Thomas Plumer Halsey MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (26 January 1815 – 24 April 1854) was a Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

 from 1846 to 1854.

He was the son of Joseph Thompson Whately (d. 1818), who, on his marriage in 1804 to Sarah, the only child of Thomas Halsey MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

, assumed that surname by Act of Parliament

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

.

Thomas Plumer Halsey was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Hertfordshire was a county constituency covering the county of Hertfordshire in England. It returned two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

 unopposed in January 1846 following the elevation of the previous incumbent, James Grimston

James Grimston, 2nd Earl of Verulam

James Walter Grimston, 2nd Earl of Verulam , known as Viscount Grimston from 1815 to 1845, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He was the eldest son of James Walter Grimston, 1st Earl of Verulam, and Lady Charlotte Jenkinson...

 to the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

.

On January 23, 1839, he married Frederica, the only child of General Frederick Johnston, at Marylebone

Marylebone

Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....

. Halsey, his wife and his infant son, Ethelbert Arthur Sackville Halsey, were drowned in the shipwreck of the steamer Ercolano in the Gulf of Genoa

Gulf of Genoa

The Gulf of Genoa is the northernmost part of the Ligurian Sea. The width of the gulf is about 125 km, from the city of Imperia in the west to La Spezia in the east. The largest city on the its coast is Genoa, which has an important port....

, along with 13 other English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 passengers. Fellow passenger Sir Robert Peel

Sir Robert Peel, 3rd Baronet

Sir Robert Peel, 3rd Baronet GCB, PC was a British Peelite and later Liberal politician. The eldest son of the prime minister Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, he was educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford and entered the Diplomatic Service in 1844...

 survived by swimming. The older son, Frederick Halsey

Frederick Halsey

Sir Thomas Frederick Halsey, 1st Baronet PC was an English Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1906....

, survived as he was a pupil at Eton

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 at the time. He went on to become the 1st of the Halsey Baronets

Halsey Baronets

The Halsey Baronetcy, of Gaddesden in the County of Hertford, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 June 1920 for the Conservative politician Frederick Halsey. The third Baronet was a Captain in the Royal Navy. The fourth Baronet is an Anglican priest.Thomas...

.

Thomas Plumer Halsey was a descendant of the Plantagenet

House of Plantagenet

The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...

 King Edward III

Edward III of England

Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

External links