Sir Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh
PC (Ire) (before 1589 – 1643) was joint
Lord President of Connaught
The Lord President of Connaught was a military leader with wide-ranging powers, reaching into the civil sphere, in the English government of Connaught in Ireland, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The office was created in 1569, and in 1 ...
with
Charles Wilmot, 1st Viscount Wilmot
Charles Wilmot, 1st Viscount Wilmot of Athlone (c. 1572 – 1644) was an English soldier active in Ireland.
Life
He was the son of Edward Wilmot of Culham (otherwise of Newent, Gloucestershire and Witney, Oxfordshire) and Elizabeth Stafford. O ...
. He commanded the government forces in Connaught during the
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...
and the beginning of the
Irish Confederate Wars
The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...
defending
Athlone against
James Dillon until February 1643.
Birth and origin
Roger was born before 1589 in Ireland, the only son of
Thomas Jones and his wife Margaret Purdon. His father was an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
minister and had been consecrated
Bishop of Meath
The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric.
History
Unt ...
in 1584, which was probably already the position he held at the time of Roger's birth. From Bishop he would be further advanced in 1605 to
Archbishop of Dublin and
Lord Chancellor of Ireland. His father's family was from Lancashire in England. His mother was a daughter of Adam Purdon of Lurgan Race, County Louth. His mother was the sister-in-law of
Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin.
Early life
In October 1605 his father was appointed
Lord Chancellor of Ireland and in November he became
Archbishop of Dublin.
[638, left column, line 2](_blank)
/> On 26 March 1607 Jones was knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
ed at Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
and was henceforth known as Sir Roger Jones.
In 1608 his father became involved in a bitter feud with Christopher St Lawrence, 10th Baron Howth (also numbered as the 9th baron), in which Sir Roger Jones also became embroiled. His reference to Howth as ''a brave man among cowards'' was enough to provoke his opponent, a notoriously quarrelsome man, to violence. On 24 November 1609, Jones, Howth and their followers engaged in a violent fracas at a tennis court in Thomas Street, Dublin
Thomas Street () is a street in The Liberties in central Dublin, Ireland.
History
The street is named after the church of St. Thomas, founded in 1175 near St. Catherine's church. The founder was William FitzAldelm, deputy and kinsman of King ...
, in which a Mr. Barnewall was killed. The Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...
, Sir Arthur Chichester, an enemy of Howth, had him arrested immediately because he thought it murder, but it was found to be manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...
.
First marriage and children
In 1609 Sir Roger Jones married Frances Moore, the daughter of Sir Garret Moore, 1st Viscount Moore
Garret Moore, 1st Viscount Moore PC (I) (1564 – 9 November 1627) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer.
Birth and origins
Garret was a son of Sir Edward Moore of Mellifont and his wife Elizabeth Clifford. His father was a knight and owner of ...
of Drogheda by his wife Mary Colley, daughter of Sir Henry Colley.
Roger and Frances had four children, two boys and two girls:
#Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...
, his successor, married Lady Catherine Boyle
Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh (22 March 1615 – 3 December 1691), also known as Lady Ranelagh, was an Anglo-Irish scientist in seventeenth-century Britain. She was also a political and religious philosopher, and a member of many intel ...
, who was the daughter of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (13 October 1566 – 15 September 1643), also known as the Great Earl of Cork, was an English politician who served as Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom of Ireland.
Lord Cork was an important figure in the continuing ...
, and also the older sister of the pioneering chemist Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders of ...
and of the writer Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick
Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick (8 November 1625 – 12 April 1678) was the seventh daughter of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, and his second wife, Catherine Fenton, only daughter of Sir Geoffrey Fenton, Principal Secretary of State for Ire ...
#Margaret, married John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Massereene
John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Massereene (died September 1665) was a prominent Anglo-Irish politician.
Origins
He was the son and heir of Sir Hugh Clotworthy (died 1630), High Sheriff of Antrim (who first came to Ireland as a soldier in the Nin ...
#Mary, married firstly Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
John Chichester, son of Edward Chichester, 1st Viscount Chichester
Edward Chichester, 1st Viscount Chichester (1568 – 8 July 1648) of Eggesford in Devon, was Governor of Carrickfergus and Lord High Admiral of Lough Neagh, in Ireland.
Origins
He was the third son of Sir John Chichester (died 1569), knight, l ...
. Their son Arthur Chichester, 2nd Earl of Donegall, inherited the earldom from his uncle. They also had a daughter Elizabeth, who married Sir John Cole, 1st Baronet
Sir John Cole, 1st Baronet (died 1691) was an Anglo-Irish politician. He was the second son of William Cole (planter), Sir William Cole (died 1653), a key figure in the Plantation of Ulster, and his second wife Catherine Parsons, daughter of Sir L ...
. After Chichester's death, Mary remarried Colonel Christopher Copley of Wadworth
Wadworth is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,229, reducing to 1,137 at the 2011 Census. Notable buildings in the village include Wadworth Hall and the p ...
, and had further issue
#Thomas, who married Elizabeth, daughter of John Harris and whose descendants would reclaim the Ranelagh viscountcy in 1759 after it had lain dormant since the death of Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh
Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh (8 February 1641 – 5 January 1712), known as The Viscount Ranelagh between 1669 and 1677, was an Irish peer, politician both in the Parliaments of England and Ireland.
Background
He was the eldest son of A ...
in 1712
Midlife
Sir Roger Jones was a member of 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 chamb ...
for the borough of Trim
Trim or TRIM may refer to:
Cutting
* Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them
** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process
** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees
Decoration
* Trim (sewing), or ...
in County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...
from 1613 to 1615. On 10 April 1619 his father, the archbishop died. On 20 August 1619, he signed for the first time as a member of the Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
of Ireland under Lord Deputy Oliver St John
Sir Oliver St John (; c. 1598 – 31 December 1673) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640-53. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War.
Early life
St John was the son of Oliver S ...
and Lord Chancellor Adam Loftus. On 23 November 1620 his first wife died. On 25 August 1628, Sir Roger was created 1st Viscount Ranelagh and Baron Jones of Navan by King Charles I.
Second marriage and daughter
Ranelagh, as he was now, married as his second wife Catherine Longueville, daughter of Sir Henry Longueville, of Wolverton, co. Buckingham by his wife Katherine Cary, sister of Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal ...
, Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1622 to 1629.
Roger and Catherine had one daughter:
*Elizabeth, married Colonel Robert Sandys, son of Sir Edwin Sandys
His second wife died in 1627.
President of Connaught, death, and timeline
On 11 September 1630 Ranelagh was appointed joint President of Connaught
The Lord President of Connaught was a military leader with wide-ranging powers, reaching into the civil sphere, in the English government of Connaught in Ireland, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The office was created in 1569, and in 1 ...
alongside Charles Wilmot, 1st Viscount Wilmot of Ahlone, who had occupied this post alone since 3 June 1616. Ranelagh went to Athlone and took over the command of the troops and fortresses of the province, whereas Wilmot tried to play a role in Dublin, but kept the title and outlived Ranelagh, dying shortly after him, late in 1643 or early in 1644.
During the 5th session of the Parliament 1640–1649 the Catholic MPs tried to impeach Ranelagh, but the impeachment failed due to the opposition of the Protestant MPs.
After the outbreak of the Irish Rebellion in 1641 Ranelagh defended Athlone during 1642 against confederate troops led by James Dillon. in January 1643 the Lord Justices (Sir Henry Tichborne
Sir Henry Tichborne PC (Ire) (1581–1667) was an English soldier and politician. He excelled at the Siege of Drogheda during the Irish Rebellion of 1641. He governed Ireland as one of the two Lord Justices from 1642 to 1644. In 1647, he fou ...
and John Borlase) sent Sir Richard Grenville
Sir Richard Grenville (15 June 1542 – 10 September 1591), also spelt Greynvile, Greeneville, and Greenfield, was an English privateer and explorer. Grenville was lord of the manors of Stowe, Cornwall and Bideford, Devon. He subsequently ...
to Athlone to bring him provisions, but Ranelagh decided to abandon Athlone and he and the garrison accompanied Grenville back to Dublin. On the way back they met a confederate force that Grenville defeated in the Battle of Rathconnell
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
on 7 February 1643. At Dublin Ranelagh was accused to have failed in his duties as president of Connaught. A document of 74 articles was written and sent to the King. Ranelagh was first forbidden to leave Ireland, but the King then allowed him to come to Oxford and explain himself.
In 1643 Ranelagh died in Oxford while attending King Charles I. He was succeeded by his son Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...
as the 2nd Viscount Ranelagh.
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Sources
* – 1221 to 1690
* – (for Ranelagh)
* – (for timetable: Strafford)
* – 1641 to 1643
* – N to R (for Ranelagh)
* – 1665 to 1707 (for Domville)
* – (for timeline)
*
*
* – Viscounts (for Ranelagh)
*
*
* – From the reign of Henry III to Constantine Phipps (for his father)
* – (Preview)
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranelagh, Roger Jones, 1st Viscount
16th-century births
1643 deaths
16th-century Irish people
17th-century Irish people
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Military personnel killed in action
Peers of Ireland created by Charles I
Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland