Richard Chenevix (1698 – 11 September 1779) was Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. He was the grandfather of Melesina Trench and was responsible for her upbringing after she was orphaned, until his death.
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Family
Chenevix was the son of Major Philip Chenevix of the guards, and grandson of Reverend Philip Chenevix. Philip Chenevix had been the Protestant pastor of Limay, had settled in England after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes as his brother had been murdered because of his religion.
He had a daughter Phillipa Melosina who married Henry Alcock, who became M.P. for Waterford. She died giving birth to a son, 14 May 1765.
He also had a son Philip Chenevix, who married Mary Elizabeth Gervais, and they had a single child, Melesina, in 1768. Both Philip and Mary died before Melesina's fourth birthday, and she was sent to live with her grandfather. He looked after her until his death when she was eleven. He determined that she had a promise of genius and rejected traditional female education as inappropriate for her, instead he encouraged her to read as much as possible, and she explored his library. When he died Melesina was his sole heir.
Life
Chenevix was educated at Bishop's Stortford School and Peterhouse, Cambridge, being admitted in 1713, graduating BA in 1717, MA in 1732, DD in 1744.