Redmond Conyngham (1719-1784)

He was the eldest son of Captain David Conyngham of Ballyherrin and Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. He was a relation of Derry-born General Walter Stewart, of Philadelphia and through his sister, Mrs Mary (Conyngham) Plunket, he was the uncle of William Conyngham Plunket (1764-1854), 1st Baron Plunket & Lord Chancellor of Ireland who rose to prominence restored to prominence as the prosecuting counsel in the treason trial of Robert Emmet, brother of New York's Attorney-General, Thomas Emmet. Conyngham came to Philadelphia in 1740 where he established himself as a successful shipping merchant in partnership with John Maxwell Nesbitt as Conyngham & Nesbitt. Having secured his fortune, he returned to Ireland in 1766 where he died but still retained his interests in the shipping business he established.