Sir John Meade, 1st Baronet facts for kids
Sir John Meade (1642–1707) was an important Irish lawyer, judge, and politician. He was the first person in his family to be given the special title of Baronet of Balintubber. His family later became known as the Earls of Clanwilliam.
Sir John was a very skilled lawyer. But he was unusual because he didn't seem to want to become a judge in the highest courts. He was also known for being very open-minded about religion for his time. Even though he was a Protestant, his career faced challenges because his third wife, Elizabeth Butler, was Roman Catholic.
Early Life and Family
John Meade was born in Cork City. His father was Colonel William Meade, and his mother was Elizabeth Travers. His grandfather was Sir John Meade senior. Through his grandmother, Catherine Sarsfield, he was also related to a judge named Dominick Sarsfield, who was known for some issues.
His great-great-grandfather, John Meagh or Meade, was the first Recorder of Cork, a legal officer for the city. This ancestor also served in the Irish Parliament for Cork City.
Sir John's mother, Elizabeth Travers, was the daughter of Sir Robert Travers. Robert Travers was a judge in Ireland and a member of Parliament for Clonakilty. He died in a battle in 1647. Elizabeth's mother was Elizabeth Boyle, whose father was Richard Boyle, the Archbishop of Tuam. This meant Sir John was related to the famous "Great Earl of Cork", Richard Boyle.
Sir John also had two sisters. Eleanor became the fourth wife of Godwin Swift, who was the uncle and guardian of the famous writer Jonathan Swift. Another sister, Joanna, was the grandmother of the writer Laetitia Pilkington.
When Sir John married his third wife, he also became part of the large Butler dynasty. However, this family connection was sometimes difficult for his career because many of them were Roman Catholic.
Sir John's Career
Sir John Meade went to school in Kinsale. He started at Trinity College Dublin in 1658 but did not finish his degree there. He then studied law in London at Gray's Inn and later at the King's Inn in Dublin in 1668. He became a King's Counsel in 1685, which meant he was a senior lawyer chosen to represent the Crown.
In 1682, he worked for the King in trials of Catholic individuals in Munster who were accused of secret plans. In 1685, he was part of a special court in County Tipperary. This court investigated people accused of spreading false rumors about possible attacks on Protestants.
He became the Attorney General for the Duke of York, who later became King James II of England. He also served as the Chief Justice for the special court in County Tipperary. This job was often seen as easy, but the court might have had a lot of work.
Sir John was a very good lawyer, but he seemed more interested in politics than becoming a high court judge. He was a member of the Irish House of Commons. First, he represented Trinity College Dublin in the Patriot Parliament of 1689. Later, he represented County Tipperary for the rest of his life. He was hesitant to join the Patriot Parliament but agreed when it was clear Trinity College would not choose a Catholic member.
Even though he joined the Patriot Parliament, Sir John was later seen as a strong supporter of King William III of England. After King William won in 1690, Sir John was again appointed as a King's Counsel. He was even considered for a high legal position called Third Irish Serjeant in 1692.
However, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Henry Sydney, had "exceptions" or objections against him. This was because Sir John's third wife, Elizabeth Butler, was Roman Catholic. After the Catholic King James II lost power, marrying a Catholic person made it very hard to get a high government job. For the same reason, he was not chosen to be Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1697. His friendships with important Catholics, like Sir Toby Butler, also likely worked against him.
Despite the challenges from his marriage, Sir John was offered the Serjeant position later. This happened because the government was unhappy with another lawyer, John Osborne, who often acted against official policy. Sir John refused the job, saying it would interfere with his busy private law practice.
Lord Romney, the Lord Lieutenant, made it clear that his earlier objection to Sir John was not about his character. He said Sir John was a "man of most excellent parts" and that the only issue was his wife being Catholic.
Sir John was given the title of Knight in 1678 and Baronet in 1703. He passed away in January 1707. He became a wealthy landowner, with his main property at Ballintubber.
Family Life
Sir John Meade married three times.
His first wife was Mary Coppinger from Barryscourt Castle, County Cork. They did not have any children.
His second wife was Elizabeth Redman. She was the daughter of Colonel Daniel Redman of Ballylinch, County Kilkenny. Colonel Redman was an army officer who bought a lot of land in Ireland. John and Elizabeth had one daughter who survived:
- Elizabeth, who married twice. First, she married Sir Ralph Freke, 1st Baronet, and then James King, 4th Baron Kingston. She had children from both marriages and died in 1750.
In 1688, he married his third wife, Elizabeth Butler. She was the daughter of Pierce Butler, 2nd Viscount Ikerrin. Elizabeth was Roman Catholic, and her beliefs made it harder for her husband to advance in his career. She passed away in 1757. They had at least eight children:
- Two sons who died when they were young.
- Pierce, who became the 2nd Baronet after his father but died at 18 in 1711.
- Richard, 3rd Baronet (1697-1744), whose descendants became the Earls of Clanwilliam.
- Helen, who married Richard Ponsonby, a member of Parliament for Kinsale.
- Catherine, who married twice. First, to Thomas Jones, and then to Nehemiah Donnellan, a member of Parliament for County Tipperary. She had five children with Nehemiah.
- Mary, who married Denis McCarthy of Cloghroe, County Cork, and had children.
- Jane, who never married.
The Meade family gained many large properties in Cork and Tipperary. However, they lost all of them by the end of the 1700s because Sir John's grandson, John Meade, 1st Earl of Clanwilliam, spent too much money.
