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Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of ElyKP,PC (Ire) (18 November 1709 – 8 May 1783), styledThe Honourable from 1751 to 1769 and known asHenry Loftus, 4th Viscount Loftus from 1769 to 1771, was anAnglo-Irish peer and politician.
He was the younger son ofNicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus and Anne Ponsonby, daughter ofWilliam Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Duncannon. His elder brother wasNicholas Hume-Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely of the first creation.[1]
He served asHigh Sheriff of Wexford in 1744 and between 1747 and 1768 representedBannow in theIrish House of Commons.[2] Subsequently, Loftus sat forCounty Wexford until 1769, when he succeeded his nephewNicholas Hume-Loftus, 2nd Earl of Ely, as Viscount Loftus. During a celebrated hearing into his nephew's mental capacity, Loftus testified that the young man was of normal intelligence.[3] Loftus was createdEarl of Ely (second creation) in 1771 and was appointed a Knight Founder of theOrder of St Patrick on 11 March 1783.[4]
He married firstly in 1745 Frances Monroe, daughter of Henry Monroe of Roe's Hall,County Down.[3] Frances was a leading figure in Dublin society who wielded some political influence, and was a much stronger character than her ineffectual husband, whom she seems to have dominated completely.[citation needed] She died in 1774.
There is a portrait of the couple, with Lady Ely's nieces, Dorothea (Dolly) and Frances Monroe, the daughters of her brother Henry Monroe of Roe's Hall, by the celebratedSwiss painterAngelica Kauffman, who visited Ireland in 1771. Dolly Monroe was one of the greatest beauties of the age, whose admirers includedHenry Grattan andOliver Goldsmith. She married the politicianWilliam Richardson, and died without issue in 1793.[5]
Henry married secondly Anne Bonfoy, daughter of Captain Henry Bonfoy and Anne Eliot, and sister ofEdward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot.[6] He had no issue by either marriage and at his death, his estates passed to his nephewCharles Loftus, 1st Marquess of Ely, the son of his sister Elizabeth and Sir John Tottenham, 1st Baronet. His widow died in 1821, having outlived her mother, who lived to be 97, by only 5 years.[3]
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBannow 1747–1768 Served alongside:Nicholas Hume-Loftus 1747–1761 Henry Mitchell 1761–1768 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCounty Wexford 1768–1769 Served alongside:Vesey Colclough | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| New creation | Earl of Ely 1771–1783 | Extinct |
| Preceded by | Viscount Loftus 1769–1783 | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
