Political career[edit]

In 1757 Moore became Member of Parliament for St Canice, holding the seat until he succeeded to his father's titles in 1758.[8] He was also elected Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland in 1758, a post he held for the next two years.[11] He became Governor of County Meath in January 1759 and lieutenant-colonel commandant of the 19th (later 18th) Light Dragoons on 7 December 1759.[5]

He became Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1763, Governor of Kinsale and Charles Fort in 1765[12] and a Lord Justice of Ireland in 1766.[8] He was appointed Custos Rotulorum of King's County in 1766 and Custos Rotulorum of Queen's County in 1769, both offices for life.[5]

He became Member of Parliament for Horsham in 1776,[8] and having been promoted to lieutenant-general on 29 August 1777,[13] he was appointed one of the Founder Knights of the Order of St. Patrick on 17 March 1783.[14]

Peerage[edit]

Moore Abbey, County Kildare

Moore succeeded as 6th Earl of Drogheda following the death of his father at sea while travelling from England to Dublin in October 1758.[5]

Created Marquess of Drogheda in the Peerage of Ireland in July 1791[15] in recognition of the support he had given the Government, Moore was promoted to full general on 12 October 1793.[16] He was appointed one of the joint Postmasters General of Ireland in 1797.[17] In January 1801, he was made Baron Moore, of Moore Place in the County of Kent, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[18]

Personal life[edit]

On 15 February 1766, Moore married Lady Anne Seymour-Conway, the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford. He commissioned Moore Abbey as his country home in 1767.[19] They had eight children, including:[3]

He was an important patron of the artist William Ashford.[21]

Lord Drogheda died in Dublin on 22 December 1821 and was buried at St Peter's Church in Drogheda.[8][22] His wife's family had a tradition of mental illness, which may explain the fact that their elder son went insane in his twenties.[23]

Descendants[edit]

Through his son Henry, he was a grandfather of the Henry Moore, 3rd and last Marquess of Drogheda.[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The year is sometimes given as 1821. The Annual Biography for 1823 suggests the year was 1822, with his remains arriving in Ireland in January 1823.
  2. ^ L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 108.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 1181.
  4. ^ a b Drummond, Mary M. (1985). Moore, Charles, 6th Earl of Drogheda [I] (1730-1822). Boydell & Brewer. p. 160. ISBN 9780436304200. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e Dunlop, Robert (2004). "Moore, Charles, first marquess of Drogheda (1730–1822)", rev. Roger T. Stearn". In Stearn, Roger T (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19099. Retrieved 15 June 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  6. ^ "No. 10190". The London Gazette. 13 March 1762. p. 1.
  7. ^ Philippart, John (1820). "The Royal Military Calendar, third edition, volume I (London, 1820)". p. 280. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  8. ^ a b c d e Heathcote, p. 222
  9. ^ "No. 11039". The London Gazette. 5 May 1770. p. 1.
  10. ^ "No. 2929". The Edinburgh Gazette. 24 July 1821. p. 203.
  11. ^ Waite, p. 400
  12. ^ Beatson, Robert (1806). A Politician Index to the Histories of Great Britain and Ireland, volume III. p. 349. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  13. ^ "No. 11802". The London Gazette. 2 September 1777. p. 2.
  14. ^ "No. 12424". The London Gazette. 18 March 1783. p. 2.
  15. ^ "No. 13322". The London Gazette. 2 July 1791. p. 387.
  16. ^ "No. 13582". The London Gazette. 15 October 1793. p. 913.
  17. ^ "Moore, Charles, 6th Earl of Drogheda [I] (1730-1822)". Members Biographies. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  18. ^ "No. 15327". The London Gazette. 10 January 1801. p. 55.
  19. ^ "Moore of Moore Abbey - Earls of Drogheda". Turtle Bunbury. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  20. ^ Sir Bernard Burke, editor, Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 53rd edition (London: Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1891), page 446.
  21. ^ "A mountainous lake landscape with travellers on a path in the foreground and boats on the lake beyond: Attributed to William Ashford". Christie's. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  22. ^ The Annual Biography and Obituary. Longman. 1824. p. 427. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  23. ^ Hyde, p. 157
  24. ^ "Moore, Henry Francis Seymour". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 7 March 2024.

Sources[edit]

  • Heathcote, Tony (1999). The British Field Marshals, 1736–1997: A Biographical Dictionary. Barnsley: Leo Cooper. ISBN 0-85052-696-5.
  • Hyde, Montgomery (1959). The Strange Death of Lord Castlereagh. William Heinemann. ASIN B0006D8FGC.
  • Waite, Arthur Edward (2007). A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. Vol. I. Cosimo Inc. ISBN 978-1-60206-641-0.

External links[edit]

Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by Member of Parliament for St Canice
1757–1759
With: Richard Dawson 		Succeeded by
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Horsham
1776–1780
With: James Wallace 		Succeeded by
Masonic offices
Preceded by Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland
1758–1760 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Chief Secretary for Ireland
1764–1765 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Ireland
New creation Marquess of Drogheda
1791–1822 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Earl of Drogheda
1758–1822
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Moore
1801–1822 		Succeeded by
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