Edward Robert King-Harman
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Colonel Edward Robert King-Harman (April 3, 1838 – June 10, 1888) was an Irish Protestant landlord and politician.
King-Harman's father, Lawrence Harman King-Harman, was the younger son of Robert King, 1st Viscount Lorton and inherited from him the great estates of Rockingham, County Roscommon and Newcastle, County Waterford. Rockingham, which was left to Edward (his younger brother inheriting Newcastle) was a fine house built by John Nash, although it was altered in a less than sympathetic way in the late 19th c in order to provide more accommodation.
He held the UK parliamentary seat of Sligo County from January 12, 1877 to April 10, 1880, Dublin County from 1883 - 1885 (according to T M Healy initially as a Nationalist Home Ruler and later a Unionist), and the seat of Isle of Thanet as a Unionist (Conservative) from December 1, 1885 to his death from heart disease at Rockingham in Boyle, Ireland at the age of 49 in 1888.
King-Harman gained the rank of Lieutenant with the 60th Rifles, and rank of Honorary Colonel with the 5th Battalion, Connaught Rangers.
He ran unsuccessfully as Isaac Butt's Nationalist Home Rule candidate in the May 1870 rerun of the December 1869 Longford bye-election after the result of the first vote was overturned.
He Served as Lord Lieutenant of Roscommon in 1882.
He was Justice of the Peace for the counties of Sligo, Longford and Westmeath.
He published in the Freeman's Journal. He was a member of the Arts Club from 1863 to 1888.
T M Healy states that he served as Tory Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Ireland, but this is not verified elsewhere.
King-Harman married, in 1864, Anne Worsley, daughter of Sir William Worsley, 1st Baronet. They had one daughter, Frances Agnes, who married Sir Thomas Stafford, 1st Baronet, a physician and member of the Irish Privy Council. They had two sons, the younger of whom, Sir Cecil Stafford-King-Harman, inherited the baronetcy and the Rockingham estates.
Tragically, Rockingham was destroyed by fire in 1952, since when the estate was nationalised by the Irish government to become Lough Key Forest Park. Recently, however, the original seat of the Kings, King House in Boyle, has been restored to its former glory. Joan, Lady Dunn (only daughter of Sir Cecil) and her family maintain a close interest in the project.
[edit] Quotes
"Keep the cartridge in the rifle." : advice to Orangemen angered at Gladstone's Representation of the People Act 1884 which would extend the Irish franchise. By then he had ceased to be a Home Ruler.
[edit] References
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Robert Gore Booth, Bt Denis Maurice O'Conor |
Member of Parliament for Sligo County with Denis Maurice O'Conor 1877–1880 |
Succeeded by Denis Maurice O'Conor Thomas Sexton |
| Preceded by Thomas Edward Taylor Ion Trant Hamilton |
Member of Parliament for Dublin County with Ion Trant Hamilton 1883–1885 |
Constituency divided |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Isle of Thanet 1885–1888 |
Succeeded by James Lowther |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Edward King Tenison |
Lord Lieutenant of Roscommon 1878–1888 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Kingston |
