Charles Molyneux, 1st Earl of Sefton

Charles William Molyneux, 1st Earl of Sefton (11 October 1748 – 31 January 1795) was a Member of the British Parliament and a member of the peerage of Ireland.

He was born on 11 October 1748, the son of Thomas and Mary (née Leverly) Molyneux.[1] Thomas died on 3 September 1756, leaving him the heir to the title 8th Viscount Molyneux, which he inherited at the age of 10 on 30 March 1759 following the death of his uncle, William Molyneux, 7th Viscount Molyneux.[2][3] He married Lady Isabella Stanhope, daughter of William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington, on 27 November 1768.[2] He conformed to the Church of England on 5 March 1769, for which he was rewarded the title Earl of Sefton on 30 November 1771 with which the viscountcy was merged.[3][4] He was elected to the House of Commons in 1771 and represented the Lancashire constituency as a Whig until 1774.[3][5]

He died in either late December 1794 or January 1795 and was succeeded by his only son, William.[2][4]

Lady Isabella Stanhope, later Countess of Sefton (1748–1819) (Catherine Read, circa 1768)

He was uncle of Maria Fitzherbert, royal mistress (and secret wife) of King George IV.

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ a b c Courthope, William, ed. (1838). Debrett's Complete Peerage of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (22nd ed.). London: J. G. & F. Rivington. p. 555.
  3. ^ a b c Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1907). Townships: Sefton. A History of the County of Lancaster. Vol. 3. pp. 66–74. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  4. ^ a b Molyneux, Nellie Zeda Rice (1904). History, genealogical and biographical, of the Molyneux families. Syracuse, New York: C. W. Bardeen. p. 143. OCLC 5174593. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  5. ^ Leigh Rayment's Peerage : The House of Commons Constituencies Beginning with "L"[usurped]. Retrieved 22 January 2010