John Butler, Earl of Gowran (1643–1677) was an MP in the Irish Parliament 1661–1666 before being created Earl of Gowran in 1676.
Birth and origins
John was born in 1643 in Dublin, the sixth child of James Butler and his wife Elizabeth Preston. At the time his father was the 1st Marquess of Ormond but he would later become the 1st Duke. His father's family, the
Butler dynasty
Butler ( ga, de Buitléir) 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. ...
, was
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
and descended from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177.
John's mother was his father's second cousin once removed. She was a rich heiress, the only child of
Richard Preston, 1st Earl of Desmond
Sir Richard Preston, 1st Earl of Desmond (died 1628) was a favourite of King James VI and I of Scotland and England. In 1609 the king made him Lord Dingwall. In 1614 he married him to Elizabeth Butler, the only child of Black Tom, the 10th Ea ...
John was born in Dublin where his mother had rejoined his father in 1642 after the Confederates allowed her to leave
Kilkenny Castle
Kilkenny Castle ( ga, Caisleán Chill Chainnigh, IPA: kaʃlʲaːnˠˈçiːl̪ʲˈxan̪ʲiː is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland built in 1195 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways. It was a symbol of N ...
. In 1647 he was then taken by his parents to England when his father handed Dublin over to the Parliamentarians. In 1648 his mother took him and his siblings to
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Irish Parliament (1661–1666), the only one held in the reign of Charles II (1660–1685), John replaced his brother Thomas as the member (MP) for
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
as Thomas had been summoned to the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
by a writ of acceleration as
Earl of Ossory
Earl of Ossory is a subsidiary title held by the Earl of Ormond that was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1528.
During King Henry VIII of England's pursuit of Anne Boleyn, who would be his second wife, he arranged for the main claimant to the ...
and could therefore not sit any more in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
.
Marriage
In January 1674 John married Lady Anne Chichester, only daughter of
Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall
Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall (16 June 1606 – 18 March 1675), was an Anglo-Irish peer and soldier.
Origins
He was the eldest son and heir of The 1st Viscount Chichester, from Eggesford, Devon, by his first wife Anne Copleston, ...
. His marriage stayed childless.
Later life
On 13 April 1676 John was created Baron Aghrim, Viscount Clonmore, and Earl of Gowran, all in the Peerage of Ireland.
Death
Gowran, as he now was, travelled to Paris for the recovery of his health but died there in August 1677, aged about 34.
He left no issue and his titles died with him.
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
* – 1643 to 1660
* – G to K (for Gowran)
* – N to R (for Ormond)
* – England
*
*
* – Viscounts (for Mountgarrett)
* (for his mother)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gowran, John Butler, 1st Earl of
1643 births1677 deaths
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...