John Butler, 2nd Marquess of Ormonde

For other people named John Butler, see John Butler (disambiguation).

The Most Honourable
The Marquess of Ormonde
KP
Born(1808-08-24)24 August 1808
Died25 September 1854(1854-09-25) (aged 46)
SpouseFrances Jane Paget
FatherJames Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde
RelativesJohn Staples (maternal grandfather)
MonarchQueen Victoria
Lord-in-Waiting
In office
1841–1852
Lord-in-Waiting
In office
1853–1854
Personal details

John Butler, 2nd Marquess of Ormonde, KP (24 August 1808 – 25 September 1854) was an Irish politician and peer. He was the son of James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde and Grace Louisa Staples.

Career and inheritance

Following the death of his uncle Walter Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde in 1820, John's father James succeeded as the 19th Earl of Ormonde and 13th Earl of Ossory, and John assumed the courtesy title Viscount Thurles. His father's elevation to the Marquessate of Ormonde resulted in John assuming the courtesy title Earl of Ossory. Although the bulk of the Ormonde family estates were held in Ireland, John was educated at Harrow, after which he obtained a M.A. at Oxford.[1][2] At the age of 22 he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for County Kilkenny in 1830, where he sat as a Whig;[2] he held the seat until 1832;[3] when he did not contest the seat, as the election was called whilst he was travelling in Europe.[1]

Following the death of his father in 1838, John succeeded to the family titles and estates as the 2nd Marquess of Ormonde at the age of 29, and took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Ormonde of Llanthony - as a result of the Acts of Union 1800, his Irish peerages did not automatically entitle him to sit in the Lords; however this Barony had been granted within the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[1]

During the Irish Great Famine he was viewed as a generous landlord who reduced, and in some cases cancelled rents payable to his from his tenants. He was invested as a Knight, Order of St Patrick (K.P.) in 1845.[2]

He later held the office of a Lord-in-waiting between 1841 and 1852 and between 1853 and 1854.

He was the author of An Autumn in Sicily, Dublin: Hodges and Smith, 1850.[4]

Possible elevation to Dukedom

Lord Ormonde's son, James Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde is recorded as having written to the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Benjamin Disraeli, regarding the restoration of the Dukedom of Ormonde in October 1868. The third Marquess claimed that his grandfather, James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde (then 19th Earl of Ormond) had been advised by Lord Liverpool to apply for the restoration of the Dukedom, and that Lord Liverpool had advised him that in order to achieve this, he would first need to apply to be elevated from the rank of Earl to Marquess. An application was duly made, and James, 19th Earl of Ormond was granted the title Marquess of Ormonde. The 3rd Marquess believed that Lord Liverpool's loss of the Office of Prime Minister in 1827 frustrated this plan, and the 1st Marquess took no further action towards applying for the restoration of the Dukedom. The 3rd Marquess also alleged in his letter to Prime Minister Disraeli that his father, the second Marquess, had resolved not to pursue the restoration of the Dukedom of Ormonde unless another peer was also elevated to a Dukedom during his lifetime.[5]

Marriage and children

In 1843 Lord Ormonde married Frances Jane Paget, daughter of General Sir Edward Paget and his second wife Lady Harriet Legge. The marriage produced four sons and two daughters:

Death

In September 1854 he and his young family were bathing near Loftus Hall when he died suddenly.[2] His nine-year-old son James Edward, Earl of Ossory succeeded him as Marquess of Ormonde. During the minority of the Third Marquess, John's widow Frances administered the family estates; under the terms of John's Will, Frances enjoyed a life annuity of £2,000.[6] Their marriage settlement had also provided for a £10,000 sum to be placed in Trust after John's death, with the income to be paid to all children from the union other than their oldest surviving son in equal shares.[6] Following his death, a magnificent funeral procession was held in the City of Kilkenny, where his remains were transported from Kilkenny Castle to St Canice's Cathedral.[1] His widow Frances later commissioned Edward Richardson to erect a large monument at her husband's tomb within the Cathedral.[1]

Works

  • Butler, John (1850). Autumn in Sicily. Dublin: Hodges and Smith.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Law, Edward J. (2003). "The tomb of John, 2nd Marquess of Ormonde, St Canice's Cathedral" (PDF). Old Kilkenny Review: Journal of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society. 55: 141–148. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d Butler, Patrick Theobald Tower (1960). *Butler family history*. Kilkenny: Kilkenny, Ireland: Butler Society / Kilkenny People. pp. 19–23. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  3. ^ Mosley, Charles, editor. (2003). Burke's Peerage, . Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.: Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "An Autumn in Sicily". Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  5. ^ Disraeli, B., Gunn, J. A. W., Wiebe, M. G. (1982). Benjamin Disraeli Letters. United Kingdom: University of Toronto Press, p. 388
  6. ^ a b "Transcripts of memorials of deeds, conveyances and wills, vol. 33–35". FamilySearch. Ireland. Registry of Deeds. Retrieved 9 December 2025. Image 451 of 552. Image Group Number: 008094242.


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