Sir Thomas Pelham, 2nd Baronet (September 1597 – 1654) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

variously between 1621 and 1654. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. Pelham was the son of

Sir Thomas Pelham, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Pelham, 1st Baronet (died 2 December 1624) was an English politician. He was the youngest son of Sir Nicholas Pelham of Laughton, East Sussex and his wife Anne Sackville, who was through her mother a first cousin of Anne Boleyn. ...

of Halland in Laughton and his wife Mary Walsingham. He was baptised at East Hoathly on 22 September 1597.George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage, Volume I'' 1900
/ref> Pelham was elected Member of Parliament for

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

in 1621 and held the seat to 1622. In 1624 he was elected M.P. for

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

in the last parliament of King James I and was re-elected in 1625 in the first parliament of King Charles I. He succeeded to the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Laughton, Co. Sussex on the death of his father on 2 December 1624. In April 1640, Pelham was elected Member of Parliament for

in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

. He was re-elected in November 1640 for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

and sat until he was secluded under

Pride's Purge Pride's Purge is the name commonly given to an event that took place on 6 December 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England. Despite defeat in the ...

in 1648. In 1654, he was re-elected with his son among others for Sussex in the

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the H ...

. Pelham died at the age of 57 and was buried at Laughton on 28 August 1654. Pelham married, firstly, Mary Wilbraham, daughter of Sir

Roger Wilbraham Sir Roger Wilbraham (4 November 1553 – 31 July 1616) was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and was judged one of her few really competent Law Officers. He held a number of positions at c ...

Solicitor General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On r ...

, and Mary Baber. His second wife was Judith Shurley, widow of John Shurley of Lewes and daughter of Sir Robert Honeywood and Alice Barnham. He married thirdly on 3 June 1640 at Lambeth, London Margaret Vane, daughter of Sir

Henry Vane the Elder Sir Henry Vane (18 February 15891655), known as the Elder to distinguish him from his son, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1654. He served King Charles in many posts including secre ...

. His son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

succeeded to the baronetcy. By Mary Wilbraham, he had two sons and four daughters: *

Sir John Pelham, 3rd Baronet Sir John Pelham, 3rd Baronet (1623–1703) was an English landowner and Member of Parliament who sat in the Commons between 1645 and 1698. Personal details John Pelham was born in 1623, eldest son of Sir Thomas Pelham, 2nd Baronet, and his w ...

(1623–1703) *Thomas Pelham (d. 1638), died young *Judith Pelham (d. 1700), married Sir John Monson *Anne Pelham (d. c.1644) *Jane Pelham (d. 1635) *Elizabeth Pelham, married Henry Pelham of Lincolnshire He had no surviving children by Judith Shurley, but one son and one daughter by Margaret survived him: * Sir Nicholas Pelham (c.1650–1739) *Philadelphia Pelham, married

Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham ( – 30 March 1695) was an English colonial administrator who served as the governor of Virginia from 1683 to 1692. A member of the Howard family, he was a descendant of William Howard, 1st Baron H ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pelham, Thomas 1597 births 1654 deaths 2

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1654–1655 People from East Hoathly