John I Stanley of the Isle of Man

Sir John Stanley, KG (–1414) of Lathom, near Ormskirk in Lancashire, was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and titular King of Mann, the first of that name. He married a potential heiress, Isabel Lathom, and several unexpected deaths soon made her very wealthy. This marriage, combined with his own abilities, allowed him to rise above the usual status of a younger son.

Origins He was the second son of Sir William Stanley of Stourton, by his wife Alice Massey of Timperley, Cheshire. Sir William Stanley was Master-Forester of the Forest of Wirral and was notorious for his repressive activities.

Marriage and children Arms of Lathom of Lathom: Or, on a chief indented azure three plates. Quartered by Stanley, Earls of Derby In 1385 he married Isabel Lathom, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Lathom of Lathom in Lancashire, a great landowner in south-west Lancashire. The marriage took place despite the opposition of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and gave Stanley great wealth he could never have hoped for as the younger son. adopted by Sir John Stanley and his descendants the Earls of Derby The heraldic crest of Lathom (An eagle wings extended or preying on a child proper swaddled gules in a cradle laced or The Stanley crest is today memorialised in the name of several English public houses displaying the sign of "The Eagle and Child", often situated within manors once held by the Stanley family.

Career Declared an outlaw Both John Stanley and his elder brother, William Stanley (who succeeded their father as Master-Forester), were involved in criminal cases which charged them with a forced entry in 1369 and with the murder of Thomas Clotton in 1376. Butler joined them upon their arrival in Ireland. Because of the success of the expedition, Stanley was appointed to the position of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Alexander to Chancellor, Crull to Treasurer, and Butler to his old position as Governor. In 1389 Richard II appointed him Justiciar of Ireland, a post he held until 1391. He was heavily involved in Richard's first expedition to Ireland in 1394–1395.