Brinsley Butler, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough
Brinsley Butler, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough, PC (Ire) (4 March 1728 – 24 January 1779), styled The Honourable until 1756 and Lord Newtown-Butler from 1756 to 1768, was an Irish politician and peer. He was the son of Humphrey Butler, 1st Earl of Lanesborough and Mary Berry, daughter of Richard Berry. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Lanesborough in 1768.
From 1751 until 1768, he was a Member of Parliament (MP), or 'Knight of the Shire', for Cavan County in the Irish House of Commons, and was High Sheriff of Westmeath in 1763.
He was also a freemason and was Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ireland from 1753–56 and elected Grand Master in 1757, a post he held until the following year.[1]
Family
He married Lady Jane Rochfort, daughter of Robert Rochfort, 1st Earl of Belvedere and his second wife Mary Molesworth. Their children were :
- Robert, 3rd Earl of Lanesborough
- Augustus, father of George Butler-Danvers, 5th Earl of Lanesborough
- Mary, who married George Ponsonby, Lord Chancellor of Ireland
- Catherine, who married George Marlay, an army officer, only son of George Marlay, Bishop of Dromore
- Charlotte, who married Hugh Debbing
- Caroline
- Sophia, who married Luigi, Marquis Marescotti of Milan.[2]
His widow moved to Italy with her unmarried daughters, and there she gained an unenviable reputation for immorality and extravagance: in 1786 she fled from Naples to avoid being arrested for debt.[3] When her daughter Sophia married a Milanese nobleman, the Marquis Marescotti, Emma, Lady Hamilton asked unkindly if the mother had sold the daughter off to pay her debts.[4] She remarried John King, who had reputedly been her lover for some time, and died in 1828.[5]
Arms
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References
- Waite, Arthur Edward (2007). A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. vol. I. Cosimo, Inc. p. 400. ISBN 978-1-60206-641-0.
- Fraser, Fiona Beloved Emma:the life of Emma, Lady Hamilton Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1986
- Fraser Beloved Emma
- Fraser
- Fraser
| Parliament of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Coote I John Maxwell |
Member of Parliament for Cavan County 1751–1768 With: John Maxwell 1751–1756 Hon. Barry Maxwell 1756–1761 Charles Coote II 1761–1766 William Stewart 1766–1768 |
Succeeded by Hon. Barry Maxwell George Montgomery |
| Masonic offices | ||
| Preceded by Hon. Thomas George Southwell |
Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland 1757–1758 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Drogheda |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| Preceded by Humphrey Butler |
Earl of Lanesborough 1768–1779 |
Succeeded by Robert Butler |