Earl of Caledon

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James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon
James Alexander,
4th Earl of Caledon

Earl of Caledon, of Caledon, County Tyrone, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for James Alexander, 1st Viscount Caledon. He was a merchant who had made an enormous fortune in India. He also represented Derry in the Irish House of Commons. Alexander had already been created Baron Caledon in 1790 and Viscount Caledon in 1797, also in the Peerage of Ireland.

He was succeeded by his son, the 2nd Earl. He was the first Governor of the Cape Colony and sat in the House of Lords as an Irish Representative Peer from 1804 to 1839. His son, the 3rd Earl, briefly represented County Tyrone in the House of Commons as a Tory and was an Irish Representative Peer between 1841 and 1855. His eldest son, the 4th Earl, sat in the House of Lords as an Irish Representative Peer from 1877 to 1898. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the 5th Earl. He never married and was succeeded by his nephew, the 6th Earl. He was the son of the Hon. Herbrand Charles Alexander, second son of the 4th Earl. Today the titles are held by his only son, the 7th Earl, who succeeded in 1980. The Earl of Caledon was made Lord Lieutenant of County Armagh in 1989.

Another member of the Alexander family was Field Marshal Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, who was the third son of the 4th Earl of Caledon. Also, William Alexander, cousin of the 1st Earl, was created a Baronet, of Belcamp, County Dublin, in 1809.

The family's lineage can be traced to Captain Andrew Alexander, of Errigal, County Donegal who was granted lands at Ballyclose near Limavady, County Londonderry in 1663 and was later attainted by the parliament called by James II in Dublin in 1689. He had no children by his first wife, a Miss Phillips, who was a relative of the Alexanders, but by his second wife, Miss Hillhouse, he had a son, John Alexander, who married Anne White, daughter of John White, of Cadyhill, County Londonderry, and had four children. His second son Nathaniel Alexander was born in 1689 and became an Alderman of the city of Derry in 1755 and died on September 22, 1761, having had with other children a third son, James Alexander, who became the 1st Earl of Caledon.

The style Viscount Alexander is used as a courtesy title for the Earl's eldest son and heir apparent.

[edit] Earls of Caledon (1800)

The Heir Apparent is the present holder's son Frederick James Alexander, Viscount Alexander (b. 1990)

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