Family and Education

b. 18 Dec. 1690, 4th s. of Sir Justinian Isham, M.P., 4th Bt., by Elizabeth, da. of Sir Edmund Turner of Stoke Rochford, Lincs.  educ. Rugby 1699-1707, Wadham, Oxf. 1707.  m. (1) 17 Feb. 1735, Elizabeth (d. 19 July 1748), da. of Edward Wood of Littleton, Mdx., s.p.; (2) 4 May 1751, Philippa, da. of Richard Gee of Orpington, Kent, s.p.  suc. bro. as 6th Bt. 5 Mar. 1737.

Offices Held

Fellow of Magdalen, Oxf. 1720-35; adv. Doctors’ Commons 1724; judge adv. for ct. of Admiralty 1731-41.

Biography

Sir Justinian Isham and two of his sons, Justinian and Edmund, represented Northamptonshire continuously from 1698 to 1772. During the 35 years Sir Edmund sat for the county he never had a contest nor was his hold on the seat seriously threatened.

The family were Tories, and Sir Edmund was always classed as such. He does not appear in Fox’s list of Members in favour of the peace preliminaries; nor did he vote against them. In the autumn of 1763 he was classed by Jenkinson as ‘pro’; he did not vote against Grenville’s Administration over general warrants, and opposed the repeal of the cider tax, 10 Feb. 1764.1 Rockingham in July 1765 classed him as ‘contra’, and he voted against the repeal of the Stamp Act, 22 Feb. 1766. On 27 Feb. 1767 he seconded Dowdeswell’s motion for the reduction of the land tax. Only two other speeches by him are recorded: 3 Mar. 1756, on the plate tax;2 and 1 Mar. 1762, on the militia.3

In the Parliament of 1768 no vote by Isham is recorded, but he was listed as ‘contra, present’ in Robinson’s first survey on the royal marriage bill.  He died 15 Dec. 1772.

Ref Volumes: 1754-1790

Author: John Brooke

Notes

• 1. Harris’s ‘Debates’.
• 2. Newdigate’s ‘Debates’.
• 3. Harris’s ‘Debates’.