Sir John Pointz or Poyntz (died 1633) was an English landowner and politician who sat 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. ...

in 1593. He is perhaps best remembered as the maternal grandfather of

James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, KG, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688), was a statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond from 1634 to 1642 and Marquess of Ormond from 1642 to 1661. Following the failure ...

Life

Pointz was the son of Sir Nicholas Poyntz of

Iron Acton Iron Acton is a village, civil parish and former manor in South Gloucestershire, England. The village is about west of Yate and about northeast of the centre of Bristol. The B4058 road used to pass through the village but now by-passes it jus ...

, Gloucestershire and his first wife Anne Verney. His grandfather Sir Nicholas Poynz was a courtier in the time of Henry VIII. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Gloucestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire, who should not be confused with the Sheriffs of the City of Gloucester. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (in England and Wales the office previously kn ...

for 1591–92 and was J.P. in 1592. He was knighted before 1593, when he was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. From 1602 he was

Custos Rotulorum ''Custos rotulorum'' (; plural: ''custodes rotulorum''; Latin for "keeper of the rolls", ) is a civic post that is recognised in the United Kingdom (except Scotland) and in Jamaica. England, Wales and Northern Ireland The ''custos rotulorum'' is t ...

of the county. He was Lord of the Manor of Iron Acton.''Parliamentary History of Gloucestershire''
/ref> Pointz, who was notoriously improvident, and was imprisoned for debt several times, died insolvent and

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...

in 1633. He was buried at Iron Acton. iron

Family

Pointz married four times: firstly Ursula Sydenham of Brampton, Somerset; secondly Elizabeth Sydenham, daughter of Alexander Sydenham with whom he had four sons and three daughters, including Robert and Elizabeth; thirdly Frances, daughter of John Newton; and fourthly Grissell (died 1648), the daughter of Walter Roberts of Glassenbury, Kent and widow of Gregory Price of Hereford, and of Gervase Gibbons of Kent, with whom he had another two sons and three daughters. His son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

was later MP for Gloucestershire. His daughter

Elizabeth, Lady Thurles Elizabeth Poyntz (1587 – May 1673), second daughter of Sir John Pointz (died 1633) of Iron Acton in Gloucestershire and his second wife Elizabeth Sydenham, became Lady Thurles in 1608 when she married Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles, son of ...

, was the mother of the leading Irish statesman,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pointz, John Year of birth missing 1633 deaths English MPs 1593 English landowners High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire Place of birth missing Politicians from Gloucestershire