John Butler, 15th Earl of Ormonde

Last updated

John Butler
Earl of Ormonde
Tenure1758–1766 de jure
Predecessor Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran,
Successor Walter Butler, 16th Earl of Ormonde,
Bornc.1720
probably Kilcash Castle
Died25 July 1766
Spouse(s)Bridget Stacey
Issue
Detail
The marriage was childless
Father Thomas Butler of Garryricken
Mother Margaret Magennis

John Butler (died 1766), known as John Butler of Kilcash, a member of the Irish landed gentry, was de jure15th Earl of Ormond and 8th Earl of Ossory. He did not assume these titles as he thought them forfeit by the attainder of the 2nd Duke of Ormond. He did, however, inherit the Ormond estate from the 1st Earl of Arran through Arran's sister Amelia. In 1791, the title of Earl of Ormond would be successfully claimed by his cousin, the 17th Earl.

Contents

Birth and origins

Family tree
John Butler with wife, parents, and other selected relatives. [lower-alpha 1]
Thomas
Viscount
Thurles

d. 1619
d.v.p.*
Elizabeth
Pointz

1587–1673
James
1st Duke
Ormond

1610–1688
Elizabeth
Preston

1630–1684
Richard
of
Kilcash

1615–1701
Frances
Tuchet
Thomas
6th Earl
Ossory

1633–1680
d.v.p.*
Emilia
von
Nassau

1635–1688
Walter
of
Garryricken

d. 1700
d.v.p.*
Mary
Plunkett
James
2nd Duke
Ormond

1665–1745
Charles
1st Earl
Arran

1671–1758
Amelia
Butler

d. 1760
Thomas
of
Garryricken

d. 1738
Colonel
Margaret
Magennis

1673–1744
John
Butler
Thomas
Butler

1686–1689
John
de jure
15th Earl
Ormond

d. 1766
Bridget
Stacey
Walter
de jure
16th Earl
Ormond

1703–1783
John
17th Earl
Ormond

1740–1795
Anne
Wandesford

1754–1830
Legend
XXXSubject of
the article
XXX Earls and dukes
of Ormond
*d.v.p. = predeceased his father (decessit vita patris).

John was born about 1720, [lower-alpha 2] probably at Kilcash Castle, his parents' habitual residence. He was the third but only surviving son of Thomas Butler of Garryricken and his wife Margaret Magennis. His father belonged to a cadet branch of the Butler Dynasty, being the grandson and heir of Richard Butler of Kilcash, who was the younger brother of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond. The Butlers were Old English and descended from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177. [9]

John's mother was the eldest daughter of William Burke, 7th Earl of Clanricarde and widow of Bryan Magennis, 5th Viscount of Iveagh. His parents were both Catholic. They had married in 1696. [7] John had two brothers and five sisters, which are listed in his father's article.

Inheritances and successions

In 1738 his father died. [8] John inherited Kilcash and other parts of the lands of Garryricken Manor, which had been created for his grandfather Richard Butler of Kilcash shortly after 1639 [10] and had been divided between his father and his uncle John, who held Garryricken House itself. He did not inherit any title as his father held none.

In 1758, on the death of the 1st Earl of Arran, his father's second cousin, he unknowingly became de jure the 15th Earl of Ormond. [11] [12] [lower-alpha 3] It had been believed that all the titles of James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormond became forfeit in 1715. [13] However, in 1791, it would be found that the title of "Earl of Ormond" (and its subsidiary titles) in the peerage of Ireland had merely lain dormant and so could be successfully revived by John Butler's cousin, John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde.

Following the second Duke's attainder, the Ormond estate was administrated by the Forfeited Estates Commissioners. With the permission of the Parliament of Ireland, the estate was purchased in 1721 by the second Duke's brother, Charles, the Earl of Arran. [14] Arran died childless in 1758. The estate passed to his unmarried sister Lady Amelia Butler, who held it for about two years. On her death in 1760, the estate was inherited by John Butler, the subject of this article. [15] [16]

Marriage

John Butler married Bridget Stacey on 19 April 1763, [17] but the marriage was childless. [18]

Death and succession

He died on 24 June 1766 [lower-alpha 4] and was buried at Kilcash. [21] He was succeeded by his cousin Walter, the son of his uncle John, [21] who unknowingly became de jure the 16th Earl of Ormond.

Timeline
As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages.
AgeDateEvent
01720, about [lower-alpha 2] Born at Kilcash Castle.
6–71727, 11 JunAccession of King George II, succeeding King George I [22]
17–181738 Father died. [8]
23–241744 Mother died. [23]
37–381758, 17 DecUnknowingly became the 15th Earl of Ormond (de jure) at Arran's death. [11]
39–401760Inherited the Ormond estates from Amelia, Arran's unmarried sister. [15]
39–401760, 25 OctAccession of King George III, succeeding King George II [24]
42–431763, 19 AprMarried Bridget Stacey. [17]
45–461766, 24 JunDied childless. [18]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. This family tree is derived from two published trees, [1] [2] and classical genealogical sources. [3] [4] [5] [6] Also see the list of siblings in the text.
  2. 1 2 His birth date is constrained by the marriage of his parents (1696) [7] plus the gestations of his two elder brothers on one hand, and his father's death (1738) plus his gestation on the other hand. [8]
  3. Burke [11] numbers him as the 15th Earl, but Cokayne [12] numbers him as the 16th.
  4. The year 1766 [19] [18] is correct as the year of his death, whereas 1786 [20] seems to be an error.

Citations

  1. Dunboyne 1968, pp.  16–17. "Butler Family Tree condensed"
  2. Mountmorres 1792, p.  216. Pedigree from Walter, 10th Earl, to John, 15th Earl, in note
  3. Burke & Burke 1915, p.  1549–1452. Genealogy of the earls and dukes of Ormond
  4. Debrett 1828, p.  641–642. Genealogy of the earls and dukes of Ormonde
  5. Cokayne 1895, p.  149–153. Genealogy of the earls and dukes of Ormonde
  6. Cokayne 1926, p.  385–390. "Genealogy of the earls of Fingall"
  7. 1 2 Cokayne 1893, p.  200, line 16. "[His mother] who was b. 1673, m. in 1696 Thomas Butler of Kilcash, co. Tipperary ..."
  8. 1 2 3 Debrett 1828, p.  642. "Thomas of Kilcash ... d. 1738 ...."
  9. Debrett 1828, p.  640. "Theobald le Boteler on whom that office [Chief Butler of Ireland] was conferred by King Henry II., 1177 ..."
  10. Carrigan 1905, p.  318, line 21. "... these townlands to be created the Manor of Garryrickin."
  11. 1 2 3 Burke & Burke 1915, p.  1551, left column, line 20. "John, 15th Earl of Ormonde (de jure) ..."
  12. 1 2 Cokayne 1895, p.  153, line 6. "Earldom [I.] XVI 1758"
  13. Smollett 1800, p.  314. "On the twenty-first day of June, Mr. Secretary Stanhope impeached James Duke of Ormond, of high-treason ..."
  14. Handley 2004, p.  166, right column. "His English and Irish estates were now administrated by the forfeited estates commissioners until a private act of 1721 allowed Ormond's brother Arran to buy them back."
  15. 1 2 Burke & Burke 1915, p.  1551, left column, line 21. "He s. [succeeded] to the estates of the family upon the death of the Earl of Arran's only surv. [surviving] sister Elizabeth, 1760"
  16. Dunboyne 1968, p.  18. "While the 2nd Duke was in exile, his estates were bought in 1721 by his brother, the Earl of Arran, and settled first on their sister, Lady Amelia Butler, who inherited them when, in the words of Walpole 'a young heiress of 99'— she died two months short of her centenary — and secondly on John Butler of Kilcash, the representative of Richard, younger brother of the 1st Duke."
  17. 1 2 Burke & Burke 1915, p.  1451, left column, line 23. "He m. [married] April, 1763 Bridget Stacey (who m. secondly 24 Oct. 1771 Rev. Alleyne Waller, LL.D, of The Hermitage, Surrey) of Oakingham Berks. ..."
  18. 1 2 3 Lodge 1789, p.  42, line 34. "... he [John Butler] died 24 Jun 1766 without issue ..."
  19. Burke & Burke 1915, p.  1551, left column, line 25. "[John Butler] d. [died] 24 June 1766, when he was s. [succeeded] in his estates, and his right to the honours of the family by his first cousin."
  20. Cokayne 1895, p.  153, line 15. "He [John Butler] d.s.p. [died without issue] 24 June 1786."
  21. 1 2 Dunboyne 1968, p.  19. "Having died childless in 1766, he [John Butler] was buried at Kilcash and was succeeded by his first cousin, Walter, then aged 63.
  22. Fryde et al. 1986, p.  46, line 11. "George II … acc. 11 Jun. 1727;"
  23. Cokayne 1893, p.  200, line 17. "[His mother] d. there (a widow) 19 July 1744."
  24. Fryde et al. 1986, p.  46, line 35. "George III … acc. 25 Oct. 1760;"

Sources

Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Earl of Ormond
Earl of Ossory

1758–1766
Succeeded by

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde</span> Irish politician and soldier (1665–1745)

James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, (1665–1745) was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom of Ormond. Like his grandfather, the 1st Duke, he was raised as a Protestant, unlike his extended family who held to Roman Catholicism. He served in the campaign to put down the Monmouth Rebellion, in the Williamite War in Ireland, in the Nine Years' War and in the War of the Spanish Succession but was accused of treason and went into exile after the Jacobite rising of 1715.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond</span> Anglo-Irish viceroy (1610–1688)

Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, KG, PC, was an Anglo-Irish statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond from 1634 to 1642 and Marquess of Ormond from 1642 to 1661. Following the failure of the senior line of the Butler family, he was the second representative of the Kilcash branch to inherit the earldom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory</span> Irish soldier (1634–1680)

Vice-Admiral Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory, KG, PC, PC (Ire) was an Irish soldier and politician. He was the eldest son of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond but predeceased his father and therefore never succeeded as duke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond</span> Protestant Irish lord (died 1614)

Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond and 3rd Earl of OssoryPC (Ire), was an influential courtier in London at the court of Elizabeth I. He was Lord Treasurer of Ireland from 1559 to his death. He fought for the crown in the Rough Wooing, the Desmond Rebellions, and Tyrone's Rebellion. He fought his rival, Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond in the Battle of Affane in 1565.

John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde, 10th Earl of Ossory (1740–1795) was an Irish peer and Member of Parliament (MP). He became a Protestant in 1764. He was an Irish MP, representing Gowran between 1776 and 1783, and Kilkenny City between 1783 and 1792. In 1791, his right to the peerage was acknowledged in the Irish House of Lords and he became the 17th Earl of Ormond.

Walter Butler (1703–1783), also known as Walter Butler of Kilcash, and Walter Butler of Garryricken, was the de jure16th Earl of Ormond and 9th Earl of Ossory. He did not assume these titles, as he thought them forfeit as a result of the attainder of the 2nd Duke of Ormonde. In the peerage of Ireland, the titles were successfully claimed in 1791 by his son John, the 17th Earl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran</span> Irish peer and soldier (1671–1758)

Lieutenant-General Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran, de jure3rd Duke of Ormonde (1671–1758) was an Anglo-Irish peer. His uncle Richard was the 1st Earl of Arran of the first creation. The titles were re-created for Charles in 1693. His elder brother, the 2nd Duke of Ormonde, was attainted during the Jacobite rising of 1715, but in 1721 Arran was allowed to buy the estate back. At the death of the 2nd Duke, he succeeded as de jure 3rd Duke of Ormonde in the Irish peerage but did not claim the title.

Sir Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond and 4th Earl of Ossory (1559–1633), succeeded his uncle Black Tom, the 10th earl, in 1614. He was called "Walter of the Beads" because he was a devout Catholic, whereas his uncle had been a Protestant. King James I intervened and awarded most of the inheritance to his uncle's Protestant daughter Elizabeth. Ormond contested the King's decision and was for that insolence detained in the Fleet Prison from 1619 until 1625 when he submitted to the King's ruling. He then found a means to reunite the Ormond estate, by marrying his grandson James, who had been raised a Protestant, to Elizabeth's only daughter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond</span> Irish nobleman (died 1546)

James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond and 2nd Earl of Ossory, known as the Lame, was in 1541 confirmed as Earl of Ormond thereby ending the dispute over the Ormond earldom between his father, Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, and Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire. Butler died from poison in London.

John Butler, Earl of Gowran (1643–1677) was an MP in the Irish Parliament 1661–1666 before being created Earl of Gowran in 1676. He married but died childless.

Christopher Plunket, 2nd Earl of Fingall and 11th Baron Killeen was an Irish politician and soldier. In 1641 he negotiated with the rebels on behalf of the Old English of the Pale and pushed them to join the rebellion. He fought for the rebels at the siege of Drogheda. He joined the Confederates and fought in their Leinster army, notably at Dungan's Hill. When the Confederates fused into the Royalist Alliance, he fought under James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond in the Battle of Rathmines where he was wounded and taken prisoner. He died of his wounds two weeks later in captivity at Dublin Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran</span> Irish earl and English baron ()1639–1686

Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran (1639–1686) was Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1682 to 1684 while James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, his father, the Lord Lieutenant, was absent in England. He sat in the Irish House of Lords as Earl of Arran and in the English one as Baron Butler of Weston. When William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford was accused of treason during the Popish Plot, Arran braved the anti-Catholic hysteria and voted not guilty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Butler of Kilcash</span> Irish landowner and soldier (died 1570)

John Butler of Kilcash was an Irish landowner and soldier. A younger son of James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond and brother of Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond, he received Kilcash Castle as appanage. He fought in the Desmond–Ormond conflict and was badly wounded in 1563, just before the Battle of Affane. He was the start-point of the Kilcash branch of the Ormonds and the father of Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond.

Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles was the son and heir apparent of Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond (1559–1633), whom he predeceased. He lived at the Westgate Castle in Thurles, County Tipperary. He was accused of treason but drowned in a shipwreck off the Skerries in the Irish Sea, before he could be judged. He was the father of the Irish statesman and Royalist commander James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butler dynasty</span> Noble family of Ireland

Butler is the name of a noble family whose members were, for several centuries, prominent in the administration of the Lordship of Ireland and the Kingdom of Ireland. They rose to their highest prominence as Dukes of Ormonde. The family has produced multiple titles such as Baron Cahir, Baron Dunboyne, Viscount Ikerrin, Viscount Galmoye, Viscount Mountgarret, Viscount Thurles, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Kilkenny, Earl of Ormond, Earl of Ossory, Marquess of Ormonde and Duke of Ormonde. Variant spellings of the name include le Boteler and le Botiller. The Butlers were descendants of Anglo-Norman lords who participated in the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. The surname has its origins in the hereditary office of "Butler (cup-bearer) of Ireland", originating with Theobald Walter, 1st Chief Butler of Ireland. The arms of later family members depicted three cups in recognition of their original office.

Richard Butler of Kilcash (1615–1701) was an Irish soldier and landowner, the third son of Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles and brother of James, 1st Duke of Ormonde. He sided with the Irish Confederacy at the Irish Rebellion of 1641. He scouted the enemy on the morning of the Battle of Cloughleagh. His descendants succeeded to the earldom of Ormond when the senior branch of the family failed in 1758.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Butler of Garryricken</span> Irish Jacobite soldier (died 1738)

Colonel Thomas Butler of Garryricken, also known as Thomas Butler of Kilcash was an Irish Jacobite soldier. He commanded a regiment, Thomas Butler's foot, during the Williamite War and fought at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691 where he was taken captive. His son John would, de jure, become the 15th Earl of Ormond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth, Lady Thurles</span> Mother of the 1st Duke of Ormond (1587–1673)

Elizabeth Poyntz (1587–1673), known as Lady Thurles, was the mother of the Irish statesman and Royalist commander James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde.

Margaret Magennis, Viscountess Iveagh, also known as Margaret Butler, was the mother of John Butler, the de jure 15th Earl of Ormond. She is remembered by the song A Lament for Kilcash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Butler, Duchess of Ormond</span> Irish duchess (1615–1684)

Elizabeth Butler, Duchess of Ormond and 2nd Baroness Dingwall reunited the Ormond estate as her maternal grandfather, Black Tom, 10th Earl of Ormond had it, by marrying James Butler, later Duke of Ormond, her second cousin once removed. She had inherited her share of the Ormond estate through her mother, Elizabeth Preston, who was Black Tom's daughter and only surviving child. Her husband had inherited his share from his grandfather Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond, Black Tom's successor in the earldom. Her share was the bigger one and included Kilkenny Castle.