Edward Thompson (1697–1742)

Edward Thompson (26 February 1697 – 5 July 1742) was a prominent Yorkshire politician of the early 18th century.

Life

Thompson was the son of Edward Thompson of Long Marston (1670–1734) and Lucy Tindall, and the grandson of Henry Thompson, a wine merchant of York who established the prominence of the Thompson family. His sister, Henrietta, married Colonel Edward Wolfe and became the mother of James Wolfe.^[1] He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield.

In 1722, Thompson was elected Member of Parliament for York, a seat he held for the remainder of his life. Employed as a Commissioner of the Land Revenue in Ireland, he issued a pamphlet justifying the introduction of a general excise there. This, and the pomp with which he carried out his office, aroused the scorn of Jonathan Swift in 1733 in a polemic against holders of civil office.^[2] From 1729 until 1733, he was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of York.^[3]

Family

Thompson first married Arabella Dunch (d. 1734), daughter of Edmund Dunch, on 6 February 1725. By her he had one daughter:^[1]

• Arabella Thompson (d. 28 February 1735).

Thompson separated from Arabella, who later bore two children to her brother-in-lawSir George Oxenden.^[4] By his second wife, Mary Moor (d. 1784), he had a second daughter:^[1]

• Mary Thompson (14 September 1738 – 29 June 1747).

On 5 May 1741, he was appointed a Commissioner of the Admiralty, but died the following year.

References

1. 1 2 3 Foster, Joseph (1874). Pedigrees of the County Families of Yorkshire. London. 
2. ↑ Swift, Jonathan (1733). Advice to the Freemen of the City of Dublin in the choice of a member to represent them in Parliament. Retrieved 2006-11-30. 
3. ↑ "Old Grand Lodge at York". Retrieved 2006-11-30. 
4. ↑  Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1888). "Dunch, Edmund". Dictionary of National Biography. 16. London: Smith, Elder & Co.