Author: Courtenay, John
Biography:
COURTENAY, John, Sr. (1738-1816: ODNB)
Although a prolific writer and poet, Courtenay is chiefly remembered as a politician. No birth or baptismal records have been located but he was the second son of Henry Courtenay, a revenue officer in Ireland, and his wife Mary Major, the daughter of a prebendary. His parents had married in St. Michan’s, Dublin, on 28 Nov. 1734. Courtenay was born in Carlingford, Louth, Ireland, on 22 Aug. 1738 and educated at Dundalk grammar school. In 1756 he entered the army as an ensign at Waterford, Ireland, and was promoted to lieutenant in 1759. He sold out in 1765, lived in or near Dublin, and married a woman whose first name may have been Esther; no public records have been located for both the marriage and her death in about 1795. They had three sons including John Courtenay Jr. (q.v.) and at least two daughters, Sophia and Emma. Courtenay published Remarks on a Pamphlet and Miscellaneous Pieces in Verse and Prose in 1768. His essays for a periodical, the Batchelor, brought him to the attention of Lord Townshend, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Courtenay went to England as Townshend’s secretary when he was appointed master of the ordnance in 1772. Courtenay’s Rape of Pomona brought him to the attention of Samuel Johnson and James Boswell (qq.v.) and Boswell became a friend. In 1780 he was elected MP for Tamworth, Staffordshire; he held the seat until 1796 when he was elected for Appleby in Cumbria. Courtenay, a whig, was a frequent speaker in the House of Commons and known for his facetious wit. He held the Appleby seat until 1807 and was briefly re-elected in 1812. He was living on a small annuity when he died at his home in Duke Street, Portland Place, London, on 24 Mar. 1816. His estate, encumbered by debts, was shared among three of his children—his daughters and a son, George. Another son, Kenneth (1769-1838), a clergyman, was considered affluent enough not to need support. His numerous other publications include Incidental Anecdotes and a Biographical Sketch (1809) but no copy of this has been located. At 8 pages his Elegy to the Memory of George W. A. Courtenay [a nephew] (1793) is too short to be included here. (ODNB 4 Apr. 2024; Annual Biography 1 [1817], 330-60; historyofparliamentonline.org 4 Apr. 2024; ancestry.co.uk 4 Apr. 2024)
Other Names:
- J. Courtenay, M.P.