Frances Vaughan, Countess of Carbery (née Altham; c. 1621 – 9 October 1650) was the second wife of

Richard Vaughan, 2nd Earl of Carbery Richard Vaughan, 2nd Earl of Carbery KB, PC ( 1600 – 1686), styled The Honourable from 1621 to 1628 and then Lord Vaughan until 1634, was a Welsh soldier, peer and politician. Born the son of a Welsh nobleman with an Irish peerage, Vaughan ...

. Her second son,

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 * Second E ...

, became the 3rd Earl following his father's death in 1686. Frances was one of the two daughters of Sir James Altham of Oxhey (son of the judge Sir

James Altham Sir James Altham (about 1554 - 1617), of Oxhey, Hertfordshire, was an English judge, briefly a member of the Parliament of England, and (from 1607) a Baron of the Exchequer.'Altham, James. B.E. 1607', in E. Foss, ''The Judges of England'', Vol. VI ...

) and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Richard Sutton. Her sister

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

married

Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, PC, (10 July 16146 April 1686) was an Anglo-Irish royalist statesman. After short periods as President of the Council of State and Treasurer of the Navy, he served as Lord Privy Seal between 1673 and 1682 ...

. As co-heiresses, the Altham sisters had a considerable inheritance. Frances and her husband had three sons, including the 3rd Earl. The other two were

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

, who became MP for

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

in 1661 and died in 1667, some years before his father. Their third son, Altham (c.1642-1682), succeeded his father and brothers as MP for Carmarthen in 1679. The Anglican writer

Jeremy Taylor Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667) was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression, and he is fr ...

spent some time with the Earl and Countess at their

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

residence, Gelli Aur ( Golden Grove). Taylor dedicated the third volume of his work ''The Great Exemplar'' (1649) to Frances, and the sermon he gave at her funeral was published. Taylor said of the late countess that "she did not love her fortune for making her noble; but thought it would be a dishonour to her if she did not continue a nobleness and excellency of virtue..."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Frances, Countess of Carbery 1620s births 1650 deaths 17th-century English women 17th-century English people Carbery