illenhall, gentleman, who died 24^th April, 1723, and who by his first wife, Mary, had two sons—Thomas, babtized 26^th July, 1669, and Richard, babtized 10^th September, 1685—besides three daughters, Margaret, Mary, and Elizabeth. By his second wife, Hannah, he had six sons, John, Daniel, William, Thomas, Joseph, and Richard, besides a daughter, Hannah.

Daniel, the eldest surviving son of the above-named Richard and Hannah Molineux, settled in Dublin. Nichols mentions that Hanna, daughter and heiress of Daniel Molineux, of Dublin, iron merchant, married in 1756 Thomas Marston, of Willenhall and Dublin, and that their granddaughter, Hannah Marston, married Edward D'Oyly, of the family of D'Oyly, of Shottinham, Co. Norfolk.

Joseph, the fifth son of the said Richard Molineux, married, apparently as his second wife, Mary, daughter of Thomas Birch, of Lapley, Staffordshire, gentleman. By his will, proved in 1773, he charged his copyhold estate within the manor of Hampstead, in the said county, with the sum of £1,000 for the benefit of his children by his said wife.

John (vide Chapter II. Page 52), second surviving son of Darcy Molineux, of Mansfield, Co. Notts, and great-grandson of Sir Francis Molineux, of Teversal, Bart., settled in wolverhampton at the commencement of the eighteenth century, where he engaged in the iron trade, and where Thomas, his eldest son, was born, on the 17^th March, 1704, being babtized on the 22^nd of the same month. By his wife, Mary, who died in 1735, he had, besides Thomas, four other sons, Richard, John, Joseph, and Benjamin—and three daughters, Anne, Mary, and Elizabeth. He died in 1754; and was buried in the Church of St. Peter, Wolverhampton. He was the immediate ancestor of the eldest branch of the Staffordshire Molineuxes and of the family seated at Lewes in Sussex.

Thomas, the eldest son the the said John Molineux, married on the 5^th August, 1732, at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, Margaret, daughter of —— Gisborne, by whom he had nine sons and three daughters, all of whom, with the exception of John (born 14^th May, 1736), Benjamin (who died unmarried, 12^th December, 1782), Richard, and Thomas Gisborne (born 12^th June, 1747), died in infancy.

Margaret, widow of Thomas Molineux, died 25^th August, 1791, and was buried in the family vault built by Richard Molineux in Tettenhall, near Wolverhampton, her funeral being attended by her son, Thomas Gisborne Molineux, her grandson Thomas Gisborne Molineux, her nephew George Molineux, of Molineux House, Wolverhampton, Isaac Scott, and Lewis Clutterbuck, of Ford House, Wolverhampton. The following obituary notice appeared at the time in a Wolverhampton newspaper: "Died, at the advanced age of eighty-two, Mrs. Molineux, of Queen Street, relict of Mr. Thomas Molineux, who, being the elder branch of a most respectable and ancient family in this township, was, in her conduct to her relations, to her acquaintances, and to the objects of charity around her, an exemplary pattern of every virtue."

John, eldest son of Thomas and Margaret Molineux, married Margaret, widow of —— Walker, of Wolverhampton, and had issue two daughters, the elder of whom, Sarah Gisborne, by her marriage with Isaac Scott, of Wolverhampton, had an only child, Margaretta, who died, unmarried, 9^th January, 1852. Mary Ann, the younger daughter, married John Lingard, of Wolverhampton, by whom she had issue a son, John, and two daughters, Sarah Gisborne, wife of Charles S. Stokes, of Murrell's End, Newent, Gloucestershire, and Mary Ann, who died unmarried. John Molineux died 28^th April, 1785.

Richard, the third surviving son, married his cousin, Mary, second daughter of Benjamin Molineux, of Wolverhampton, and died September, 1784, leaving three daughters, the eldest of whom, Mary Ann, became the wife of James Clutterbuck, of Hyde House, Co. Gloucester, a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for the county. Caroline, the second daughter, married Robert, son of Brian Hodgson, of Swinscoe, Staffordshire, and had issue an only son, Robert Molineux, and two daughters, Caroline and Ellen. The youngest daughter, Elizabeth, married Thomas Brooke.

Thomas Gisborne, ninth and youngest son of Thomas and Margaret Molineux, settled in London as a merchant, and died there 13^th May, 1807, leaving by his wife, Mary, daughter of —— Brice, two surviving sons—Thomas Gisborne, who died without issue the 15^th May, 1840, and Francis—and a daughter, Ann, married 13^th November, 1803 to Joseph Rhodes, of London, merchant, and a captain in the London Volunteers, by whom she had issue an only daughter, Mary Ann, who became the wife of William Fawcett, solicitor, Yarm-on-Tees, Yorkshire. William Rhodes, the eldest son, of the Grange, Stainton in Cleveland, married Rosalie, daughter of Claude de Queiros, of Calcutta. Marianne, the second daughter, became the wife of Anthony Temple, of Kington, Herefordshire, son of the Rev. W.S. Temple, of Daisdale, Co. Durham.

Francis Molineux was born 14^th September, 1785, and in 1803, when eighteen years of age, held a commission as lieutenant in the London Volunteers. He afterwards embarked in business as a merchant in London, and on the 13^th October, 1819, married his cousin, Sarah, fourth daughter of Joseph Molineux, banker, of Lewes, Co. Sussex. He died 15^th March, 1852, leaving two sons, Gisborne and Francis (who died unmarried in 1850), and one daughter, Mary Elizabeth.

Gisborne Molineux, the eldest son, as born at his father's residence in James Street, Buckingham Gate, Westminster, and was educated under a private tutor. He received, in 1856, the appointment of secretary to the Canada Company, and took an active part in the formation of the Royal Colonial Institute, of which he is a fellow and member of council. On the 3^rd April, 1872, the members of the Canada Club, in recognition of his services as honorary secretary, and "in token of their regard," presented him with a silver vase and two cups. He is the eldest male representative of both the Teversal and Staffordshire branches of the family.

Richard, the second son of John and Mary Molineux, of Wolverhampton, came to London, and established himself in business in Cateaton Street, now Gresham Street. He appears to have taken an interest in civic affairs, and was elected a common councilman for the ward of Cripplegate, of which ward he was subsequently appointed deputy. He married Sarah Gisborne, sister to Margaret, wife of his brother, Thomas Molineux, and had issue an only child, Mary, who was married 24^th June, 1750, to Captain George Barber, of Somerford Hall, Brewood, Co. Stafford, son and heir of Robert Barber, of the Inner Temple, M.P. for Stamford, 1747, her father giving her a dowry of £7,000. Richard Molineux died in 1762. His widow, who dialed in 1770, bequeathed her copyhold estate held of the manor of Gaines, near Upminster, Essex, to her sister, Margaret Molineux; her diamond rings and silver plate to be divided between her sisters, the said Margaret, and Mary Blagden.

John, the third son, settled at Gainsborough, Co. Lincoln, and married a daughter of —— Wass, by whom he left issue two daughters, the eldest of whom, Sarah, married Richard Slaney, of Hatton, Co. Salop, youngest son of Robert Aglionby Slaney, Barrister-at-Law, by whom she had four sons, John Molineux, Moreton Aglionby, Richard, and Charles Plowden; and a daughter, Elizabeth, wife of the Rev. Charles Buckeridge. Their granddaughter, Mary, daughter of Moreton Aglionby Slaney, became the wife of Mr. Russell, afterwards the Right Honourable Sir John Pakington, Bart., G.C.B., P.C., D.C.L., M.P., created in 1874 Baron Hampton, of Hampton Lovett and Westwood, Co. Worcester. Elizabeth Molineux, the younger daughter of John Molineux, died unmarried in 1801, and by her will dated 15^th August, 1796, bequeathed the bulk of her property, amounting to £10,000, in trust for her great-niece, Mary Slaney.

Joseph, the fourth son, born in 1713, settled in Lewes, Sussex, in 1738, and engaged in the iron trade, at that period one of the staple industries of the county, was appointed Receiver-General of Stamps and Taxes, and on two occasions, in 1745 and 1764, was chosen to fill the office of High Constable of the borough. He died in 1771, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Michael's, Lewes. By his wife, Ann, daughter of Dr. Brett, and granddaughter of John Apsley, of Pulborough, he had three sons, John, Richard, and Joseph, and three daughters, Cordelia (who died unmarried, whilst on a visit at Molineux House, Wolverhampton), Ann (who also died unmarried), and Elizabeth (wife of A. Verrall, of Lewes).

Joseph Molineux the younger, born at Lewes, 7^th March, 1754, became a partner in the firm of Johnston, Molineux & Co., paper manufacturers, Isfield, and one of the founders of "The Old Bank," Lewes, an institution that has for nearly a century maintained its position as the leading bank for the eastern division of the county. He married, 2^nd December, 1777, at St. John's Church, Lewes, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas West, of Southover, by whom, who died 20^th July, 1815, he had three sons, Francis, Joseph, and George, besides nine daughters—Elizabeth, wife of C. Chitty, of Lewes; Cordelia, wife of Job Smallpeice, of Northbrook, Co. Surrey; Sarah, wife of Francis Molineux, of London; Jane, wife of Joseph Browne, of Holcombe House, Gloucestershire; Maria, wife of Henry Sparkes, of Summerbery, Shalford, Co. Surrey; Grace, wife of William Browne, of Minchinhampton, Co. Gloucester; and three who died in infancy. Joseph Molineux died at Lewes after a short illness in 1813. His only surviving son, George, born 17^th March, 1792, succeeded his father as a partner in the "Old Bank," and was made a magistrate for the county. By his wife, Frances, daughter of Thomas Ramsay, of London, he had issue George, Joseph, Thomas, Frederick, Charles, Henry and Apsley Brett; Frances, married 22^nd July, 1840, to her cousin, Job Smallpeice, of Field Place, Compton, Surrey; Cordelia, married in January, 1853, to Joseph Ewart, of Manchester; and Elizabeth, who died in youth. He died at his residence in Lewes, 27^th January, 1855, and was succeeded by his eldest son, George, born 6^th August, 1816, as a banker, and a magistrate for Sussex.

George Molineux married, first, Maria Ann, only child of the Rev. Joseph Hurlock, M.D., and M.A. of Wadham College, Oxford, and coheir of the Rev. Fitzherbert Potter, of Chertsey (grandson of Archbishop Potter), and had issue on daughter, Mildred Constance, and five sons—George Fitzherbert, Charles Hurlock, Vicar of St. James, Derby, Philip Horace, of Malling House, near Lewes, banker, and Treasurer for the Eastern Division of Sussex.

Arthur Ellison, born at Lewes, 5^th February, 1846, and educated at Winshester and Christchurch, Oxford, where he graduated in honours in the Law and History School, and took the usual degrees of B.A. and M.A. Among his friends and contemporaries were Earl Percy, Sir John Conroy, Bart., Hon. W. F. Littleton, Walter Phillimore, Hon. H. Stanhope, C. H. Berners, and F. W. Verney. He married, 16^th July, 1874, Eleanor Margaret, fourth daughter of Matthew Bell, J.P. and D.L., of Bourne Park, Kent, High Sheriff of the county 1850, by whom he has two daughters, Agnes Irene, born 6^th May, 1877, and Evelyn Margaret, born 13^th April, 1881. He received ordination on 13^th March, 1874, at the hands of Dr. Philpott, Bishop of Worcester, and was licensed to the curacy of Hagley. In 1877 he was instituted to the vicarage of Maiden Bradley, Wilts, on the presentation of the Dean and Chapter of Christchurch, Oxford.

Harold Parminter, born at Lewes, 16^th April, 1850, and educated at Winchester and Sandhurst. He subsequently joined the 56^th, now the "Essex" Regiment (the Pompadours) as ensign, with which regiment he served some time in India. He was gazetted lieutenant on the 24^th June, 1871, and captain the 4^th October, 1878. In 1881 he was selected by H.R.H. the Field Marshall Commanding in Chief, for the Adjutancy of the 4^th Essex R. V. Corps. On the 4^th January, 1881, he married Rosa, Eugenie Katherine, second daughter of Henry King, J.P., of Isfield Place, Uckfield, Sussex, by whom he has a daughter, Dorothy Eugenie, born 9^th November, 1881.

Maria Ann Molineux died 11^th March, 1875, and was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery, at Lewes. There is a window dedicated to her memory in the chancel of the church of St. Margaret, at Isfield.

George Molineux married, 12^th July 1877, as his second wife, Cecil Harriet, younger daughter of Samuel Henry Russell, H.E.I.C.S., and neice of Major Christopher Robert Pemberton, J.P. and D.L., of Newton, Cambridgeshire.

In the "Doomsday Book" of 1876, compiled by authority of Parliament, "George Molineux, of Lewes," is set down as the owner of 418 acres, 1 rood, and 16 perches, of which the estate formerly known as Moon's Farm, Isfield, comprising about 120 acres, he inherited from his father. He subsequently purchased the small property called Oaklands, in the same parish, and in 1878 he became the possessor of the Mountfield estate at Lewes, including the Convent garden, and the ground commonly known as the "Dripping Pan," besides several farms, containing in the aggregate about 366 acres, in the parishes of Warbleton and Hurstmonceaux. In 1880 he became the purchaser of the property known as Barcombe Mill Farm, situate in Barcombe, Sussex.

Joseph, second son of George Molineux, senior, married 20^th October, 1857, Caroline, daughter of the Rev. E. Symons, Rector of Ringmer, Sussex, and died in 1876, leaving several daughters.

Thomas, the third son, S.C.L. of Trinity College, Oxford, was some time Rector of Waberthwaite, Cumberland.

Charles, the fifth son, and Apsley Brett, the youngest, both died unmarried.

Benjamin Molineux, fifth and youngest son of John Molineux the elder, of Wolverhampton, established himself as a merchant and banker in his native town, and died in 1772 at his residence, Molineux House, leaving by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of —— Fieldhouse, an only son, George, and two daughters, the eldest of whom, Sarah, became the wife of Lewis Clutterbuck, of Ford House, Byshbury, Wolverhampton, second son of Daniel Clutterbuck, a banker at Bath, and nephew of Bryan Edwards, M.P. Mary, the second daughter, married her cousin, Richard Molineux, banker, of Wolverhampton.

George, only son of Benjamin Molineux, succeeded his father as a banker and iron merchant at Dudley and Wolverhampton. He was a magistrate for Staffordshire, and filled the ofice of High Sheriff for the county in 1791, being the first inhabitant of Wolverhampton upon whom the honour was conferred, the next instance being that of James Hordern, Esq., partner in the banking house of Hordern, Molineux & Co., who filled the office in 1823. George Molineux married Jane, daughter of —— Robinson, and died at Molineux House, 22^nd September, 1820, leaving issue:—George Fieldhouse, of whom hereafter; Benjamin, who died unmarried; John Edmondson, who died 23^rd February, 1851, unmarried; Richard, who died at Ryton in 1841; William Hamilton, Vicar of Sheriff Hales, Co. Stafford (to which living he was presented in 1823 by the Marquis of Stafford), Perpetual Curate of Acton and Bednal, in the same county, and a Prebendary of the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, Wolverhampton, who died, unmarried, 29^th September, 1831; Charles Henry, banker at Dudley and Wolverhampton, and a Justice of the Peace for the counties of Stafford and Worcester, who died at Bath, unmarried, the 11^th February, 1848; and three daughters, Harriet, Sarah, and Sophia, who all died unmarried.

George Fieldhouse Molineux, M.A. of Christchurch, Oxford, was presented to the rectory of Ryton, Co. Salop, in 1798, which he held for upwards of forty years; he also held the perpetual curacy of Acton Fussell, Co. Stafford, to which he was instituted in 1806; was Prebendary of Wobaston, in the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, Wolverhampton, one of the chaplains to George IV. And a magistrate for Staffordshire. He was also one of the trustees of the Wolverhampton Free Grammar School. He died the 30^th September, 1840, and was buried at Ryton. By his wife, Maria, daughter of William Hardman, of Manchester, he had issue—

George William, of Middleton, Co. Lancaster, ob. 1846 unmarried.

William Hardman, senior fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, and Rector of Elmsett, Suffolk, who married Elizabeth, second daughter of Edward Pemberton, J.P., of Plas Issa, Co. Flint, by whom he had two sons, William Pemberton and George William Frank (of Trinity College, Doublin, Curate of Oakford, Devonshire); and a daughter, Emily Constance.

Thomas, of Beechfield, Bowden, Co. Cheshire, silk spinner, who married Mary, daughter of William Lomas, of Manchester, and had issue—Thomas Hardman, George William, John, Emily (married 3^rd February, 1874, to the Rev. John Barrett Faussett, M.A.), Fanny, Eliza, and Alice Mary (married in 1869 to the Rev. John Trew, son of the Venerable —— Trew, Archdeacon of the Bahammas).

John Hardman, of Normanton, Co. York, who married Sarah, daughter of —— Shiston, and died in 1875, without issue.

Charles Edward, of whom hereafter.

James Hardman, who died in 1817.

Richard Henry, who died in 1833.

Maria, who died inmarried in 1853.

Emily, wife of the Rev. John Lomas, of Manchester, merchant, who died a widow, April, 1880, leaving a son, George Henry, who married 14^th August, 1873, Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Bluett, of the Isle of Man.

Eliza Jane, and Fanny, both unmarried.

Charles Edward Molineux, of Oakley, near Penkridge, Co. Stafford, was born at Ryton Rectory, and received his education at Brewood Grammar School. He passed his examination for the profession of a solicitor, but never practised. In 1860 he joined the 27^th (Patshull) Corps of the Staffordshire Rifle Volunteers, of which he was a lieutenant until shortly before his death, and was a Justice of the Peace for Worcestershire and Staffordshire. He married, 15^th March, 1845, Jane, only daughter of Orson Bidwell, of Albrighton, Co. Salop, by whom he had issue an only child, Mary Jane, wife of Frederick Staples Browne, barrister-at-law, J.P., of Brashfield House, Bicester, Oxfordshire. Charles Edward Molineux died at Oakley, the 3^rd of November, 1880, in his seventieth year, and was buried at Albrighton. The funeral cortege was met at Donnington Bridge by all the non-commissioned officers of the Putshull Volunteers, and by a number of private carriages, including that of the Earl of Dartmouth.

The family residence of the Molineuxes at Wolverhampton, known as Molineux House, was purchased by Benjamin Molineux in 1744, and from him descended to his son George; at which time Shaw, in his History of Staffordshire, mentions it as "a large house with excellent gardens, commanding a beautiful view of Tettenhall and the adjoining country." Pitt also, in his Topographical History of the county, published in 1817, states that beyond the house built by the Giffords of Chillington, "is another spacious mansion with excellent walled gardens, which commands a beautiful prospect to the west, and is the residence of the Molineux family."

Charles Henry, youngest son of George Molineux, purchased the property of the treustees under his father's will. At his death, in 1848, it passed to his brother, John Edmonson Molineux, by whom it was subsequently sold.

The building for the South Staffordshire Exhibition, at Wolverhampton, opened by Lord Granville 11^th May, 1869, was erected on an elevated part of the ground above the terrace, adjoining the house.