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Parker, Earls of Morley (Saltram)

Lord Morley's Dartmoor land lay entirely in Shaugh Prior. The Parkers came from Boringdon in Devon and North Molton, and made Saltram their seat. The 1st Earl of Morley died on 14 March 1840, in the very year of the tithe work, so the 'Lord Morley' of the lists is either him or his son.

In 1840 the tithe lists them as Lord Morley. 4,400 acres on the Dartmoor-parish tithe maps: Shaugh Prior 4,400.

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Family tree

Click a name to see everything the sources say about that person, with the exact words quoted, below the chart. Yellow marks the 1840 tithe owner.

George Parker of Boringdon

George Parker of Boringdon. Married 1st Elizabeth Fowell; 2ndly Anne, daughter of John Buller of Morval, Cornwall. Died 1743. S1

Children shown: John Parker of North Molton

Where this comes from

S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Morley, Earl of

Mr. Parker d. in 1768, and was s. by his elder son, John Parker, M.P. for the co. Devon, who was created Baron Boringdon, of Boringdon, co. Devon, 18 May, 1784.

John Parker of North Molton

John Parker of North Molton. Married 1725 Catharine, daughter of John, Earl Powlett. Died 1768. S1

Child of George Parker of Boringdon. Children shown: John Parker, 1st Baron

Where this comes from

S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Morley, Earl of

Mr. Parker d. in 1768, and was s. by his elder son, John Parker, M.P. for the co. Devon, who was created Baron Boringdon, of Boringdon, co. Devon, 18 May, 1784.

John Parker, 1st Baron

John Parker, 1st Baron Boringdon, born about 1735, elder surviving son of John Parker and Lady Catherine Poulett; Christ Church, Oxford, 1753, a fellow undergraduate of Shelburne. M.P. for Bodmin 1761 to May 1762 and for Devon from 19 May 1762 to 1784, an independent Tory country gentleman who voted mostly with the Opposition until the fall of North and spoke in the House only twice. Created Baron Boringdon of Boringdon on 18 May 1784. Married 1st, 10 January 1764, Frances Hort, daughter of the Archbishop of Tuam (she died the same year, no issue); 2ndly, 18 May 1769, Theresa, daughter of Thomas, 1st Lord Grantham, with one son and one daughter. Died 27 April 1788. S1, S2

Child of John Parker of North Molton. Children shown: John Parker

Where this comes from

S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Morley, Earl of

Mr. Parker d. in 1768, and was s. by his elder son, John Parker, M.P. for the co. Devon, who was created Baron Boringdon, of Boringdon, co. Devon, 18 May, 1784.

S2 Namier, History of Parliament 1754-1790, member biography: Parker, John (1735-88), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/parker-john-1735-88

Summary of the entry: born about 1735, first surviving son of John Parker of North Molton and Boringdon by Lady Catherine Poulett, daughter of John, 1st Earl Poulett; Christ Church, Oxford, 23 October 1753; married first 10 January 1764 Frances (died 1764), daughter of Josiah Hort, Archbishop of Tuam, no issue; second 18 May 1769 Theresa, daughter of Thomas, 1st Baron Grantham, one son and one daughter; M.P. for Bodmin 1761 to May 1762 and Devon 19 May 1762 to 1784; made a peer in May 1784; died 27 April 1788.

John Parker

John Parker, 2nd Baron Boringdon, born 3 May 1772; Viscount Boringdon and Earl of Morley by creation of 29 November 1815. Married 1st Augusta, daughter of the Earl of Westmorland (marriage dissolved by Act of Parliament, 14 February 1809); 2ndly, 22 August 1809, Frances, only daughter of Thomas Talbot of Gonville, Norfolk. Died 14 March 1840. S1

Child of John Parker, 1st Baron. Children shown: Edmund Parker

Where this comes from

S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Morley, Earl of

Mr. Parker d. in 1768, and was s. by his elder son, John Parker, M.P. for the co. Devon, who was created Baron Boringdon, of Boringdon, co. Devon, 18 May, 1784.

Edmund Parker

Edmund Parker, 2nd Earl, born 10 June 1810. Married 1 March 1842 Harriet Sophia, daughter of Montagu Edmund Parker of Whiteway. Died 28 August 1864. S1

Child of John Parker. Children shown: Albert Edmund Parker

Where this comes from

S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Morley, Earl of

Mr. Parker d. in 1768, and was s. by his elder son, John Parker, M.P. for the co. Devon, who was created Baron Boringdon, of Boringdon, co. Devon, 18 May, 1784.

Albert Edmund Parker

Albert Edmund Parker, 3rd Earl, born 11 June 1843; succeeded 28 August 1864. S1

Child of Edmund Parker

Where this comes from

S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Morley, Earl of

Mr. Parker d. in 1768, and was s. by his elder son, John Parker, M.P. for the co. Devon, who was created Baron Boringdon, of Boringdon, co. Devon, 18 May, 1784.

Stories from the record

Each story is backed by at least two independent sources, at least one of them a printed or official record. The sources are listed under it.

Portrait of a grey-haired man in a dark coat
John Parker, 1st Earl of Morley (Lord Boringdon until 1815), by Frederick Richard Say. National Trust, via Wikimedia Commons

Lady Boringdon's elopement and the 1809 divorce Act

Lord Boringdon, later 1st Earl of Morley, married Lady Augusta Fane on 20 June 1804. On 18 May 1808 she eloped with the diplomat Sir Arthur Paget, and a letter from Lady Jerningham dated 24 May 1808 already refers to the elopement. The marriage was dissolved by Act of Parliament on 14 February 1809, and Paget married Augusta two days later, on 16 February. Boringdon married Frances Talbot on 23 August 1809.

Sources: Wikisource, Dictionary of National Biography, Parker, John (1772-1840); Birmingham University archive catalogue, XJER/1/464, letter of Lady Jerningham, 24 May 1808; Wikipedia, Sir Arthur Paget (cites ODNB)

Where the sources differ

Lady Boringdon's elopement and the 1809 divorce Act. Burke (1869) and the Paget article say the marriage was dissolved by Act of Parliament on 14 February 1809; the Dictionary of National Biography gives the date without saying how. The Birmingham catalogue spells the name 'Bovingdon'.

Notes

Burke prints 'Montagu-Edmund Parker, of Whiteway' as a younger son of the North Molton line, so the 2nd Earl's wife came from a cadet branch of his own family. Seats given: Saltram and North Molton.

Sources

S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Morley, Earl of

Mr. Parker d. in 1768, and was s. by his elder son, John Parker, M.P. for the co. Devon, who was created Baron Boringdon, of Boringdon, co. Devon, 18 May, 1784.

S2 Namier, History of Parliament 1754-1790, member biography: Parker, John (1735-88), https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/parker-john-1735-88

Summary of the entry: born about 1735, first surviving son of John Parker of North Molton and Boringdon by Lady Catherine Poulett, daughter of John, 1st Earl Poulett; Christ Church, Oxford, 23 October 1753; married first 10 January 1764 Frances (died 1764), daughter of Josiah Hort, Archbishop of Tuam, no issue; second 18 May 1769 Theresa, daughter of Thomas, 1st Baron Grantham, one son and one daughter; M.P. for Bodmin 1761 to May 1762 and Devon 19 May 1762 to 1784; made a peer in May 1784; died 27 April 1788.

Tithe polygons: Devon Tithe Mapping Polygonisation Project (Adnams 2023), © Devon County Council and Devon Heritage Centre, CC BY 4.0. Transcriptions: Devon County Council.