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Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, 4th Baronet

This must be the 4th Baronet.
Portrait inherited by the Blennerhassett Baronets.
Portrait by Franz von Lenbach.
See signature. Date looks like 1871.
See full size. See other shot.

Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, 4th Baronet,
Catholic, born 5 Sept 1839.
Political writer, historian.
See Wikipedia and Wikitree and thepeerage and blennerhassettfamilytree.
He succ as Baronet as a child in 1849 when his father died.
He was educ Downside School (Catholic school), Somerset, 1849-56.
He was educ Stonyhurst College (Catholic school).
He was educ Christ Church, Oxford. Entered 1859. Left without a degree.
He was educ Christ's College, Cambridge. Entered later in 1859.
He turned 21 in Sept 1860. He inherited Churchtown House, Co.Kerry.
Appointed a J.P. for Co.Kerry, 3 Dec 1860. Listed as Sir Rowland of Churchtown.
Churchtown accounts book 1862-64 shows an active and busy farm and estate.
He is listed as of Churchtown on p.1741 of The Edinburgh Gazette, 18 November 1862.
He formed a friendship with the Catholic historian Lord Acton from 1862.
He was educ Catholic University of Leuven. Graduated as Doctor "in Scientia rerum politicarum" (Doctor of Political Science). Received certificate June 1863. From Baronets papers.
In 1864 he studied at Munich, where he formed a lifelong friendship with Ignaz von Döllinger, the unorthodox Catholic priest and theologian.

MP for Galway city 1865-74: He was Liberal MP for Galway city 1865-74. See contributions in Parliament.
He is listed as of Churchtown House in his Member's Certificate for the [RIA] in 1866.
High Sheriff of Co.Kerry 1866-67.
In declaration dated 26 Feb 1867 his residence is Churchtown House.
Early in his career he supported Home Rule for Ireland.
He helped to start the Chronicle, a literary organ of liberal Catholicism, 1867. Its support for Irish Home Rule made it unpopular. It published until 1868.

He sold or long-term rented out Churchtown House c.1870. NOT 1860.
Lived in London. Though retained deep involvement with Ireland.
Links to Acton, Throckmorton, Dease:

• His friend Lord Acton's aunt Elizabeth Acton had married Sir Robert Throckmorton, 8th Baronet (died 1862) of Coughton Court, Warwickshire. The 8th Baronet was one of the first Catholic MPs after Catholic Emancipation. These people were all prominent English Catholics involved in politics. The 4th Baronet knew the Throckmorton family, and was in fact descended from Throckmorton.
• In 1871 UK census he is listed as visiting Emily Throckmorton (dau of 8th Baronet) and her husband Gerald Dease (also here) at Coughton Court. Dease were an old Irish Catholic family who held their lands through the Penal Laws.
• Gerald Dease's brother James Arthur Dease ran in the Feb 1872 Co.Kerry by-election as a Liberal, and was defeated by the 4th Baronet's 2nd cousin Rowland Ponsonby Blennerhassett (Home Rule party).

1872 Kerry election: Letters of Jan-Mar 1872 show that the 4th Baronet considered switching to Co.Kerry for the by-election of Feb 1872. But the Liberals nominated James Arthur Dease. The Home Rulers nominated the Baronet's 2nd cousin Rowland Ponsonby Blennerhassett, and the Baronet says he will not go against his cousin and in fact will support him. He says Dease is unpopular in Kerry and can only win "by landlord coercion of the grossest kind".
His cousin won a famous victory for Home Rule in the election. The 4th Baronet says it was an own goal by the Liberals - that if he had been nominated, his cousin would not have run (his cousin himself says so) and he would have won the seat.
He is happy his cousin won, and in letter of 23 Mar 1872 says his cousin would not have won without his help.
He changed his views on Home Rule in the 1870s and became an opponent of Home Rule. A strong opponent of Parnell.

MP for Kerry 1880-85: He was Liberal MP for Co.Kerry 1880-85.
Kerry had two seats. The other MP in 1880-85 was his 2nd cousin, the Home Rule MP Rowland Ponsonby Blennerhassett.
He is listed in 1881 census as a lodger at 3 St. James's Place, Pall Mall, London. From here.
He spoke and wrote on Irish education and land question. He advocated peasant proprietorship 1884.
Charlotte published a multi-volume biography of Madame de Staël in German, Frau v. Staël, ihre Freunde u. ihre Bedeutung in Politik u. Lit. ("Madame v. Staël, her Friends and their Importance in Politics and Literature"), 3 vols, 1887-1889 (French 1890, English 1891). She published other works from 1894 to 1916.
Letter of 15 Dec 1892 shows Blennerhassett still had property at Churchtown.

President of Queens College, Cork, 1897-1904:
4th Baronet was President of Queens College, Cork 1897-1904.
In letter of 23 June 1897 the future 5th Baronet writes to his mother: "I am curious to hear how you will like Cork. It will be practically your first experience of regular English life. Hitherto in England you have belonged largely to [an international set]. ... You will now meet people such as you have hardly ever met before." (Curious of him to use "regular English life" to cover Ireland.)
4th Baronet is listed in 1901 census at the London and North Western Hotel in Dublin.
In October 1901 he was awarded an honorary doctorate (LL.D.) by the Royal University of Ireland. See Cork Examiner, October 26, 1901.
He died 22 Mar 1909, London, age 69 yrs.
He was bur in churchyard of St. Benedict's RC church, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset. This is beside his old school, Downside School. See map and street view.
See Blennerhassett Papers, Cambridge.
See Blennerhassett Baronets papers.
Charlotte died 1917.
See admin.
4th Baronet and Charlotte had issue:

1. Sir Arthur Blennerhassett, 5th Baronet,
   born Munich, 14 Apr 1871.

   
   

2. Marie Carola Blennerhassett, born 1876.
   Charity and civic worker and advocate for women's rights.
   She mar 1stly, 1894, to Raphael d'Erlanger [born 1865, son of Frederic Emile, Baron d'Erlanger].
   He died 1897.
   She mar 2ndly, 1913, to Sir Henry Galway [born Henry Gallwey, 1859].
   He was Governor of South Australia 1914-20.
   He died 1949.
   She died 1963.
   See Australian Dictionary of Biography.
   She had issue by 1st mar:

   
   

   1. Baron Henry Roland Kasimir d'Erlanger,
      born 1895.
      He mar 1921 to Margarita Covarubias. No issue.
      He was killed in a plane accident in 1937.

      
      

   2. Charlotte d'Erlanger,
      born 1897.
      See thepeerage.
      She mar 1922 to Roderick Peter George Denman and had issue.

   
   

3. William Blennerhassett,
   Willie, born 1882.

Lady Charlotte Blennerhassett.
Photo published at her death in 1917.
From Getty Images. See full size.

Speculation in 1886 that Sir Rowland would be appointed Under-Secretary for Ireland.
It did not happen.
From The Montreal Daily Herald, 25 Nov 1886.

My ancestor Blennerhassett Cashel attends a lecture on 28 Mar 1899 in Cork by Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, 4th Baronet.
From Cork Examiner, March 29, 1899.
Blennerhassett Cashel was GSWR goods head at Cork, apparently 1893 to 1911.
The 4th Baronet was Catholic, succ 1849, President of Queens College Cork 1897-1904.
According to my theory they are fairly close cousins.

4th Baronet listed in [Thom's, 1901, p.228].
Gives his residence as Queen's College Cork.
Though this may just be a postal address. UCC profile says he "did not take up permanent residence at the President's house on campus".

Grave of 4th Baronet, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset.
See full size.
See closer. and closest.
Photos 2006 from Bill Jehan.

Blennerhassett arms on grave of 4th Baronet.
See full size.
Photo 2006 from Bill Jehan.

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"It is very inconvenient my cousin having exactly the same name as I have."
- Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, 4th Baronet, MP, in letter of 14 Jan 1872 during the Kerry election in which his cousin Rowland Ponsonby Blennerhassett was running (and also became an MP).
Later the two Rowland Blennerhassetts were both MPs for the same constituency at the same time!

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• UCC profile of 4th Baronet.
  • This says he was "Home Rule member for County Kerry from 1880 to 1885". This is not really true. He is recorded as a Liberal MP, not a Home Rule MP. However there is some truth in it in that he was also a supporter of Home Rule since the 1860s, though by 1880 that was waning and in 1881 he clearly declared against Home Rule [DIB].
  • The profile says his younger son was "William L. Blennerhassett (6th baronet)". This is wrong.