John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl Of Upper Ossory

John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory, FRS, DL (2 May [O.S. 21 April] 1745 – 13 February 1818), was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician. He was born at his family's residence in Berkeley Square, Mayfair. His father was John FitzPatrick, 2nd Baron Gowran, and his mother was Lady Evelyn Leveson-Gower, daughter of John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower. He was the eldest son and had a younger brother, Richard FitzPatrick, who became a notable statesman and soldier, and two younger sisters, Lady Mary and Lady Louisa.

In 1751, his father was elevated to the earldom of Upper Ossory, making him the 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory at the age of approximately 13 following his father's death in 1758. As the titles were in the Irish peerage, he did not have a seat in the British House of Lords. His mother later remarried politician Richard Vernon and had additional children.

FitzPatrick was elected to the British House of Commons representing Bedfordshire in 1767 and served until 1794. He was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, a position he held from 1771 until 1818. His military involvement included a commission as captain in the Bedfordshire Militia in 1760 during the Seven Years' War; he later assumed the colonelcy of the regiment when he became Lord Lieutenant. The regiment was mobilized during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. He resigned from the colonelcy in 1795 but remained as Lord Lieutenant.

In 1794, he was granted the title of Baron Upper Ossory in the Peerage of Great Britain, with the territorial designation of Ampthill in Bedfordshire. This peerage allowed him to sit in the House of Lords.

In 1763, FitzPatrick traveled to Italy with bibliophile Topham Beauclerk, acquiring old-master paintings and commissioning works from Gavin Hamilton. He is believed to have been a patron of artist John Higton, as evidenced by Higton's 1810 painting "Dogs at Ampthill Park."

His personal associations included friendships with Charles James Fox, similar to his younger brother Richard. His half-sister, Lady Mary FitzPatrick, was married to Stephen Fox, 2nd Baron Holland, who was Charles Fox's older brother. Following the death of his nephew Henry Vassall-Fox, FitzPatrick acted as a paternal figure for him.

FitzPatrick engaged in an extramarital affair with Anne FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton, whom he met in Europe in early 1763. The Duchess, separated from her husband Augustus Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, had begun an affair with another man in 1764 and gave birth to FitzPatrick’s daughter, Anne, in August 1768. The Duke of Grafton sued for divorce in 1769, which was granted by Act of Parliament. Subsequently, FitzPatrick married the Duchess three days after her divorce, in 1769. Elizabeth Wrottesley, daughter of his aunt Lady Mary Leveson-Gower, was his second wife; she and FitzPatrick had two daughters, Lady Gertrude in 1774 and one more surviving daughter.

The Countess of Upper Ossory lived largely in seclusion at Ampthill due to social restrictions on divorcées. She died in 1804. FitzPatrick later fathered two illegitimate children with Elizabeth Wilson, an Elizabeth Wilson, in London. These children were raised with the oversight of his nephew Henry Vassall-Fox and the half-sisters, Lady Anne and Lady Gertrude.

He died in February 1818 at the age of 72, following which his titles—earldom and baronies—became extinct. His estates, including Ampthill Park, were inherited by his nephew Henry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland. His illegitimate children inherited estates at various locations, and some were elevated to peerage; for instance, his son John inherited Irish estates and was created Baron Castletown in 1869. His daughter Emma Mary inherited estates at Fermyn Woods, Lyvedon, and Grafton, and married Robert Vernon, later Baron Lyveden, in 1823.

He had three daughters with Anne Liddell: Lady Anne FitzPatrick, Lady Mary (who died in infancy), and Lady Gertrude FitzPatrick. His three illegitimate children with Elizabeth Wilson were Emma Mary Wilson, John Wilson (later FitzPatrick), and Richard Wilson, who died young.