Prominent Irish family that owned lands in Meath and Westmeath Co., related to the families of Craggs, Cusack, Barnewalls, Palles, and Plunkett. Among the most well-known members of the family was Robert Nugent (ca. 1702-1788), 1st Earl Nugent, British politician and poet. He amassed large fortune mostly through profitable marriages to Emilia, daughter of Peter, 4th Earl of Fingal (1730-1731), Anne Craggs Newsham Knight (d. 1756), daughter of James Craggs and widow of John Knight, and Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Drax, 4th Earl of Berkely. He was MP for St. Mawes (1741-1754, 1774-1784) and Bristol (1754-1774) as a Whig until 1700, and a Tory thereafter; a Lord of the Treasury (1754-1759), Vice Treasurer of Ireland (1759-1765, 1768-1782), and First Lord of Trade (1766-1768). In 1747-1754, he also was the Comptroller of the Household of the Prince of Wales. In 1775 Nugent's eldest daughter and co-heiress, Mary Elizabeth, married George Grenville, afterwards 1st Marquis of Buckingham.
From the description of Nugent family papers, 1589-1875, (bulk 1670-1788). (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122386391
