Life

James Blount was born circa 1533 in Newport, Devon, the eldest son of Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy

Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy

Charles Blount, fifth Baron Mountjoy was an English courtier and patron of learning.-Life:Charles Blount was born on 28 June 1516 in Tournai, where his father, William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, was governor. Charles Blount's mother was William 's second wife, Alice, daughter of Henry Keble, Lord...

 (1516–1544) and Ann Willoughby. He inherited his title on the death of his father. He was made a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of Queen Mary (29 September 1553); and was Lord Lieutenant of Dorset

Lord Lieutenant of Dorset

The Office of the Lord Lieutenant was created during the reign of Henry VIII, taking over the military duties of the Sheriff and control of the military forces of the Crown. From 1569, there was provision for the appointment of Deputies, and in 1662 the Lord-Lieutenant was given entire control of...

 in 1559.

He was one of the commissioners who tried the Duke of Norfolk (1572), and spent the fortune of his family in the pursuit of alchemy

Alchemy

Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

. Sir William Cecil encouraged him in the manufacture of alum

Alum

Alum is both a specific chemical compound and a class of chemical compounds. The specific compound is the hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate with the formula KAl2.12H2O. The wider class of compounds known as alums have the related empirical formula, AB2.12H2O.-Chemical properties:Alums are...

 and copperas between 1566 and 1572.

Family

He married on 17 May 1558 Catherine Leigh, daughter of Thomas Leigh of St. Oswalds. They had 5 children, William, Charles

Charles Blount, 1st Earl of Devonshire

Charles Blount , 8th Baron Mountjoy and 1st Earl of Devonshire was an English nobleman and soldier who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland under Queen Elizabeth I, then as Lord Lieutenant under King James I.-Early life:...

, Christopher, Ann and Edward.

On his death on 10 October 1582 in Hook, Dorset the title passed to his eldest son William Blount, 7th Baron Mountjoy

William Blount, 7th Baron Mountjoy

William Blount, 7th Baron Mountjoy, was an English peer.William Blount was born circa 1561, the eldest son of James Blount, 6th Baron Mountjoy and Catherine Leigh. He inherited his title on the death of his father...

.