Robert FitzRoy
Robert FitzRoy was born at Ampton Hall, Ampton, Suffolk, England, into the upper echelons of the British aristocracy and a tradition of public service. Through his father, General Lord Charles FitzRoy, Robert was a fourth great-grandson of Charles II of England; his paternal grandfather was Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton. His mother, Lady Frances Stewart, was the daughter of the first Marquess of Londonderry and the half-sister of Viscount Castlereagh, who became Foreign Secretary. From the age of four, Robert FitzRoy lived with his family at Wakefield Lodge, their Palladian mansion in Northamptonshire.
George Robert FitzGerald
FitzGerald came from Turlough, near Castlebar. He was of an upper-class family, nephew of the Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry, and was educated at Eton. A highly eccentric character, he is said to have become so after a blow to the head sometime in his 20s. Most of his life was spent on his paternal estate in Mayo. There he hunted by torchlight, terrified his friends by keeping bears and other ferocious animals as pets, erected a fort and set the law at defiance. He even held his father to ransom for a sum of £3,000. In 1770 he married Jane, daughter of William James Conolly, but the marriage effectively ended as soon as he had spent her dowry.