John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde

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

John Butler
Earl of Ormond
Tenure	1783–1795
Predecessor	Walter, 16th Earl of Ormonde
Successor	Walter, 1st Marquess of Ormonde
Born	10 December 1740 Garryricken
Died	25 or 30 December 1795 Kilkenny Castle
Spouse(s)	Anne Wandesford
Issue Detail	Walter, James, & others
Father	Walter, 16th Earl of Ormonde
Mother	Ellen Morres

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.

Birth and origins

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 1774–1838 Louisa Staples John 2nd Marquess 1808–1854 Frances Jane Paget Legend XXX Subject of the article XXX Earls & marquesses of Ormond

John was born on 10 December 1740 at Garryricken. He was the only son, of Walter Butler and his wife Ellen Morres. At the time of his birth his father was the heir apparent of his father the esquire of Garryricken. In 1766 his father would become the de jure 16th Earl of Ormond. His father's 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.

John's mother was a daughter of Nicholas Morres of the Court, County Dublin, granddaughter of Sir John Morres, 7th Baronet Morres of Knockagh. John was one of four siblings, who are listed in his father's article.

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. In other words: he became a Protestant.

In February 1769 he married Frances Susan Elizabeth Wandesford. also called Anne. She was a rich heiress being the only surviving child of John Wandesford the 1st Earl Wandesford and 5th Viscount Castlecomer and his wife Agnes Southwell. 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. His wife's mother belonged to a junior branch of the family of Viscount Southwell. When the Earl of Wandesford died in 1784, his titles became extinct, but his estates passed to John Butler.

John and Anne (or Frances Susan Elizabeth) had four sons:

1. Walter (1770–1820), who was in 1816 created Marquess of Ormonde
2. John Wandesford (1772–1796), who died unmarried
3. James (1774–1838), who was in 1825 created Marquess of Ormonde after his brother's death
4. Charles Harward (1780–1860), who married firstly Lady Sarah Butler, daughter of Henry Thomas Butler, 2nd Earl of Carrick and, secondly, Lucy French, daughter of Arthur French

—and two daughters:

1. Elizabeth (1777–1823), who married Thomas Kavanagh (1767–1837), The MacMorrough, in 1798
2. Eleanor (1788–1859), who married Cornelius O'Callaghan, 1st Viscount Lismore (1775–1857) in 1808

His wife, Anne Wandesford, painted by Hugh Douglas Hamilton

Two inheritances

In 1783 his father died in Kilkenny Castle. John inherited 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. In 1784 his father-in-law, the Earl of Wandesford died. His titles became extinct, but John inherited the land and the coal mines.

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.

Death and succession

Ormond, as he now was, died on 25 or 30 December 1795 at Kilkenny Castle and was buried in Kilcash. His widow died in Dublin in 1830. He was succeeded by his son Walter, who was made a Marquess in 1816.

Timeline
Age	Date	Event
0	1740, 10 Dec	Born at Garryricken
119	1760, 25 Oct	Accession of King George III, succeeding King George II
24	1764, 16 Dec	Became a Protestant
25	1766, 24 Jun	Father inherited the estate of John Butler of Kilcash and unknowingly became de jure the 16th Earl of Ormond.
28	1769, 26 Feb	Married Frances Susan Elizabeth Wandesford
42–43	1783	Father died at Kilkenny Castle.
43–44	1784	Father-in-law died, and he inherits in the name of his wife.
50–51	1791	Became Earl of Ormond
54–55	1795, Dec	Died

Notes and references

Sources

• Burke, Bernard (1883). A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (New ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 499232768.
• Burke, Bernard; Burke, Ashworth Peter (1915). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage (77th ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 1155471554.
• Carrigan, Rev William (1905). The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory. Vol. IV. Dublin: Sealy, Bryers & Walker. OCLC 29384778. – The Southern Deanery
• Cokayne, George Edward (1895). Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Vol. VI (1st ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. OCLC 1180818801. – N to R (for Ormonde)
• Debrett, John (1828). Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol. II (17th ed.). London: F. C. and J. Rivington. OCLC 54499602. – Scotland and Ireland
• Debrett, John (1838). Courthope, William (ed.). Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (22nd ed.). London: F. C. and J. Rivington. OCLC 315551200.
• Dunboyne, Patrick Theobald Tower Butler, Baron (1968). Butler Family History (2nd ed.). Kilkenny: Rothe House.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Fryde, Edmund Boleslaw; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology. Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, No. 2 (3rd ed.). London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-86193-106-8. – (for timeline)
• Lodge, John (1789). Archdall, Mervyn (ed.). The Peerage of Ireland or, A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom. Vol. IV. Dublin: James Moore. OCLC 264906028. – Viscounts (for Butler, Viscount Mountgarret)