Charles Dillon-Lee, 12th Viscount Dillon, KP, PC (Ire) (1745–1813) conformed to the established religion in 1767 and inherited Ditchley in England from his mother.
Birth and origins
Charles was born on 6 November 1745 in London.[1][2] He was the eldest child of Henry Dillon and his wife Lady Charlotte Lee. His father was the 11th Viscount Dillon.
In 1776 Charles changed his surname from Dillon to Dillon-Lee and quartered his arms accordingly to comply with the will of his maternal uncle George Lee, 3rd Earl of Lichfield. In that same year, his mother inherited the Lichfield estate at the death of her uncle the fourth Earl, who died childless.
Family tree
Charles Dillon-Lee with his two wives, his parents, and other selected relatives.[a]
Frances Charlotte Dillon-Lee (1780–1819), married Thomas Webb, Baronet[10]
Lichfield inheritance
On 4 November 1776 Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield, died and his earldom became extinct.[11] The nearest relatives of the last earl were his nieces. Charles's mother, née Lee, inherited the estate as she was the eldest surviving of these nieces.
Second marriage and children
His first wife died in 1782.[12] In 1787 he married, secondly, Marie Rogier of Mechelen.[13] She had been an actress in Brussels and had been his mistress in the time before his first marriage.[14]
Charles and Marie had at least three children:
James William Dillon-Lee (1792–1812), seems to have died unmarried[15]
Henrietta Dillon-Lee (died 1811), seems to have died unmarried[16]
In 1794 Charles inherited the Lichfield estate from his mother. Ditchley became the seat of the Viscounts Dillon. It would remain in the possession of the family until 1934.
In 1802 Lord Dillon sold the manor of Quarendon, where the seat of the Lee family had once stood, to James Du Pré of Wilton Park. Quarendon was of course part of the land inherited from his mother. In 1806 Lord Dillon raised a regiment, namely the 101st Regular, recruited from the inhabitants of his Irish lands and surrounding areas near Loughglinn, County Roscommon.
Death, succession, and timeline
Lord Dillon died at Loughglinn, on 9 November 1813.[23][24] Despite his conversion, he was buried in the Dillon Family Vault in the Cemetery at the Augustinian Friary, Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, Ireland. His widow died in London in 1833. He was succeeded by his only son, Henry Augustus, as the 13th Viscount Dillon.
^This family tree is partly derived from the Dillon family tree pictured in La Tour du Pin.[8] Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.
^Cokayne 1916, p. 360, line 22. "He m. [married], 26 Oct. 1744, at the Portuguese Embassy Chapel, Charlotte, 1st da. [daughter] and eventually h. [heir] of George Henry [Lee], 2nd Earl of Lichfield ..."
^ abBrown & Power 2005, p. 284. "... the succession of the title and lands of the Dillons in Ireland was assured by the conversion of Henry's eldest son Charles Dillon (later twelfth Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallen) in Dublin of 4 December 1767 ..."
^House of Commons 1878, p. 145. "Charles Dillon, esq., vice Sir William Blackstone, knt., appointed one of the Puisne Justices of the King's Bench / 21 Feb. 1770 / ditto [Westbury Borough]"
^ abCokayne 1916, p. 361, line 10b. "He m. [married], 1stly, 19 Aug. 1776 at Brussels, Henrietta Maria, da. [daughter] of Constantine John (Phipps) 1st Baron Mulgrave [I. [Ireland]] by Lepell da. of John (Hervey) Baron Hervey of Ickworth. She, who was b. [born] 26 Mar. 1757, d. [died] 1 Aug. 1782.
^Debrett 1838, p. 609, line 11. "Frances-Charlotte, b. [born] 17 Feb. 1780, m. [married] 14 March 1799, sir Thomas Webb, of Oddstock, co. Wilts, bart., and d. [died] 27 April 1819."
^ abBurke 1883, p. 317, right column, bottom. "His lordship d. [died] 4 November 1776, when the earldom of Lichfield and minor honours became extinct."
^La Tour du Pin 1913b, p. 162, line 3. "... elle avait toutes les apparences de ce qu'elle était en réalité: une vieille actrice. Mon oncle l'avait eue comme maitresse avant d'épouser Miss Phipps, fille du Lord Mulgrave."
^Burke & Burke 1915, p. 647, left column, line 28. "Charlotte, m. [married] 1813, Rev. Lord Frederick Beauclerk, D.D., 4th son of the 5th Duke of St. Albans, and d. [died] 26 Sept. 1866."
^Debrett 1828, p. 749, line 1. "Charles, 12th viscount, whose claim to the viscountcy was established by the house of lords in Ireland, after a solemn hearing, 18 March 1788;"
^MacDougall 1799, p. 77. "Lord Dillon. This nobleman is the brother of the celebrated 'Arthur Dillon,' so well known at the court of France, who was guillotined, and of the handsome Dillon, the favourite of the Queen of France, who was massacred. He possesses considerable property, power and influence, which he exerts in favour of the union."
^ abDebrett 1828, p. 749, line 11. "The viscount d. [died] 9 Nov 1813, and was succeeded by his only son ..."
^Cokayne 1916, p. 361, line 14. "He d. [died] 9 Nov. 1813 at Loughglin House, County Roscommon, aged 68.