John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde

John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde, 10th Earl of Ossory (1740–1795) was an Irish peer and Member of Parliament (MP). He became a Protestant in 1764. He was an Irish MP, representing Gowran between 1776 and 1783, and Kilkenny City between 1783 and 1792. In 1791, his right to the peerage was acknowledged in the Irish House of Lords and he became the 17th Earl of Ormond.

Birth and origins

John was born on 10 December 1740Template:Sfn at Garryricken.Template:Sfn He was the only son, of Walter Butler and his wife Ellen Morres.Template:Sfn At the time of his birth his father was the heir apparent of his father the esquire of Garryricken. In 1766 his father would become the de jure 16th Earl of Ormond. His father's family, the Butler dynasty, was Old English and descended from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177.Template:Sfn

John's mother was a daughter of Nicholas Morres of the Court, County Dublin, granddaughter of Sir John Morres, 7th Baronet Morres of Knockagh.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn John was one of four siblings, who are listed in his father's article.

Conforms and marries a Protestant heiress

On 16 December 1764 he conformed to the established Church of Ireland in a ceremony performed in the church of Golden, County Tipperary.Template:Sfn In other words: he became a Protestant.

In February 1769 he married Frances Susan Elizabeth Wandesford.Template:Sfn also called Anne.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn She was a rich heiress being the only surviving child of John Wandesford the 1st Earl Wandesford and 5th Viscount Castlecomer and his wife Agnes Southwell. The Wandesfords were Protestants and had supported the Prince of Orange during the Williamite War in Ireland. They owned land and coal mines around Castlecomer in northern County Kilkenny. His wife's mother belonged to a junior branch of the family of Viscount Southwell. When the Earl of Wandesford died in 1784, his titles became extinct, but his estates passed to John Butler.Template:Sfn

John and Anne (or Frances Susan Elizabeth) had four sons:

1. Walter (1770–1820), who was in 1816 created Marquess of OrmondeTemplate:Sfn
2. John Wandesford (1772–1796), who died unmarried
3. James (1774–1838), who was in 1825 created Marquess of Ormonde after his brother's death
4. Charles Harward (1780–1860), who married firstly Lady Sarah Butler, daughter of Henry Thomas Butler, 2nd Earl of Carrick and, secondly, Lucy French, daughter of Arthur French

—and two daughters:

1. Elizabeth (1777–1823), who married Thomas Kavanagh (1767–1837), The MacMorrough, in 1798
2. Eleanor (1788–1859), who married Cornelius O'Callaghan, 1st Viscount Lismore (1775–1857) in 1808

A 3/4-length painted portrait of Anne or Frances-Susan-Elizabeth Wandesford, showing a lady sitting in a chair.

His wife, Anne Wandesford, painted by Hugh Douglas Hamilton

Two inheritances

In 1783 his father died in Kilkenny Castle.Template:Sfn John inherited Kilkenny and the lands, notably those that his father had inherited from John Butler of Kilcash, the de jure 15th Earl of Ormond, in 1766.Template:Sfn In 1784 his father-in-law, the Earl of Wandesford died. His titles became extinct, but John inherited the land and the coal mines.Template:Sfn

Earl

In 1791 he claimed the title of Earl of Ormond, which was believed to have become extinct in 1715. The Irish House of Lords accepted this claim and he was restored to become the 17th Earl of Ormonde.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Death and succession

Ormond, as he now was, died on 25 or 30 December 1795 at Kilkenny Castle and was buried in Kilcash.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn His widow died in Dublin in 1830.Template:Sfn He was succeeded by his son Walter, who was made a Marquess in 1816.

Timeline
Age	Date	Event
0	1740, 10 Dec	Born at Garryricken
	1760, 25 Oct	Accession of King George III, succeeding King George IITemplate:Sfn
	1764, 16 Dec	Became a Protestant
	1766, 24 Jun	Father inherited the estate of John Butler of Kilcash and unknowingly became de jure the 16th Earl of Ormond.
	1769, 26 Feb	Married Frances Susan Elizabeth Wandesford
	1783	Father died at Kilkenny Castle.
	1784	Father-in-law died, and he inherits in the name of his wife.
	1791	Became Earl of Ormond
	1795, Dec	Died

Notes and references

Sources

• – The Southern Deanery
• – N to R (for Ormonde)
• – Scotland and Ireland
• – (for timeline)
• – Viscounts (for Butler, Viscount Mountgarret)

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