He was the second son and heir of
John Rashleigh (1554–1624), MP for Fowey in 1588. He married twice. His first marriage was on 17 December 1614, to Anne Basset (c. 1595 – 1631), eldest daughter of Sir
Robert Basset (1573–1641)[5] of
Umberleigh and
Heanton Punchardon in Devon, MP for
Plymouth in 1593, by his wife Elizabeth Periam (1571–1635), the second daughter and co-heiress of Sir
William Peryam,
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. By Anne he had five children including:
John Rashleigh (1621–1651), who pre-deceased his father,[6] whose mural monument exists in
Kenton Church. Devon.[7] He married Joan Pollexfen (died 1668), daughter of John Pollexfen of Mothecombe, Devon, and was the father of
Jonathan Rashleigh II (1642–1702), of Menabilly, many times MP for Fowey and
Sheriff of Cornwall in 1687
Alice Rashleigh, wife of Sir
Peter Courtney (c.1616 – 1670), MP, of Trethurfe, Cornwall.
His second marriage was in 1633 to Mary Harris (died 1674), daughter of John Harris of Radford, near Plymouth, Devon.[6]
Rashleigh died on 1 May 1675[6] and was succeeded by his grandson Jonathan Rashleigh (1642–1702), of Menabilly, many times MP for Fowey and
Sheriff of Cornwall in 1687.
Career
Rashleigh was elected
Member of Parliament for
Fowey in 1614, 1621 and 1625.[2] In 1627 he served as
Sheriff of Cornwall.
In April 1640 he was re-elected MP for Fowey for the
Short Parliament and re-elected in November 1640 for the
Long Parliament.}[3] He supported the King in the Civil War and was disabled from sitting in parliament in 1644. He was bankrupted by penalties imposed on his estate and imprisoned in
St Mawes castle. His fortunes were repaired at the
Restoration in 1660. He was elected once more MP for Fowey to the
Cavalier Parliament in 1661 and sat until his death at the age of 83.[8]
Notes
^Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain, vol.1
^
abcBurke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, p.1891, pedigree of Rashleigh of Menabilly
^Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959 (first published 1954), p.419
Vivian, J.L., ed. (1895). The Visitations of the County of Devon, Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564, & 1620. With additions by Lieutenant-Colonel J. L. Vivian. Exeter: Henry S. Eland.