Walter Butler, 16th Earl of Ormonde

Walter Butler (1703–1783), also known as Walter Butler of Kilcash, and Walter Butler of Garryricken, was the de jure 16th 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.

For other people named Walter Butler, see Walter Butler (disambiguation).

Birth and origins

Walter was born on 10 June 1703,[1] probably at Garryricken House, the only son of John Butler and his wife Frances Butler. His father was the younger brother of Thomas Butler of Garryricken and part of a cadet branch of the Butler dynasty that started with Richard Butler of Kilcash (died 1701), a younger brother of the 1st Duke of Ormond. Walter's mother was a daughter of George Butler of Ballyragget, who belonged to another branch of the same wide-branched family. The Butler Dynasty is Old English and descends from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177.[2]

Family tree
Walter Butler with wife, parents, and other selected relatives.
Richard
of
Kilcash
1615–1701		Frances
Tuchet
Walter
of
Garryricken
d. 1700		Mary
Plunkett
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		Ann
Clarke		James
1st
Marquess
1777–1838		Louisa
Staples
Legend
XXXWalter
Butler		XXXEarls and marquesses
of Ormond
This family tree is partly derived from the condensed Butler family tree pictured in Dunboyne.[3] Also see the list of children in the text.

Marriage and children

On 19 December 1732 he married Ellen (Eleanor) Morres, eldest daughter of Nicholas Morres of the Court, County Dublin, granddaughter of Sir John Morres, 7th Baronet Morres of Knockagh.[4][5]

By his wife he had a son and three daughters:[6]

  1. Frances, married Morgan Kavanagh, of Ballyhale, County Kilkenny;[7]
  2. Susanna (born 1733), married Thomas Kavanagh, The MacMorrough in 1755;[8]
  3. Eleanor Charlotte (1739–1829), was the elder of the two Ladies of Llangollen;[9][10] and
  4. John (1740–1795), became the 17th Earl of Ormonde.[11]

Inheritances and succession

He inherited his father's estate at an unknown time near the middle of the century and was then known as Walter Butler of Garryricken,[9] a member of the landed gentry.

In 1766, his cousin John Butler of Kilcash, the de-jure 15th Earl of Ormonde, died without an heir.[12] As a result, Walter Butler inherited the Ormond estate that his cousin had in turn inherited from Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran along with the lands that his cousin had inherited from Thomas Butler of Garryricken, his father. In consequence, the two halves of the lands of the Garryricken Manor were reunited in Walter's hand. It had been divided between his father and his uncle Thomas at the death of Richard Butler of Kilcash in 1701.

Unknowingly, Walter Butler also inherited his cousin's title and became de jure the 16th Earl of Ormond.[13][14][lower-alpha 1]

Kilkenny Castle

Having inherited the estates, Walter decided to move into Kilkenny Castle, which was in a dilapidated state. In 1769, his son John married the heiress Anne Wandesford of Castlecomer.[15][16] Walter and John spent much of her dowry on improving the castle. They re-routed the old approach road away from the castle, built a new road, and then landscaped and planted the Castle Park and the road much as it is today. They built the beautiful stables and courtyards across this road and finally Walter moved to his newly built dower house, Butler House beyond those stables.

Death and succession

Walter Butler died in Kilkenny Castle in 1783.[17][18] After his father's death, his son reclaimed the title of "Earl of Ormonde". This was confirmed in 1791. The Butlers rapidly re-established their position and prestige. They always owned large areas of land in counties Kilkenny and Tipperary, and now became the largest landowners in the south-east of Ireland.

Ancestry
  • John Butler of Garryricken, second son of Walter and brother of Colonel Thomas, grand-nephew of the 1st Duke.
  • Walter Butler, 16th Earl of Ormonde, son of John, great-great-great-grandson of the 11th Earl and the first cousin of the 15th Earl.

See also

Notes and References
  1. Burke[13] numbers him as the 16th Earl, but Cokayne[14] numbers him as the 17th.
  1. Cokayne 1895, p. 153, line 21: "He was b. 10 June 1703."
  2. Debrett 1828, p. 640: "THEOBALD LE BOTELER on whom that office [Chief Butler of Ireland] was conferred by King Henry II., 1177 ..."
  3. Dunboyne 1968, pp. 16–17: "Butler Family Tree condensed"
  4. 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 ..."
  5. 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."
  6. Burke 1949, p. 1541, left column, line 14: "... [Walter Butler] had issue, with three daus., 1. JOHN, 17th Earl."
  7. Cracroft's Peerage: Ormonde
  8. Carrigan 1905, p. 319, line 37: "... Susanna, born Sept. 8th 1733, married Thomas Kavanagh, of Borris;"
  9. 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) ..."
  10. 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"."
  11. Cokayne 1895, p. 153, line 26: "JOHN (BUTLER), EEARL OF ORMONDE, EARL OFOSSORY, and VISCOUNT THURLES [I.], only s. and h., b. 10 Dec. 1746;"
  12. 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.
  13. Burke 1949, p. 1541, left column, line 11: "WALTER, 16th Earl of Ormonde (de jure) ..."
  14. Cokayne 1895, p. 153, line 18: "XVII 1786"
  15. Debrett 1828, p. 642, line 33: "JOHN BUTLER who claimed ... m. 26 Feb. 1769 , Anne da. & sole h. of John, earl of Wandesford ..."
  16. 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 ..."
  17. Carrigan 1905, p. 319, line 35: "... [Walter Butler] died, in Kilkenny Castle, in 1783."
  18. Cokayne 1895, p. 153, line 25: "He d. 2 June 1783."
  • Burke, Bernard (1949), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (99th ed.), London: Burke's Peerage Ltd.
  • Carrigan, Rev. William (1905), The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory, 4, Dublin: Sealy Bryers & Walker
  • Cokayne, George Edward (1895), The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant, 6 (1st ed.), London: George Bell and Sons – N to R (for Ormonde)
  • Debrett, John (1828), Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 2 (17th ed.), London: F. C. and J. Rivington - Scotland and Ireland (for his son's marriage)
  • Dunboyne, Patrick Theobald Tower Butler, Baron (1968), Butler Family History (2nd ed.), Kilkenny: Rothe House
  • Mavor, Elizabeth (2004), "Butler, Lady (Charlotte) Eleanor (1739–1829)", in Matthew, Henry Colin Gray.; Harrison, Brian (eds.), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 9, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 129–130, ISBN 0-19-861359-8
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
John Butler		 Earl of Ormond Succeeded by
John Butler
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