John Butler, 2nd Marquess of Ormonde

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. At the age of 22 he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for County Kilkenny in 1830, where he sat as a Whig; He did not contest the seat at the 1832 United Kingdom general election, as the election was called whilst Lord Thurles was travelling in Europe.

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.

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.

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: James Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde (1844–1919), married Lady Elizabeth Harriet Grosvenor, daughter of Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster. Lady Beatrice Frances Elizabeth Butler (1876 - 1952), married Lt-Gen. Sir Reginald Pole-Carew in 1901. Lady Constance Mary Butler (1879 - 1949) Lady Mary Grace Louisa Butler (1846–1929), married the Hon. William Henry Fitzwilliam. Marie "Mab" Albreda Blanche Wentworth-FitzWilliam (1879 - 14 April 1963), married Major Harold Maxwell Walker in 1904. Isabel Elizabeth Mary Wentworth-FitzWilliam (1880 - 1955) Irene "Ena" Serga Alice Jane Mary Wentworth-FitzWilliam (1883 - 19 Mar 1972) Lord James Herbert Thomas Butler (1847–1867). James Arthur Wellington Foley Butler, 4th Marquess of Ormonde (1849–1943), married in 1887 to Chicago Heiress Ellen Sprague Stager, daughter of General Anson Stager and had issue. Lady Evelyn Frances Butler (1887 - 1978), married to Vice-Adm. Hon. Edmund Rupert Drummond James George Anson Butler, 5th Marquess of Ormonde (1890 - 1949), married The Hon. Sybil Fellowes in 1915. James Arthur Norman Butler, 6th Marquess of Ormonde (1893 - 1971), married Jesse Carlos Clarke in 1924. Lady Eleanor Rachel Butler (24 April 1894 - 1969), married (1) Captain Edward Brassey Egerton in 1915 and (2) William Henry Prior in 1961. Lord Theobald Butler (1852–1929), married Annabella Brydon in 1885. James Walter Theobold Gordon Butler (19 May 1886 - 2 May 1945), married Alice Theodora Aked in 1926 Violet Mary Emily Maud Butler (22 April 1889 - 30 September 1973), who married Ronald Victor Okes Hart-Synnot in 1912. Sybil Frances Christina Lilah Butler (10 February 1891 - 30 September 1970), married her first cousin, Arthur Henry Francis Edwardes in 1913. Victoria Blanche Constance Theodora Butler (28 September 1897 - 15 June 1952), married Charles Bellville West (maternal grandson of Perfumer James Atkinson of Atkinsons of London) in 1920. James Hubert Theobald Charles Butler, 7th Marquess of Ormonde (April 1899 - 25 October 1997 with issue), married (1) Nan Gilpin in 1935 and (2) Elizabeth Rarden in 1976. Lady Blanche Henrietta Maria Butler (1854–1914), married Colonel the Hon. Cuthbert Ellison Edwardes, son of the 3rd Baron Kensington in 1882. Hubert William John Edwardes (1883 - 1944) Arthur Henry Francis Edwardes (1885 - 1951), married his cousin Lilah Butler in 1913. Cuthbert Theobald Edwardes (1887 - 1967) Capt. Richard Edwardes (1894 - 1967), married Ada Mary Macgeorge in 1929. Lt. Owen Edwardes (1894 - 1916)

Death In September 1854 he and his young family were bathing near Loftus Hall when he died suddenly. 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. His widow Frances later commissioned Edward Richardson to erect a large monument at her husband's tomb within the Cathedral.

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