Biography

Seymour, third son of Charles Seymour, vicar of Kilronan

Kilronan

Cill Rónáin is the main settlement on Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. The ferries serving the island call at Doolin, County Clare and also Rossaveal, County Galway. The main industries are fishing and tourism. School children also visit to improve their Irish at...

, co. Roscommon, by Beata, daughter of Fergus Langley of Lich Finn, Tipperary, was born in Ireland on 22 Sept. 1822. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

, graduating B.A. in 1844 and LL.D. in 1872. He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple

Middle Temple

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...

 on 12 June 1846, and practised on the northern circuit. By the influence of his father-in-law he was returned to parliament as one of the members for Sunderland

Sunderland (UK Parliament constituency)

Sunderland was a borough constituency of the House of Commons, created by the Reform Act 1832 for the 1832 general election. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election until it was split into single-member seats of Sunderland North and Sunderland South for the 1950...

 in 1852, and his support of the liberal party was rewarded with the recordership

Recorder (judge)

A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...

 of Newcastle in December 1854. On returning to his constituency for re-election he was defeated. In the meantime he had become connected with various commercial undertakings, notably with the Waller Gold-mining Company, of which he was chairman in 1852. His experiences were unfortunate, and in 1858 he had to make an arrangement with his creditors. In 1859 he was called before the benchers of the Middle Temple to answer charges affecting his character as a barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

 in connection with some commercial transactions, and on 23 Feb. was censured by the benchers (Times, 22, 24, 25 Feb. and 4 April 1859). Seymour disputed the fairness of the decision, but he would not publish the evidence, and he was excluded from the bar mess of the Northern Circuit

Northern Circuit

The Northern Circuit dates from 1176 when Henry II sent his judges on circuit to do justice in his name. The Circuit encompassed the whole of the North of England but in 1876 it was divided. That part to the west of the Pennines retained the old name. The land to the east became the territory of...

. He commenced legal proceedings against Mr. Butterworth, the publisher of the ‘Law Magazine,’ for giving a statement of the case with comments. The trial was heard by Lord-chief-justice Cockburn on 2–3 Dec. 1862, and resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff of 40s. (ib. 3 Dec. 1862 p. 10, 4 Dec. pp. 8–9).

In May 1859 Seymour was returned for Southampton

Southampton (UK Parliament constituency)

Southampton was a parliamentary constituency which was represented in the British House of Commons. Centred on the town of Southampton, it returned two Members of Parliament from 1295 until it was abolished for the 1950 general election....

, securing conservative support by a pledge not to vote against Derby's government. His failure to observe this promise was commented on by the 'Morning Herald

The Newcastle Herald

The Newcastle Herald is a local tabloid newspaper published daily, Monday to Saturday, in Newcastle, New South Wales, the largest non-capital city in Australia. It is the only local newspaper that serves the entire Hunter and Central Coast regions six days a week...

', and Seymour sought to institute a criminal prosecution of that paper, which was refused by Lord Campbell

John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell

John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell PC, KC was a British Liberal politician, lawyer, and man of letters.-Background and education:...

. Seymour was named a queen's counsel in the county palatine of Lancaster

Lancaster, Lancashire

Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...

 in August 1860, and on 19 Feb. 1861 a queen's counsel for England by Lord Campbell. In the same year he was employed by the government to draw up the Admiralty Reform Act.

His views grew gradually more conservative; he contested unsuccessfully Hull

Kingston upon Hull (UK Parliament constituency)

Kingston upon Hull, often simply referred to as Hull, was a parliamentary constituency in Yorkshire, electing two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1305 until 1885...

 in 1857, Southampton in 1865, Nottingham

Nottingham (UK Parliament constituency)

Nottingham was a parliamentary borough in Nottinghamshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295. In 1885 the constituency was abolished and the city of Nottingham divided into three single-member constituencies....

 in 1869 and 1870, Stockton in 1880, and South Shields

South Shields (UK Parliament constituency)

South Shields is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

 in 1885. By the influence of his political friends he became judge of the county-court circuit No. 1, with his chief court at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in August 1889, and held that appointment at his death, which took place at Tynemouth

Tynemouth

Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...

 on 16 March 1895. In February 1894 he was presented with his portrait by C. K. Robinson. He married, on 1 Sept. 1847, Emily, second daughter of Joseph John Wright, solicitor

Solicitor

Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

, Sunderland.

Publications

He was author of: 1. ‘How to employ Capital in Western Ireland, being Answers to Questions upon the Manufacture of Beet-sugar, Flax

Flax

Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...

, and Chicory

Chicory

Common chicory, Cichorium intybus, is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Various varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons , or for roots , which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and additive. It is also...

 in connection with a Land Investment in the West of Ireland,’ 2nd edit. 1851; with an appendix, a letter from M. Leon, 1851. 2. ‘The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854

Merchant Shipping Act 1854

The Merchant Shipping Act 1854 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was issued on 10 August 1854.It introduced the keeping of official numbers for registered ships, and revised calculations of tonnage...

, with summary notes and index,’ 1855; 2nd edit. 1857. 3. ‘The Wail of Montrose; or the Wrongs of Shipping,’ 1859; 2nd edit. 1859. 4. ‘Waste Land Reclamation

Land reclamation

Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...

 and Peasant Proprietorship, with suggestions for the Establishment of a Land Bank in Ireland,’ 1881. 5. ‘The Hebrew Psalter

Psalter

A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the later medieval emergence of the book of hours, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons and were...

: a new metrical translation,’ 1882.

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