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 represented 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. Birth and origins. John was born on 10 December 1740 at Garryricken. He was one of the 4 children, and the only son, of Walter Butler and his wife Ellen Morres. His father was the "de jure" 16th Earl of Ormond. His 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. John's mother was a daughter of Nicholas Morres of the Court, County Dublin, granddaughter of Sir John Morres, 7th Baronet Morres of Knockagh. 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. In other words: he became a Protestant. In February 1769 he married Anne Elizabeth Wandesford, who was also known as Frances Susan Elizabeth. 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. Anne'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. John and Anne had five children: Two inheritances. In 1783 his father died  in Kilkenny Castle. John inherits 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. In 1784 his father-in-law, the Earl of Wandesford died. His titles became extinct, but John inherits the land and the coal mines. 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. Death and succession. He died on 25  or 30 December 1795 at Kilkenny Castle and was buried in Kilcash. His widow died in Dublin in 1830. He was succeeded by his son Walter, who was made a Marquess in 1816.