Everard, Sir Nugent Talbot (1849–1929), 1st baronet, politician, and farmer, was born 24 October 1849 in Torquay, Devonshire, England, eldest son of Capt. Richard Nugent Everard, officer in the British army, lastly living in Bayswater, London, seventh son of Thomas Everard of Randlestown, Co. Meath, and his wife Barbara Everard (née O'Reilly) of Ballinlough Castle, Co. Westmeath. Nugent's mother was Arabella Mathilde d'Amboise, daughter of George Alexis Henry, marquis d'Amboise, seigneur de Clos-Lucé, near Amboise, Touraine, France, and his wife Louisa, daughter of Richard Barwell, MP, of Stanstead, Sussex. Nugent Talbot Everard was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge (MA 1875).
He played an active role in public life, performing many functions. In 1871 he became a lieutenant in the Royal Meath Militia. He sat on the grand jury of Co. Meath for a number of years and was also a JP (1873–1923). In 1883 he was high sheriff of Meath. Later he was appointed lieutenant and custos rotulorum for Meath (he continued in the office of lieutenant until his death, not using the prefix ‘his majesty's’ under the Irish Free State), and was a member of Meath county council (1900–20). During the years 1917–20 he was chairman of the county committee of agriculture and technical instruction. He served as an officer in the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and eventually became honorary colonel of the 5th Battalion of the regiment (Royal Meath Militia). In the general election of 1892 he stood as unionist candidate in the constituency of Cavan West, but was not elected.
In 1863, at the age of 13, he had inherited the family estate in Ireland at Randlestown, near Navan, Co. Meath. About 1870 he settled at Randlestown. He took up farming on the estate, at that time containing 2,311 acres. It was in a very neglected condition, but he started to improve the lands for agricultural use. In the course of the years he developed into a very keen farmer, winning many prizes at the RDS shows for his Hereford cattle and Shropshire sheep. At the end of the nineteenth century he started experiments in growing tobacco at Randlestown as a means of solving the problem of unemployment for the local population. The experiments were successful: eventually a large area was planted with tobacco, and the processing of the tobacco provided much employment. Everard was a strong supporter of the co-operative movement, embodied in the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society (IAOS), of which he became president in 1905. On a local level he founded the Donaghpatrick Co-operative Agricultural Society. In 1902 he took part in the land conference in Dublin, which eventually recommended a massive scheme of land purchase by the government and found expression in the 1903 land act. The transfer of land ownership from the landlords to the tenants would later affect the Everard estate.
In recognition of his involvement in public life, he was created a baronet on 30 June 1911, on the occasion of the coronation of King George V. In 1917 and 1918 he was a participant in the Irish Convention, and in 1920 he took part in peace negotiations in Dublin. In 1921 his efforts for the benefit of the public cause were recognised again when he was appointed by the lord lieutenant as a member of the newly created senate of Southern Ireland. At the formal opening of the short-lived Southern Irish parliament he presided in the absence of the lord chancellor, Sir John Ross (qv). In December 1922 he became a member of the first Irish Free State senate, nominated by the president of the executive council, W. T. Cosgrave (qv). After his term of six years he was reelected at a by-election in April 1929.
Nugent Everard married (6 November 1873) Sylvia Priscilla, daughter of William Humphrys, DL, of Ballyhaise House, Co. Cavan, and Maria Clarissa Humphrys (née Moore) of Eglantine and Mount Panther, Co. Down. They had one son: Richard William Everard. Sir Nugent Everard died 11 July 1929 and was buried at Donaghpatrick churchyard.