William Richard Ormsby-Gore, 2nd Baron Harlech (3 March 1819 – 26 June 1904) was an Anglo-Irish

Anglo-Irish

Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...

 peer

Peerage

The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...

 and 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,...

.

Ormsby-Gore was the younger son of William Ormsby-Gore

William Ormsby-Gore

For his great-great grandson, see William Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech.William Ormsby-Gore , known as William Gore until 1815, was a British Member of Parliament....

 and Mary Jane Ormsby. He was educated at Eton College

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"....

 and later purchased an Ensigncy

Ensign (rank)

Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....

 in the 53rd Foot. He purchased a Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

cy in 1839 and exchanged into the 13th Light Dragoons

13th Light Dragoons

The 13th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army whose battle honours include Waterloo and The Charge of the Light Brigade. 1n 1922, the regiment was amalgamated with the 18th Royal Hussars, to form the 13th/18th Hussars.-Regimental history:British light dragoons were first raised in...

 in 1841, purchasing a Captain

Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)

Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...

cy in 1846 and a Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

ity in 1852.

In the 1841 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1841

-Seats summary:-Whig MPs who lost their seats:*Viscount Morpeth - Chief Secretary for Ireland*Sir George Strickland, Bt*Sir Henry Barron, 1st Baronet-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987...

 Ormsby-Gore was elected unopposed as a Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 MP for County Sligo

Sligo County (UK Parliament constituency)

Sligo County is a former county constituency in Ireland, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returned two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote system of election.-Boundaries:...

. In 1852 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1852

The July 1852 United Kingdom general election was a watershed election in the formation of the modern political parties of Britain. Following 1852, the Tory/Conservative party became, more completely, the party of the rural aristocracy, while the Whig/Liberal party became the party of the rising...

 there was a contest for the seat and he was defeated by a nationalist-inclined Liberal candidate. He returned to Parliament in a by-election on May 17, 1858 as MP for Leitrim

Leitrim (UK Parliament constituency)

Leitrim was a Parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It returned two Members of Parliament from 1801 to 1885 and one from 1918 to 1922.- 1801-1885 :...

, a seat he held until 1876.

Ormsby-Gore bought an estate at Derrycarne near Dromod

Dromod

Dromod is a village in County Leitrim, Ireland. Dromod is a noted fishing village on Loughs Bofin and Boderg, which are threaded by the River Shannon....

 in County Leitrim

County Leitrim

County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...

 and went on to rise to high office in the county: he became High Sheriff

High Sheriff of Leitrim

The High Sheriff of Leitrim was the British Crown’s judicial representative in County Leitrim, Ireland from c.1584 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Leitrim County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative...

 there for 1865, and was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of County Leitrim in 1878, which he remained until his death.

On January 14, 1876 Ormsby-Gore's elder brother John

John Ormsby-Gore, 1st Baron Harlech

John Ralph Ormsby-Gore, 1st Baron Harlech , was a British Conservative Member of Parliament.Harlech was the eldest son of William Ormsby-Gore and Mary Jane Ormsby. He was elected to the House of Commons for Carnarvonshire in 1837, a seat he held until 1841, and later represented North Shropshire...

 was created Baron Harlech

Baron Harlech

Baron Harlech, of Harlech in the County of Merioneth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1876 for the Conservative politician John Ormsby-Gore, with remainder to his younger brother William. He had previously represented Carnarvon and North Shropshire in the House of...

. As he was childless, the peerage was created with a special remainder to his younger brother, meaning that he was made heir presumptive of the peerage should the first Baron die without legitimate children. This was an unusual procedure and it was determined at the time that the last such case had been 45 years before. As it happened, the first Baron died on June 15, 1876, and Ormsby-Gore became the second Baron Harlech.

Ormsby-Gore married Emily Seymour, daughter of Admiral Sir George Francis Seymour

George Francis Seymour

Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Francis Seymour, GCB, GCH, PC was a Royal Navy officer.-Naval career:...

 and sister of Francis Hugh George Seymour, 5th Marquess of Hertford, in 1850. He died in June 1904, aged 85, and was succeeded in the barony by his son George

George Ormsby-Gore, 3rd Baron Harlech

George Ralph Charles Ormsby-Gore, 3rd Baron Harlech, KCB , was a British soldier and Conservative Member of Parliament....

.