Agmondesham Vesey

(b. 1708, Ireland – d. July 3, 1785, London, England )

Gender: M

Agmondesham Vesey (1708-1785) was the son of Agmondesham Vesey (1674-1733) and his second wife Jane Pottinger. He was MP in the Irish parliament for Harristown (Co. Kildare) from 1740-1761 and for Kinsale (Co. Cork) from 1765-1783, and was Accountant-General of Ireland from 1767. In 1746 he married his cousin Elizabeth Handcock (née Vesey), widow of William Handcock and daughter of his father’s half-brother, Rt Rev Thomas Vesey, Bishop of Ossory. He started to rebuild Lucan House in 1772 on the River Liffey outside Dublin on the site of the castle owned by the family of his stepmother, Charlotte Sarsfield. [According to EC, she was already going to the Lucan estate in 1767. The plan of the new house is mentioned in 1776.] Vesey suffered from epilepsy and relied on his wife to nurse him, but was known for his many infidelities. He and his wife (together with his wife’s companion Mrs Handcock) divided their time between Lucan House in Ireland and their London homes at Clarges Street and Bolton Row. On his death, he made no mention of his wife in his will (though he gave a legacy of £1,000 to his mistress), and left the bulk of his estate to Major George Vesey, the son of his cousin Francis Vesey. This act of contempt and ingratitude contributed to Elizabeth’s severe mental collapse.

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Agmondesham Vesey

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