Robert Jocelyn, 2nd Earl of Roden
Robert Jocelyn, 2nd Earl of Roden KP, PC (Ire) (26 October 1756 – 29 June 1820) was an Irish peer, soldier and politician. He was styled The Honourable from his birth to 1771, and then Viscount Jocelyn from 1771 to 1797. He was the eldest son of the 1st Earl of Roden and Lady Anne Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Clanbrassil.
He was a professional soldier, and the company of dragoons he commanded, nicknamed "the Foxhunters", gained much notoriety during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. In particular they played a leading role in the Gibbet Rath massacre at the Curragh of Kildare on 29 May 1798, where 350–500 insurgents, who had surrendered, were killed in cold blood.[1] In defence of Roden it can be said that he acted on the orders of his superior officer, General Duff, and that the action was widely condoned at the time. In September his dragoons played a crucial part in the final defeat of the invading French army at the Battle of Ballinamuck: Lord Roden accepted the surrender of General Humbert.[2]
He became Earl of Roden in 1797 after the death of his father Robert Jocelyn, 1st Earl of Roden and was appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick on 13 November 1806.[3] Jocelyn represented Maryborough in the Irish House of Commons between 1776 and 1778. Between 1783 and 1797, he sat as Member of Parliament for Dundalk. He turned down a Marquisate due to the lack of his fortune which was needed to uphold this position.
He was appointed Custos Rotulorum of Louth for life in 1820.
Family
He married:
- Frances Theodosia Bligh (died 1802), daughter of the Right Reverend Robert Bligh, Dean of Elphin and Frances Winthrop, on 5 February 1788 at St Andrew's Church, Dublin with issue:
- Robert Jocelyn, 3rd Earl of Roden (27 Oct 1788 - 20 March 1870)
- James Bligh Jocelyn (died Jul 1812)
- Thomas Jocelyn (died Feb 1816)
- George Jocelyn
- Frances Theodosia Jocelyn (1795 – May 1820), married Richard Wingfield, 5th Viscount Powerscourt
- Anne Jocelyn (died Oct 1822)
- Juliana-Anne Orde, daughter of John Orde of Weetwood Hall, on 5 July 1804, Edinburgh, with issue:
- John Jocelyn (1805–1869)
- Major Augustus George Frederick Jocelyn (1811–1887)
References
- Sampson, William Memoirs London Whittaker, Treacher and Arnot 1832 p.21
- Lenox-Conyngham, Melosina Diaries of Ireland Liliput Press Dublin 1998 p.112
- Rayment, Leigh. "Knights of the Order of St Patrick". Retrieved 13 December 2008.
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir John Parnell, 1st Bt Hunt Walsh |
Member of Parliament for Maryborough 1776–1778 With: Sir John Parnell, 1st Bt |
Succeeded by Sir John Parnell, 1st Bt John Tydd |
| Preceded by William Conyngham Robert Lindsay |
Member of Parliament for Dundalk 1783–1797 With: Hon. George Jocelyn |
Succeeded by Hon. George Jocelyn John Jocelyn |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by Robert Jocelyn |
Earl of Roden 1797–1820 |
Succeeded by Robert Jocelyn |