Thomas Lister MP (1752 - 1826)

Born 11 Mar 1752 in Gisburn, Yorkshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca Adelaide (Fielding) Lister — married 7 Nov 1789 in St James The Less, Thorndike Street, London, England

Descendants

Died 22 Sep 1826 at age 74 in Gisburn, Yorkshire, England

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PPP will remain in place until the paternity of John Lockwood is assessed. Fitz-Henry-9 22:33, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

Biography

Thomas Lister MP was born in Yorkshire, England.

Thomas Lister was baptised on 11 March 1752 in Gisburn in Yorkshire^[1] (Gisburn has been in Lancashire since 1937). He was the eldest son of Thomas Lister MP and Beatrix (Hulton) Lister.

His only sibling was Beatrix (Lister) Parker (1749 -). His father died when he was nine years old^[2], and he inherited the huge Lister estate that covered a considerable part of Ribblesdale.

He was educated at Westminster School from 1764 to 1769. His mother presumably had the gorgeous painting of Thomas, aged twelve, by Sir Joshua Reynolds made as a memento of him before he went south. Afterwards he matriculated at Brasenose College at Oxford where he achieved his MA in 1772 and a DCL the following year^[3].

The Lister family together with the neighbouring Curzon family controlled the pocket borough of Clitheroe and its two MPs. During the 18th century the families shared the borough taking one MP position each. Both Thomas' father and grandfather had been members. As soon as Thomas left Oxford in 1173 he became one of the two MPs, together with Assheton Curzon. His uncle, Nathaniel Lister, vacated his seat to allow Thomas to take it, one month after he turned twenty-one^[3].

In parliament Lister generally voted with the opposition even though he was a Tory, like the Prime Minister, Lord North. On the outbreak of the American War, he fitted out at his own expense a frigate and later, in 1779, he raised a regiment of cavalry, Lister’s Light Dragoons^[4]. He was gazetted as a major in the army. In 1780 the English Chronicle wrote about him: ‘A very honest Member of Parliament, misled by the minister in numberless votes for the American War, but of late rather inclined to opposition.’^[3]

In 1780 Lister broke the pact with the Curzons of the other seat at Clitheroe, and managed to return his brother-in-law John Parker as the second MP. His conduct was severely criticized locally, but it was not till 1790 (when he left the Commons) that, after much argument, he agreed to revert to the previous practice of the two families nominating one Member each. After Lord North fell in 1782 and was replaced by a Whig Government, Lister continued in opposition until he finally left the Commons^[3].

On 7 November 1789, at the age of thirty-seven Thomas married Rebecca Adelaide Feilding who was aged sixteen in St James the Less, Thorndike Street, London. Rebecca was the daughter and co-heir of Joseph Fielding,

Their three children were^[5]:

1. Sir Thomas Lister (1790 - 1832)
2. Catherine (Lister) Parker (1793 - 1873).
3. Rebecca Adelaide Lister (1801 - 1867).

He was created Baron Ribblesdale by George III on 26 October 1797^[6].

Thomas died on 22 September 1826 in Gisburn aged seventy-four and was buried in the Ribblesdale chapel in St Mary's church, Gisburn^[7].

Research Notes

Lancashire/Yorkshire

GISBURN: Historically Gisburn was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, within the Deanery of Craven, and Wapentake of Staincliffe. It touched the historic county of Lancashire on the south. Since 1937 it is in Lancashire and touches North Yorkshire on the north.

Lockwood Family

It is strongly believed by the Lockwood family that John Lockwood (1793-1868) was the illegitimate son of Sir Thomas Lister. It has been strongly stated (since 1850), by members of the Lockwood family in England, that Mary William Lockwood had a liaison with Thomas Lister, later 1st Lord Ribblesdale. This is speculation based on the fact/rumor that the Lister family funded the relocation of John Lockwood's family (except James & Simeon, who chose not to leave because they had moved to other areas & had their own families) to America in 1851. No other connection to the Lister family has been found to suggest another reason to help this working-class family. No proof of this affair has been located to date.

If any male descendants of the Lister line come forward with Y-DNA samples perhaps this story can be confirmed or proven false.

Sources

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQBJ-9X2 : 4 February 2023), Thomas Lister, 1752.
2. ↑ https://www.gisburn.org.uk/index.php/gisburn-history/burial-records
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790, ed. L. Namier, J. Brooke., 1964 http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/lister-thomas-1752-1826
4. ↑ https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6171601
5. ↑ A genealogical and heraldic history of the peerage and baronetage, the Privy Council, knightage and companionage by Burke, Bernard, 1814-1892. Publication date 1909 https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/1686/mode/2up
6. ↑ The London Gazette: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/14052/page/968
7. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135637715/thomas-lister: accessed 15 February 2023), memorial page for Sir Thomas Lister (22 Mar 1752–22 Sep 1826), Find a Grave Memorial ID 135637715, citing St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard, Gisburn, Ribble Valley Borough, Lancashire, England; Maintained by Doug Lockwood (contributor 48229759).

See also:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Lister,_1st_Baron_Ribblesdale