Sir John Osborn, 5th Baronet

For other people named John Osborn, see John Osborn (disambiguation).

Sir John Osborn, 5th Baronet (3 December 1772 – 28 August 1848), of Chicksands Priory in Bedfordshire, was an English politician.^[1]

Sir John Osborn, 5th Baronet
Osborn, c. 1810
Member of Parliament for Wigtown Burghs
In office 1821–1824
Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire
In office 1794–1800 1801–1807 1818–1820
Member of Parliament for Queenborough
In office 1812–1818
Member of Parliament for Cockermouth
In office 1807–1808
Personal details
Born	(1772-12-03)3 December 1772
Died	28 August 1848(1848-08-28) (aged 75)
Spouse	Frederica Davers
Children	8, including George
Parent(s)	George Osborn Elizabeth Bannister
Relatives	Danvers Osborn (grandfather)
Education	Christ Church, Oxford
Military career
Rank	Colonel
Unit	Bedfordshire Yeomanry British Volunteer Corps
Commands	Bedfordshire Militia

Early life

Osborn's wife Frederica, c. 1810

He was the only son of Sir George Osborn, 4th Baronet, who he succeeded in 1818, and Elizabeth Bannister.^[2] After his mother's death, his father married Lady Heneage Finch, the daughter of Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea. His father was a Groom of the Bedchamber to King George III.^[3]

His paternal grandparents were Sir Danvers Osborn, 3rd Baronet and Lady Mary Montagu (a daughter of the 1st Earl of Halifax). His maternal grandfather, John Bannister, was born in Antiqua and lived at Hill Street in Mayfair, London.^[3]

He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford.^[1][4]

Career

Osborn was Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire, 1794–1807; for Cockermouth, 1807–1808; for Queenborough, 1812–1818; again for Bedfordshire, 1818–1820 and for the Wigtown Burghs 1821–1824. He served as a Lord of the Admiralty from 1812 to 1824 and as one of the Commissioners of Audit from 1824 until his death.^[1][4]

In 1797 he served as a Captain in the Bedfordshire Yeomanry and in 1803–05 in the Bedford Volunteers.^[1] On 12 January 1805 the Earl of Upper Ossory as Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire appointed him as Colonel of the Bedfordshire Militia after his predecessor was removed following a court of enquiry.^[5] As a young man Osborn's father had been an officer in the regiment when it was reformed in 1759, before joining the regular army and rising to the rank of General.^[1][4][6][7] In March 1805 Col Osborn joined the regiment and marched it to barracks at Berry Head near Brixham for its summer training, but thereafter direct command was usually exercised by the lieutenant-colonel.^[8] Osborn retained the command of the regiment until his death.^[9]

Personal life

On 14 September 1809 at Westminster St James he married Augusta Frederica Louisa Valentina Davers, the illegitimate daughter of Sir Charles Davers, 6th Baronet. Together, they were the parents of at least five sons and three daughters, including:^[10]

• Elizabeth Heneage Osborn (1811–1871), who died unmarried.^[3]
• Louisa Anne Osborn (1812–1864), who married Rev. Brook Edward Bridges, son of Rev. Brook Edward Bridges (a son of Sir Brook Bridges, 3rd Baronet), in 1843.^[3]
• Sir George Robert Osborn, 6th Baronet (1813–1892), who married Lady Charlotte Kerr, daughter of Vice-Admiral Lord Mark Robert Kerr (the third son of 5th Marquess of Lothian) and Charlotte MacDonnell, suo jure 3rd Countess of Antrim (eldest daughter of the 1st Marquess of Antrim), in 1835.^[3]
• Charles Davers Osborn (1819–1846), who married Louisa Atherley, daughter of Rev. A. Atherley, in 1845.^[3]
• John Brownlow Osborn (1822–1853), who died unmarried.^[3]
• Montagu Francis Finch Osborn (1824–1895), a Reverend who was Canon of Newcastle; he married Catherine Barbara Marriott, daughter of John Marriott, in 1861.^[3]
• Danvers Henry Osborn (1827–1898), a Lt.-Col. in the East India Company Service; he married Annette Wilson, daughter of Thomas Watkins Wilson, in 1862.^[3]
• Frederica Lucy Osborn (1835–1906), who died unmarried.^[3]

Sir John died in 1848. He was succeeded in the baronetcy and family estates by his eldest son George Robert.^[1][4]