Biography of Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough 1821-1906

On 16th November 1805 [his father] John Ponsonby 4th Earl Bessborough [aged 24] and [his mother] Maria Fane [aged 18] were married at Berkeley Square, Mayfair. She the daughter of [his grandfather] John Fane 10th Earl of Westmoreland [aged 46] and [his grandmother] Sarah Anne Child Countess of Westmoreland. He the son of Frederick Ponsonby 3rd Earl Bessborough [aged 47] and Henrietta Frances Spencer Countess Bessborough [aged 44].

On 13th August 1821 Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough was born to [his father] John Ponsonby 4th Earl Bessborough [aged 39] and [his mother] Maria Fane [aged 34].

Around 1831 Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 9] educated at Harrow School.

In 1834 [his mother] Maria Fane [aged 47] died.

On 8th September 1835 [his brother] John George Brabazon Ponsonby 5th Earl Bessborough [aged 25] and [his sister-in-law] Frances Charlotte Lambton [aged 22] were married. She the daughter of John "Radical Jack" Lambton 1st Earl Durham [aged 43] and Harriet Cholmondeley. He the son of [his father] John Ponsonby 4th Earl Bessborough [aged 54] and [his mother] Maria Fane. They were fifth cousins.

Around 1836 Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 14] educated at Trinity College, Cambridge University [Map].

On 9th August 1838 [his brother-in-law] Charles Frederick Ashley-Cooper Ponsonby 2nd Baron de Mauley [aged 22] and [his sister] Maria Jane Elizabeth Ponsonby Baroness Mauley [aged 19] were married. She the daughter of [his father] John Ponsonby 4th Earl Bessborough [aged 56] and [his mother] Maria Fane. They were first cousins.

On 3rd February 1844 [his grandfather] Frederick Ponsonby 3rd Earl Bessborough [aged 86] died. His son [his father] John [aged 62] succeeded 4th Earl Bessborough, 5th Viscount Duncannon of Duncannon in Wexford, 5th Baron Bessborough of Bessborough in Kilkenny.

On 16th May 1847 [his father] John Ponsonby 4th Earl Bessborough [aged 65] died. His son [his brother] John [aged 37] succeeded 5th Earl Bessborough, 6th Viscount Duncannon of Duncannon in Wexford, 6th Baron Bessborough of Bessborough in Kilkenny.

On 4th October 1849 [his brother] John George Brabazon Ponsonby 5th Earl Bessborough [aged 39] and [his sister-in-law] Caroline Amelia Gordon-Lennox Countess Bessborough [aged 30] were married. She by marriage Countess Bessborough. She the daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox 5th Duke Richmond [aged 58] and Caroline Paget Duchess Richmond [aged 53]. He the son of [his father] John Ponsonby 4th Earl Bessborough and [his mother] Maria Fane. They were fifth cousins. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.

On 15th January 1850 Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 28] and Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 24] were married. She the daughter of Edward Granville Eliot 3rd Earl St Germans [aged 51] and Jemima Cornwallis Countess St Germans [aged 46]. He the son of John Ponsonby 4th Earl Bessborough and Maria Fane. They were fifth cousin once removed.

On 1st March 1851 [his son] Edward Ponsonby 8th Earl Bessborough was born to Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 29] and [his wife] Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 25]. He married 22nd April 1875 Blanche Vere Guest Countess Bessborough, daughter of John Josiah Guest 1st Baronet and Charlotte Elizabeth Bertie, and had issue.

Around 1852 [his daughter] Maria Ponsonby was born to Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 30] and [his wife] Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 26].

On 8th September 1853 [his son] Cyril Walter Ponsonby was born to Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 32] and [his wife] Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 27].

On 13th September 1854 [his son] Granville Ponsonby was born to Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 33] and [his wife] Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 28].

On 16th May 1855 [his uncle] William Francis Spencer Ponsonby 1st Baron de Mauley [aged 67] died. His son [his brother-in-law] Charles [aged 39] succeeded 2nd Baron de Mauley. [his sister] Maria Jane Elizabeth Ponsonby Baroness Mauley [aged 36] by marriage Baroness de Mauley.

On 8th January 1856 [his son] Arthur Cornwallis Ponsonby was born to Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 34] and [his wife] Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 30].

On 8th April 1857 [his daughter] Ethel Jemima Ponsonby Baroness Raglan was born to Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 35] and [his wife] Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 31]. She married 28th February 1883 her second cousin George Somerset 3rd Baron Raglan, son of Richard Henry Fitzroy Somerset 2nd Baron Raglan and Georgina Lygon Baroness Raglan, and had issue.

On 31st July 1859 [his son] Walter Gerald Ponsonby was born to Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 37] and [his wife] Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 33].

On 22nd April 1875 Edward Ponsonby 8th Earl Bessborough [aged 24] and Blanche Vere Guest Countess Bessborough [aged 28] were married. He the son of Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 53] and Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 49].

On 7th October 1877 [his father-in-law] Edward Granville Eliot 3rd Earl St Germans [aged 79] died. His son [his brother-in-law] William [aged 47] succeeded 4th Earl St Germans.

On 28th January 1880 John George Brabazon Ponsonby 5th Earl Bessborough [aged 70] died. His brother Frederick [aged 64] succeeded 6th Earl Bessborough, 7th Viscount Duncannon of Duncannon in Wexford, 7th Baron Bessborough of Bessborough in Kilkenny.

On 19th March 1881 [his brother-in-law] William Gordon Cornwallis Eliot 4th Earl St Germans [aged 51] died unmarried. He was buried near his mother [his mother-in-law] Jemima Cornwallis Countess St Germans at Kensal Green Cemetery [Map]. His brother Henry [aged 46] succeeded 5th Earl St Germans, 6th Baron Eliot of St Germans in Cornwall.

On 18th October 1881 [his brother-in-law] Henry Cornwallis Eliot 5th Earl St Germans [aged 46] and Emily Harriet Labouchere Countess St Germans [aged 37] were married at Savoy Chapel Royal [Map]. She by marriage Countess St Germans. He the son of [his father-in-law] Edward Granville Eliot 3rd Earl St Germans and [his mother-in-law] Jemima Cornwallis Countess St Germans.

On 28th February 1883 [his son-in-law] George Somerset 3rd Baron Raglan [aged 25] and Ethel Jemima Ponsonby Baroness Raglan [aged 25] were married. She the daughter of Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 61] and Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 57]. They were second cousins.

On 11th March 1895 Frederick George Brabazon Ponsonby 6th Earl Bessborough [aged 79] died. His brother Walter [aged 73] succeeded 7th Earl Bessborough, 8th Viscount Duncannon of Duncannon in Wexford, 8th Baron Bessborough of Bessborough in Kilkenny. Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 69] by marriage Countess Bessborough.

On 13th September 1897 [his sister] Maria Jane Elizabeth Ponsonby Baroness Mauley [aged 78] died.

On 24th February 1906 Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough [aged 84] died. His son Edward [aged 54] succeeded 8th Earl Bessborough, 9th Viscount Duncannon of Duncannon in Wexford, 9th Baron Bessborough of Bessborough in Kilkenny. Blanche Vere Guest Countess Bessborough [aged 59] by marriage Countess Bessborough.

On 15th January 1911 [his former wife] Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough [aged 85] died.

[his daughter] Sara Kathleen Ponsonby was born to Walter William Brabazon Ponsonby 7th Earl Bessborough and Louisa Susan Cornwallis Eliot Countess Bessborough.