Edward Marcus Despard^[1]

1751 - 1803  (51 years)

• Name	Edward Marcus Despard  [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
  Born	6 March 1751	Coolrain, Queen's Co. (Laois), Ireland   [2, 3, 4, 7]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	December 1802	Middlesex, England   [2]
  Died	21 Feb 1803	Horsemonger Lane Jail, Surrey, England   [3, 4, 7]
  Buried	London, City of London, Greater London, England   [3]
  Person ID	P97	Despard Only
  Last Modified	26 Sep 2020

  
  

  Father	William (The Generous/Donore) Despard, Sir,   b. 1710, Castle Killaghy, County Tipperary, Ireland ,   d. Abt. 1765, Coolrain, Laois, Ireland  (Age 55 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Jane Walsh,   b. Abt. 1710, Ireland
  Relationship	natural
  Married	May 1732
  Family ID	F13	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Catherine Gordon,   b. Abt 1758, Jamaica ? ,   d. Abt. Sep 1815, Somers Town, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA  (Age ~ 57 years)
  Married	Abt 1785	The Caribbean
  Children	1. John "James" Edward Despard,   b. Abt 1780, Belize?  [natural]
  Last Modified	26 Sep 2020
  Family ID	F16	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Despard’s family on the other hand clearly never accepted the marriage. They referred to Catharine as Despard’s “black housekeeper” and after Despard’s death they offered no assistance to her or to their son (his uncle, General Despard, said that James had “not even an illegitimate claim upon him.”) What we do know is that Despard’s friends took care of them after Despard was executed (they were reportedly given a pension by Sir Francis Burdett and Lord Cloncurry’s memoirs state that they lived with his family in Lyon for some years). Their son, James Despard, went on to join the military (as an officer, which I think is worth noting). There are various reports of him (usually referred to as a “creole”) that scatter across the first decades of the nineteenth century. He was appointed a captain the London Milita in 1814 after serving in France and supposedly refusing an offer of a high position from Bonaparte (this I find doubtful given Bonaparte’s treatment of the Chevalier Saint-Georges). There are further anecdotes from his spiteful Aunt Jane suggesting that he ran away with an heiress. "All Despards were entitled to be buried in the churchyard of St Faith's in the city of London, an old parish church whose old graveyard had been subsumed within the walls of St Pauls cathedral." Ref Mike Jay's book.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1202603248] Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=102554215&pid=347 [S1209681845] England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc), Class: HO 26; Piece: 8; Page: 38. [S1202875307] UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1202918326] Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-20, 22, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1209681846] Yorkshire, England, Quarter Session Records, 1637-1914, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1215421736] London, England, King's Bench and Fleet Prison Discharge Books and Prisoner Lists, 1734-1862, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1204456836] Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI), Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Gale Research Company; Detroit, Michigan; Accession Number: 315307.