Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth

"Robert Molesworth" redirects here. For other uses, see Robert Molesworth (disambiguation).

Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth, PC (Ire) (7 September 1656 – 22 May 1725) was an Anglo-Irish politician, peer and writer.

The Right Honourable Viscount Molesworth PC (Ire)
Member of Parliament for County Dublin with Edward Deane
In office 1695–1703
Preceded by	John Allen Chambre Brabazon
Succeeded by	John Allen Joseph Deane
Member of Parliament for Swords with James Peppard (1703–1713) Plunket Plunket (1713–1715)
In office 1703–1715
Preceded by	Thomas Ashe John Reading
Succeeded by	Richard Molesworth Plunket Plunket
Member of Parliament for Camelford with Ambrose Manaton (1695–1696) Sidney Wortley Montagu (1696–1698)
In office 1695–1698
Preceded by	Ambrose Manaton Henry Manaton
Succeeded by	Henry Manaton Dennys Glynn
Member of Parliament for Lostwithiel with Russell Robartes
In office 1705–1706
Preceded by	Sir John Molesworth Russell Robartes
Succeeded by	Russell Robartes James Kendall
Member of Parliament for East Retford with Sir Hardolph Wastneys
In office 1706–1707
Preceded by	Sir Willoughby Hickman William Levinz
Succeeded by	Parliament of Great Britain
Member of Parliament for East Retford with Sir Hardolph Wastneys
In office 1707–1708
Preceded by	Parliament of England
Succeeded by	William Levinz Thomas White
Member of Parliament for Mitchell with Nathaniel Blakiston
In office 1715–1722
Preceded by	Sir Henry Belasyse John Statham
Succeeded by	Charles Selwyn John Hedges
Personal details
Born	(1656-09-07)7 September 1656 Brackenstown, Swords, Ireland
Died	22 May 1725(1725-05-22) (aged 68) Dublin, Ireland
Spouse	Hon. Letitia Coote
Children	John Molesworth, 2nd Viscount Molesworth Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth Hon. Robert Molesworth (I) Hon. William Molesworth Hon. Edward Molesworth Hon. Coote Molesworth (I) Hon. Robert Molesworth (II) Hon. Hamilton Walter Molesworth Hon. Coote Molesworth (II) Hon. Bysse Molesworth Hon. Robert Molesworth (III) Hon. Margaret Molesworth Hon. Mary Molesworth Hon. Letitia Molesworth (I) Hon. Charlotte Molesworth Hon. Letitia Molesworth (II)
Parent(s)	Robert Molesworth Judith Bysse
Alma mater	Trinity College Dublin (1675, B.A.)

Molesworth came from an old Northamptonshire family. He married Hon. Letitia Coote, daughter of Richard Coote, 1st Baron Coote, and Mary St. George. His father Robert (d. 1656) was a Cromwellian who made a fortune in Dublin, largely by provisioning Cromwell's army; Robert Molesworth the younger supported William of Orange and was made William's ambassador to Denmark. In 1695 he became a prominent member of the Privy Council of Ireland. The same year he stood for County Dublin in the Irish House of Commons, a seat he held until 1703. Subsequently, he represented Swords until 1715. In the following year, he was created Viscount Molesworth, of Swords, in the Peerage of Ireland.

Molesworth's An Account of Denmark, as it was in the Year 1692 (1694) was somewhat influential in the burgeoning field of political science in the period. He made a case for comparative political analysis, comparing the political situation of a country to the health of an individual; a disease, he reasoned, can only be diagnosed by comparing it to its instantiation in other people (Thompson, 495).

Life and career

Robert Molesworth was born on 7 September 1656, four days after the death of his father; his mother Judith Bysse later remarried Sir William Tichborne of Beaulieu. He was probably raised by his mother's family, the Bysses, at Brackenstown, near Swords, County Dublin.

In 1720, Molesworth and his grandson lost a significant investment in the South Sea Bubble. In Parliament, since his colleagues suggested there was no law under which to punish the perpetrators, he called for the Commons to "upon this occasion follow the example of the ancient Romans, who, having no law against parricide, because their legislators supposed no son could be so unnaturally wicked as to embrue his hands in his father's blood, made one to punish so heinous a crime as soon as it was committed; and adjudged the guilty wretch to be thrown alive, sewn up in a sack, into the Tiber". He concluded that he would see the same punishment applied to the directors of the South Sea Company, calling them the parricides of their country.

Family

With his wife Letitia, Molesworth had eleven sons and six daughters:

Robert Molesworth's direct descendant is Sir Guilford Lindsey Molesworth (d.1925)

• John Molesworth, 2nd Viscount Molesworth of Swords (4 December 1679 – 17 or 18 February 1725/26). Ambassador at the Court of Tuscany and Sardinia in 1710 and 1720. He married Mary, daughter and co-heir of Thomas Middleton Esq. of Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, by whom he had a posthumous daughter Mary, who married Frederick Gore Esq., M.P.
• Field Marshal Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth of Swords (1680/1 – 12 October 1758). Aide-de-Camp to the John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough at the Battle of Ramilles, where he saved the Duke's life. He later became a General and rose to Fieldmarshal.

He married firstly Jane Lucas and had three daughters:

• The Hon. Mary (wife of Robert Rochfort, 1st Earl of Belvedere).
• The Hon. Letitia (wife of Lt. Colonel James Molesworth).
• The Hon. Amelia (died unm 30 Jan 1758)

Richard married secondly Mary, daughter of Rev. William Usher, Archdeacon of Clonfert and had a son and six daughters:

• The Hon. Richard Nassau Molesworth (4th Viscount)
• The Hon. Henrietta (wife of Rt. Hon John Staples of Lissan House, County Londonderry. Their daughter Charlotte married William Lenox-Conyngham of Springhill, County Londonderry, father of Sir William Fitzwilliam Lenox-Conyngham. Another daughter Frances married Richard Ponsonby, Bishop of Derry and Raphoe).
• The Hon. Louisa (wife of William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby, then William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam)
• The Hon. Charlotte
• The Hon. Elizabeth (wife of James Stewart Esq. of Killymoon)
• The Hon. Mary and, who died with her mother in the fire at their London house, 6 May 1763.
• The Hon. Melosina, who died with her mother in the fire at their London house, 6 May 1763.

• The Hon. Robert Molesworth I (living in 1688)
• Captain The Hon. William Molesworth (born 1688, died 6 March 1770), MP for Philipstown. His son Robert became 6th Viscount Molesworth. Married Anne, eldest daughter of Robert Adair Esq. of Holybrook, County Wicklow.
• Major The Hon. Edward Molesworth (born c.1689, died 29 November 1768). Married firstly, in Sept 1718 Catherine Middleton, daughter of Thomas Middleton, with whom he had a son Robert. Edward married as his second wife Mary Renouard and had a son John (d.1791). John's son was the Rev. John Molesworth (d.1877), whose sons included Sir Guildford Lindsey Molesworth (d. 1925) and solicitor John Molesworth (d.1886), the grandfather of Margaret Patricia Molesworth (1904–1985) who is the grandmother of Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. Another son was the Rev. Rennell Molesworth (died 1906), grandfather of Lady Mogg née Margaret Molesworth (1914-2018).
• The Hon. Coote Molesworth I (born c.1689)
• The Hon. Robert Molesworth II (born c.1692)
• The Hon. Walter Molesworth (born after 1692, between Robert II and Letitia II, died 1773). He left children.
• The Hon. Coote Molesworth II M.D. (born 1698, died 9 November 1782)
• The Hon. Bysse Molesworth (born 1700, died 1779). Married 7 Dec 1731, Elizabeth Cole, sister of John Cole, 1st Baron Mountflorence and widow of Edward Archdall Esq. of Castle Archdall, County Fermanagh.
• The Hon. Robert Molesworth III (born c.1702, died aged c.10 of smallpox)
• The Hon. Juliana Molesworth (died unmarried in 1759)
• The Hon. Margaret Molesworth (1677–1684)
• The Hon. Mary Molesworth (1682–1716), a celebrated beauty and poet. Married George Monk Esq. of Dublin.
• The Hon. Letitia Molesworth I (living in 1688)
• The Hon. Charlotte Amelia Molesworth (born c.1691). Married Capt. William Tichborne, younger son of Henry Tichborne, 1st Baron Ferrard who was her cousin on the Bysse side
• The Hon. Letitia Molesworth II (born 7 or 8 March 1697). Married Edward Bolton Esquire of Brazeel, County Dublin. In 1760, their son Robert Bolton (c.1727 - c.1798) translated the charter and statutes of Trinity College, Dublin from which he had graduated with an A.B.

Robert also appears to have had a natural son:

• John Phillips of Swords (1711-1779), a surgeon, County Dublin, married to Henrietta Eccleston (b. 1715), herself a talented painter, daughter of John Eccleston of Termonfekin, and his wife Elizabeth. John was the son of William Eccleston of Drumshallon, High Sheriff of Louth (1656-1705) and his wife, Rose Brabazon (1663-1686), daughter of Captain James Brabazon. They had a son and two daughters:
  • Brevet-Major Molesworth Phillips of Swords (1755–1832), a marine officer and adventurer who sailed to Pacific Ocean with Captain Cook. He married Susannah Elizabeth Burney (1755–1800), an English letter and journal writer, daughter of Charles Burney, a music historian by his first wife, Esther Sleepe. Molesworth thus became brother-in-law of Charles Burney, a clergyman and chaplain to George III and Fanny Burney, Madame d'Arblay, an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. He inherited entailed land in Swords, and from his maternal great-grandfather, William Eccleston (d. 1720), and his uncle, William Eccleston (d. 1795), he inherited the estate of Belcotton and the townland of Termonfeckin, County Louth. The couple left issue.
  • Magdalene Dorothea (1750-1824), married in June 1780 to George Kiernan of Blackhall, Dublin. They had issue.
  • Henrietta Maria Phillips (d. 15 Dec 1792), married on 26 August 1766 to Rev Walter Shirley, Rector of Loughrea, co. Galway

Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth's direct descendant is Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, granddaughter of Margaret Patricia Molesworth (1904–1985)

Death and succession

The 1st Viscount died in Dublin on 22 May 1725 at the age of sixty-nine and was buried in Swords. His widow, Letitia, died "of a great cold" on St Patrick's Day 1729 and was buried privately in St. Audoen's Church in Dublin. Their eldest son, John, succeeded as 2nd Viscount Molesworth in 1725. John, in turn, was succeeded by his younger brother Richard a year later in 1726.

Arms

Coat of arms of Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth

Crest A Dexter Arm embowed in armour proper holding a Cross Crosslet Or Escutcheon Gules an Escutcheon Vair within an Orle of eight Cross Crosslets Or Supporters Dexter: a Pegasus Argent wings elevated Or; Sinister: a Pegasus wings elevated Gules semée of Cross Crosslets Or Motto Vincit Amor Patriae (The love of my country prevails)

Sources

• 29 Molesworth Street on turtlebunbury.com
• Thompson, Martyn P. "A Note on "Reason" and "History" in Late Seventeenth Century Political Thought." Political Theory, Vol. 4, No. 4. (1976), 491–504.