St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso
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St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso PC
FRS (22 August 1759 – 15 October 1817) was an English politician who sat in the British House of Commons
from 1780 until 1806 when he inherited a peerage.
St John was born at Woodford, Northamptonshire
, the son of John St John, 12th Baron St John of Bletso and his wife Susanna Louisa Simond, daughter of Peter Simond. He was educated by the Rev. John Skynner at Easton near Stamford. He was then admitted at Lincoln's Inn
on 7 May 1773 and at St John's College, Cambridge
in 1776. He was awarded MA in 1779 and was called to the bar on the 29th January 1782.
In 1780, St John was elected Member of Parliament
for Bedfordshire
. He was a personal friend of Charles James Fox
, who supported him throughout his political career. He was Under Secretary of State for foreign affairs to Lord North for a short time in 1783 but otherwise was generally very active in opposition. In April 1784,he was unseated on petition in favour of Robert Henley-Ongley, Baron Ongley but reversed the situation when Ongley was unseated on his petition on 19 May 1785. In 1787, he was one of the managers of the Impeachment of Warren Hastings
. He was Captain of the Bedford Volunteers in 1803.
St Andrew became the 14th Lord St John of Bletsoe
when his brother Henry died in 1805, and so resigned his seat in the Commons. As a peer he accepted a Privy Councillorship in 1806. Also in 1806 he became Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners until 1807 and Lt-Colonel of the Bedford Volunteers until 1808. from 1806 to 1808. In 1808 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
.
St John married Louisa Boughton, 30 years his junior at St George Hanover Square on 16 July 1807. She was the daughter of Sir Charles William Rouse-Boughton, 9th Baronet and Catherine Pearce Hall. St John was then nearly 50 and had a long parliamentary career behind him in which he would have been on the opposite side in most cases to Louisa's father. They lived at Melchbourne Park, Bedfordshire, and had two children, St Andrew
and Louisa (born posthumously) who married Norman Macleod 25th Chief
. Lord St John died at the age of 58, leaving Louisa a widow with a young family. She married again to Mr Serjeant Vaughan
on the 11th August 1828. They had at a son Rev. Charles Lyndhurst Vaughan and daughter Edith who married Sir Charles Isham, 10th Baronet.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
FRS (22 August 1759 – 15 October 1817) was an English politician who sat in the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
from 1780 until 1806 when he inherited a peerage.
St John was born at Woodford, Northamptonshire
Woodford, Northamptonshire
Woodford is a large village and civil parish in East Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 1,290 people....
, the son of John St John, 12th Baron St John of Bletso and his wife Susanna Louisa Simond, daughter of Peter Simond. He was educated by the Rev. John Skynner at Easton near Stamford. He was then admitted at Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
on 7 May 1773 and at St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
in 1776. He was awarded MA in 1779 and was called to the bar on the 29th January 1782.
In 1780, St John was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Bedfordshire was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency, which elected two Members of Parliament from 1295 until 1885, when it was divided into two constituencies under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.-History:...
. He was a personal friend of Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
, who supported him throughout his political career. He was Under Secretary of State for foreign affairs to Lord North for a short time in 1783 but otherwise was generally very active in opposition. In April 1784,he was unseated on petition in favour of Robert Henley-Ongley, Baron Ongley but reversed the situation when Ongley was unseated on his petition on 19 May 1785. In 1787, he was one of the managers of the Impeachment of Warren Hastings
Impeachment of Warren Hastings
The Impeachment of Warren Hastings was a failed attempt to impeach the former Governor-General of India Warren Hastings in the Parliament of Great Britain between 1788 and 1795. Hastings was accused of misconduct during his time in Calcutta particularly relating to mismanagement and personal...
. He was Captain of the Bedford Volunteers in 1803.
St Andrew became the 14th Lord St John of Bletsoe
Baron St John of Bletso
Baron St John of Bletso, in the County of Bedford, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1582 for Oliver St John.For a period, the title Baron St John was subsumed within the title Earl of Bolingbroke which was granted to the fourth Baron. The Earldom died out with the third Earl,...
when his brother Henry died in 1805, and so resigned his seat in the Commons. As a peer he accepted a Privy Councillorship in 1806. Also in 1806 he became Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners until 1807 and Lt-Colonel of the Bedford Volunteers until 1808. from 1806 to 1808. In 1808 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
.
St John married Louisa Boughton, 30 years his junior at St George Hanover Square on 16 July 1807. She was the daughter of Sir Charles William Rouse-Boughton, 9th Baronet and Catherine Pearce Hall. St John was then nearly 50 and had a long parliamentary career behind him in which he would have been on the opposite side in most cases to Louisa's father. They lived at Melchbourne Park, Bedfordshire, and had two children, St Andrew
St Andrew St John, 15th Baron St John of Bletso
St Andrew St John, 15th Baron St John of Bletso was an English peer.St John was born at Wimpole Street the eldest son of St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso, and his wife, Louisa Boughton, daughter of Sir Charles William Rouse-Boughton, 9th Baronet. He succeeded his father in 1817 to...
and Louisa (born posthumously) who married Norman Macleod 25th Chief
Norman MacLeod of MacLeod
Norman MacLeod of MacLeod was the 25th chief of the Scottish clan Clan MacLeod.-Biography:Norman MacLeod of MacLeod was born on 18 July 1812 at Dunvegan, Skye. He was the son of John Norman MacLeod of MacLeod , 24th chief of Clan MacLeod and his wife Anne Stephenson...
. Lord St John died at the age of 58, leaving Louisa a widow with a young family. She married again to Mr Serjeant Vaughan
John Vaughan (puisne judge)
Sir John Vaughan PC was an English judge.Vaughan was born at Leicester, the third but second surviving son of Dr. James Vaughan a physician at Leicester, and his wife, Hester née Smalley. He was called to the bar in June 1791. In 1816 he became King's Serjeant and in 1827 he became Baron of...
on the 11th August 1828. They had at a son Rev. Charles Lyndhurst Vaughan and daughter Edith who married Sir Charles Isham, 10th Baronet.