John Vesey (10 March 1638 – 28 March 1716) was a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

clergyman.

Biography

He was born in Coleraine, son of Thomas Vesey, the local rector. His grandfather William Vesey had emigrated from

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

in the previous century. The family were Presbyterians who later conformed to the Established Church. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and Trinity College, Dublin. He is said to have holy orders at an unusually young age. He was Archdeacon of Armagh, then

Dean of Cork Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral ( ga, Ardeaglais Naomh Fionnbarra) is a Gothic Revival three-spire Church of Ireland cathedral in the city of Cork. It is located on the south bank of the River Lee and dedicated to Finbarr of Cork, patron saint ...

. He was made

Bishop of Limerick, Ardfert and Aghadoe The Bishop of Limerick, Ardfert and Aghadoe was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Limerick, Ardfert and Aghadoe, which was in the Province of Cashel until 1833, then afterwards in the Province of Dublin. History The title was ...

in 1672. In 1678 he became

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church. Histor ...

. During the religious troubles in the reign of King

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

, he and his diocese suffered greatly: his cattle were driven off and attempts were made to burn his

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

. Finally, fearing that their lives were in danger, he and his wife and twelve children fled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in late 1688, where he obtained a poorly paid lectureship. He was proscribed by the

Patriot Parliament Patriot Parliament is the name commonly used for the Irish Parliament session called by King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland which lasted from 1688 to 1691. The first since 1666, it held only one session, which lasted from 7 May ...

in 1689. After James's downfall, he returned to Ireland and preached a sermon of thanksgiving before the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two cham ...

. In 1712 and 1714 he served as one of the

Lords Justices of Ireland The Lords Justices (more formally the Lords Justices General and General Governors of Ireland) were deputies who acted collectively in the absence of the chief governor of Ireland (latterly the Lord Lieutenant) as head of the executive branch o ...

. He died at Hollymount, County Mayo, in the large and comfortable house that he had built after the Episcopal palace at Tuam was burnt during his exile in England.

Family

He married firstly Rebecca Wilson, who died about 1665, and secondly Anne Muschamp, daughter of Agmondisham Muschamp, and had at least fourteen children: they included: *

Sir Thomas Vesey, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Vesey, 1st Baronet (1668?–1730), was an Anglo-Irish clergyman. He was Bishop of Ossory from 1714 to 1730. He was born at Cork (city), Cork, Ireland, when his father, John Vesey (archbishop of Tuam), John Vesey, later Archbishop of Tu ...

, ancestor of the Viscounts de Vesci * Agmondisham Vesey (1677–1739), ancestor of the

Earls of Lucan Earl of Lucan is a title which has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland for related families. History Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, Patrick Sarsfield was one of the senior commanders of James II of England, James VII & II ...

John Vesey John Vesey or Veysey ( – 23 October 1554) was Bishop of Exeter from 1519 until his death in 1554, having been briefly deposed 1551–3 by King Edward VI for his opposition to the Reformation. Origins He was born (as "John Harman"), probabl ...

Archdeacon of Kilfenora The Archdeacon of Kilfenora was a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Bishop of Kilfenora, Diocese of Kilfenora until 1643; the Archbishop of Tuam, Archdiocese of Tuam until 1752; the Bishop of Killaloe and Kilfenora, Diocese of Killaloe and ...

, ancestor of the Barons Fitzgerald and Vesey * William Vesey, 1687–1750 * Francis Vesey * Mary, married to

Sir Robert Staples, 4th Baronet The Staples Baronetcy, of Lissan in the County of Tyrone and Faughanvale in the County of Londonderry, was a title in the Baronetage of Ireland. It was created on 18 July 1628 for Thomas Staples, who later served as High Sheriff of County Tyron ...

* Elizabeth, married to

Richard Dawson Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Heroe ...

, ancestor of the Earls of Dartrey * Catherine, who married James Smyth, Archdeacon of Meath * Anne, married to Henry Bingham, ancestor of the Barons Clanmorris.Debrett's ''Peerage'' (1840
p. 312

References

1638 births 1716 deaths Bishops of Limerick, Ardfert and Aghadoe Anglican archbishops of Tuam Deans of Cork Archdeacons of Armagh Irish Anglican archbishops {{Ireland-Anglican-bishop-stub