Thomas Staunton (1706? – 1 October 1784) was an Irish lawyer and a member of both the Irish and British Parliaments.

Biography

He was the son of John Staunton of

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, Ireland, who was MP for Galway Borough and held the office of

Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) This is a list of lawyers who held the rank of serjeant-at-law at the Bar of Ireland. Origins of the office of serjeant The first recorded serjeant was Roger Owen, who was appointed between 1261 and 1266, although the title itself was not us ...

, and Bridget Donnellan, daughter of Edmund Donnellan, and was educated at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

from 1723. He was called to the

Irish bar The Bar of Ireland () is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, commonly c ...

in 1729. He then moved to London to study law at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1727 and

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1740. He was

called to the English bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1740. He was elected to represent

Galway Borough Galway Borough was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland. It returned one MP from 1801 to 1832, two MPs from 1832 to 1885 and one MP from 1885 to 1918. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Gr ...

(his father's old constituency) in the Irish Parliament, sitting from 1732 to 1761. He was a Member of the British Parliament for

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

from 1757 to 1784 in the

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

interest. He married twice; firstly Jane, the daughter of Gilbert Vane, 2nd

Baron Barnard Baron Barnard, of Barnard Castle in the Bishopric of Durham, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1698 for Christopher Vane, who had previously served as a member of parliament for County Durham and Boroughbridge. Vane w ...

and Mary Randyll (Mary was reputed to be a woman of "scandalous life"), and sister of

Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (c. 1705 – 6 March 1758), known as Lord Barnard between 1753 and 1754, was a British politician who sat in the British House of Commons, House of Commons from 1726 to 1753 wh ...

and

Anne Vane Anne Vane (17 September 1710 – 27 March 1736), also known as "the Hon. Mrs. Vane," was a maid of honour to Caroline of Ansbach and mistress to Caroline's son Frederick, Prince of Wales. Life Vane was the first daughter of Gilbert Vane, second ...

, mistress of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...

. They had 2 sons, who both predeceased him, and 2 daughters. He married secondly Catherine, the daughter of Thomas Thurston of Holbrook Hall,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

and the widow of William Peck of

Little Sampford Little Sampford is a village and a civil parish on the B1053 road, in the Uttlesford district, in the county of Essex, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 251. Until the 18th century the ecclesiastical parish was ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

(died 1742), who had been a first cousin of Jane Staunton. After his second marriage, he lived at Holbrook Hall. He was considered a fine Parliamentary

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

, but after 1761 there is no record of his speaking in the House. He would clearly have welcomed a Government appointment, but never received one.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staunton, Thomas 1700s births 1784 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Inner Temple Members of Lincoln's Inn 18th-century Irish lawyers Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Galway constituencies Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Ipswich British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Lawyers from County Galway Politicians from County Galway