John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde

John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde, 10th Earl of Ossory (1740–1795) was an Irish peer and Member of Parliament (MP). He represented 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.[1]

John Butler
Earl of Ormonde
Reign1783–1795
PredecessorWalter, 16th Earl of Ormonde
SuccessorWalter, 1st Marquess of Ormonde
Born10 December 1740
Garryricken
Died25 or 30 December 1795
Kilkenny Castle
Spouse(s)Anne Wandesford
Issue
Walter, James, & others
FatherWalter, 16th Earl of Ormonde
MotherEllen Morres

Birth and origins

John was born on 10 December 1740[2] at Garryricken.[3] He was one of the 4 children, and the only son, of Walter Butler and his wife Ellen Morres.[4] His father was the de jure 16th Earl of Ormond. His family, the Butler dynasty, was Old English and descended from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177.[5] John's mother was a daughter of Nicholas Morres of the Court, County Dublin, granddaughter of Sir John Morres, 7th Baronet Morres of Knockagh.[6][7]

Family tree
John Butler with wife, parents, and other selected relatives.
Walter
of
Garryricken

d. 1700
Mary
Plunket
Thomas
of
Garryricken

d. 1738
Colonel
Margaret
Magennis

1673–1744
John
Butler
Frances
Butler
John
de jure
15th Earl

d. 1766
Walter
de jure
16th Earl

1703–1783
Ellen
Morres

d. 1794
John
17th Earl
1740–1795
Anne
Wandesford

1754–1830
Walter
1st
Marquess

1770–1820
Anna
Clarke

d. 1817
James
1st
Marquess

1777–1838
Louisa
Staples
John
2nd
Marquess

1808–1854
Frances
Jane
Paget
Legend
XXXJohn
Butler
XXXEarls and dukes
of Ormond
This family tree is partly derived from the condensed Butler family tree pictured in Dunboyne.[8] Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.

Conforms and marries a Protestant heiress

On 16 December 1764 he conformed to the established Church of Ireland in a ceremony performed in the church of Golden, County Tipperary.[13] In other words: he became a Protestant.

In February 1769 he married Anne Elizabeth Wandesford, who was also known as Frances Susan Elizabeth.[14][15] She was a rich heiress being the only surviving child of John Wandesford the 1st Earl Wandesford and 5th Viscount Castlecomer. The Wandesfords were Protestants and had supported the Prince of Orange during the Williamite War in Ireland. They owned land and coal mines around Castlecomer in northern County Kilkenny. When the Earl of Wandesford died in 1784, his titles became extinct, but his estates passed to John Butler.[16]

The couple had five children:

  1. Walter (1770–1820), who became the 1st Marquess of Ormonde in the Peerage of Ireland;[17]
  2. James (1777–1838), who also became the 1st Marquess of Ormonde but in the Peerage of the United Kingdom;
  3. Charles Harward (1781–1860), who married firstly Lady Sarah Butler, daughter of Henry Thomas Butler, 2nd Earl of Carrick and, secondly, Lucy French, daughter of Arthur French;
  4. Eleanor (died 1859), who married Cornelius O’Callaghan, 1st Viscount Lismore (1775–1857) in 1808; and
  5. Elizabeth (died 1822), who married Thomas Kavanagh (1767–1837), The MacMorrough, in 1799.

Two inheritances

In 1783 his father died in Kilkenny Castle.[18] John inherits Kilkenny and the lands, notably those that his father had inherited from John Butler of Kilcash, the de jure 15th Earl of Ormond, in 1766.[19] In 1784 his father-in-law, the Earl of Wandesford died. His titles became extinct, but John inherits the land and the coal mines.[16]

Earl

In 1791 he claimed the title of Earl of Ormond, which was believed to have become extinct in 1715. The Irish House of Lords accepted this claim and he was restored to become the 17th Earl of Ormonde.[20][21]

Death and succession

He died on 25 or 30 December 1795 at Kilkenny Castle and was buried in Kilcash.[22][23] His widow died in Dublin in 1830.[24] He was succeeded by his son Walter, who was made a Marquess in 1816.

Ancestry

  • Walter Butler of Garryricken (Kilcash), eldest son of Richard, great-grandson of the 11 Earl.
  • John Butler of Garryricken, second son of Walter and brother of Colonel Thomas, grand-nephew of the 1st Duke.
  • John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde, son of the 16th Earl and of Ellen Morris.

See also

Notes and references

  1. Debrett's Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 2. 1825. p. 880.CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. Burke 1949, p. 1541, left column, line 18: "JOHN, 17th Earl of Ormonde, b. 10 Dec. 1740 ..."
  3. Carrigan 1905, p. 320, line 1: "John Butler of Kilkenny Castle. He was born in Garryricken, Dec. 10th 1740."
  4. Burke 1949, p. 1541, left column, line 14: "... [Walter Butler] had issue, with three daus., 1. JOHN, 17th Earl."
  5. Debrett 1828, p. 640: "THEOBALD LE BOTELER on whom that office [Chief Butler of Ireland] was conferred by King Henry II., 1177 ..."
  6. Burke 1949, p. 1541, left column, line 12: "[Walter Butler] m. 19 Dec. 1732 Ellen (d. Jan. 1794) dau. of Nicholas Morres, of Lataragh, co. Tipperary, and grand-dau. of Sir John Morres, 7th Bt., of Knockagh ..."
  7. Cokayne 1895, p. 153, line 22: "He m., 19 Dec. 1732, Eleanor 1st da. of Nicholas MORRIS, of the Court, co. Dublin, and of Lataragh, co. Tipperary."
  8. Dunboyne 1968, pp. 16–17: "Butler Family Tree condensed"
  9. Cracroft's Peerage: Ormonde
  10. Carrigan 1905, p. 319, line 37: "... Susanna, born Sept. 8th 1733, married Thomas Kavanagh, of Borris;"
  11. Mavor 2004, p. 129: "Butler, Lady (Charlotte) Eleanor (1739–1828), elder of the two Ladies of Llangollen, was born at Cambrai, the youngest daughter of Walter of Garryricken (1703–1783) ..."
  12. Dunboyne 1968, p. 19, line 15: "His daughter, Eleanor Butler, and her friend Sarah Ponsonby, lived in excentric seclusion together, by one of the loveliest valleys of Wales, and were renowned as "The Ladies of Llangollen"."
  13. Carrigan 1905, p. 320, line 2: "On Sunday, Dec. 16th, 1764, he conformed to the Established church in the church of Golden, near Cachel, and was thus the first Protestant of his branch of the Butler family."
  14. Debrett 1828, p. 642, line 33: "JOHN BUTLER who claimed ... m. 26 Feb. 1769 , Anne da. & sole h. of John, earl of Wandesford ..."
  15. Burke 1949, p. 1541, left column, line 19: "He [John Butler] m. 14 Feb. 1769, Lady Frances Susan Elizabeth (d. 3 April, 1830) dau. and sole heiress of 1st and last Earl of Wandesford ..."
  16. Lodge 1789, p. 65: "... but his estates devolved on Mr. Butler (in right of Lady Anne)."
  17. Burke 1949, p. 1541, left column, line 51: "WALTER, Marquess of Ormonde and 18th Earl of Ormonde K.P. b. 5 feb. 1770, created MARQUESS OF ORMONDE in Ireland, and Baron Butler of Llanthony in England."
  18. Carrigan 1905, p. 319, line 35: "... [Walter Butler] died, in Kilkenny Castle, in 1783."
  19. 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.
  20. Burke & Burke 1838, p. 551: "Anne, m. 26 February, 1769, to John Butler, esq. of Garryricken, to whom the EARLDOM OF ORMONDE was restored by the House of Lords in Ireland in 1791."
  21. Carrigan 1905, p. 320, line 4: "In 1791 he was restored to the title of Earl of Ormonde which was supposed to have been extinguished since 1715."
  22. Debrett 1838, p. 523, right column, line 34: "The earl [John Butler] d. 30 Dec 1795, and was succeeded by his son ..."
  23. Carrigan 1905, p. 320, line 5: "He died at Kilkenny Castle on Christmas Day 1795 and is buried at Kilcash."
  24. Cokayne 1895, p. 153, line 33: "His widow d. 3 April 1830 in Dublin, aged 76."
Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by
Arthur Browne
Henry Prittie
Member of Parliament for Gowran
1776–1783
With: James Agar 1776–77
Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Bt 1777–83
Succeeded by
Hon. Henry Welbore Agar
George Dunbar
Preceded by
Gervase Parker Bushe
Eland Mossom
Member of Parliament for Kilkenny City
1783–1792
With: William Cuffe
Succeeded by
William Cuffe
Hon. John Wandesford Butler
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
Walter Butler
(de jure)
Earl of Ormonde
17831795
Succeeded by
Walter Butler
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