Gentry and Aristocracy

Caulfeild, Toby (1621–42), 3rd Baron Charlemont , MP, may have been born in September or October 1621, eldest among ten children of William Caulfeild, 2nd Baron Charlemont, and his wife Mary, daughter of the royal administrator and landowner Sir…

Caulfeild, William (1624?–1671), 5th Baron and 1st Viscount Charlemont , was third son among ten children of Sir William Caulfeild, 2nd baron, and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir John King (qv) (d. 1636), and was thus a younger brother of…

Cavendish, William (1698?–1755), 3rd duke of Devonshire , lord lieutenant of Ireland, was the eldest son of William, 2nd duke of Devonshire, and his wife, Rachel Russell, daughter of William, Lord Russell, and sister of the 2nd duke of Bedford. Heir to one of the great whig…

Chabot, Isabella Charlotte de Rohan- (1784–1868), aristocrat and diarist, was born 16 July 1784 in Leinster House, Dublin, fourth daughter of William Robert Fitzgerald (qv), 2nd duke of Leinster, and his wife Emilia Olivia,…

Chalmers, Sir Robert (1858–1938), 1st Baron Chalmers , public servant, was born 18 August 1858 in London, only son of John Chalmers, gentleman, and Julia Chalmers (née Mackay). Educated at the City of London School, he studied classics at Oriel College, Oxford, later changing to…

Charlton, John (d. 1353), lord of Powys, soldier, and administrator, was the son of Robert Charlton of Shropshire (d. 1300). He came into possession of his inheritance in 1306 and in 1307 acted as proxy for the men of Salop in the Carlisle parliament. He was a member of Edward II's…

Chichester, Arthur (1606–75), 1st earl of Donegall , soldier, and administrator, was born 16 June 1606, eldest son of Edward Chichester (brother of Arthur Chichester (qv) (1563–1625)) and his wife Anne (née Coplestone) of Devon. He…

Chichester, Arthur (1739–99), 5th earl and 1st marquess of Donegall , landlord, was born 13 June 1739, elder son of John Chichester (d. 1746), MP for Belfast, and Elizabeth Chichester (née Newdigate). He succeeded his uncle, Arthur Chichester, 4th earl of Donegall, in 1757,…

Chichester, Frederick Richard (1827–53), earl of Belfast and littérateur, was born 25 November 1827, second son of George Hamilton Chichester, 3rd marquess of Donegall, and his wife Harriet, daughter of Richard Butler (qv), 1st earl of…

Chichester, George Augustus (1769–1844), 2nd marquess of Donegall, major Irish landowner , and noted spendthrift, was born 13 August 1769, eldest of three sons of Arthur Chichester (qv), 5th earl and 1st marquess, and his first wife…

Chrysted (Crystède, Christede, Christead, Chrystead, Castide, C(h)ristall, Chrystal, Cristelle), Henry (fl. c.1340–1395), English squire or knight. According to the chronicler Jean Froissart, he was a young man serving the Butlers of Ormond when he was captured by the…

Clare, Basilia de (fl. 1173–1201), noblewoman, was a sister of Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare (qv), earl of Striguil, better known as Strongbow. Basilia first comes to notice in 1173, when her…

Clare, Elizabeth (de Burgh ) (1295–1360), third and youngest daughter of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester, and his wife Joan ‘of Acre’, daughter of Edward I, was married and widowed three times by her thirtieth birthday and for most of her life was one of the wealthiest magnates…

Clare, Richard de (d. 1318), magnate, was the son of Thomas de Clare (qv), who was a younger brother of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester and of Hertford. Thomas had in 1276 received a speculative grant of Thomond (the rump of the O'…

Clare, Richard de (‘Richard fitz Gilbert’, ‘Strongbow’) (a. 1127–1176), earl of Pembroke and Strigoil and lord of Leinster, and one of the pivotal figures of Irish history, was eldest son of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Pembroke, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Robert de…

Clare, Thomas de (c.1245–1287), magnate, was the second son of Richard de Clare, earl of Gloucester and of Hereford, and Maud, daughter of John de Lacy, earl of Lincoln. He attended Oxford university with his younger brother Bogo from 1257 to 1259. Initially destined for a…

Cleland, John (1755–1834), Church of Ireland clergyman and land agent, was the second son of Moses Cleland, a Co. Down gentleman. He attended Glasgow University, graduating MA (1777), which supports the belief of…

Clements, William Sydney (1806–78), 3rd earl of Leitrim, landowner, and MP, was born in Dublin, second son among eight children of Nathaniel Clements (1768–1854), 2nd earl of Leitrim, and his wife Mary (d. 1840), co-heir of William Birmingham of Ross Hill, Co. Galway. Educated at…

Clotworthy, Sir John (d. 1665), 1st Viscount Massereene and politician, was the son of Sir Hugh Clotworthy who, together with a number of other Devon gentry, had come to Ireland with the army in the 1590s. Hugh Clotworthy married Mary, the daughter of Roger Langford, also an ex-…

Cogan, William Henry Forde (1821–94), landowner and politician, was the only son of Bryan Cogan (1767–1830) of Dublin and Athgarret, Co. Kildare. His mother, Bryan's wife, Eliza or Elizabeth, was a daughter of a Dublin silk manufacturer, Edward Madden (1739?–1830), a granddaughter…

Coghlan (Coughlan), Terence (d. 1653), politician and founder of the Coghlan family of Kilcolgan, Co. Offaly, was the third son of James Oge MacCoghlan, who received crown pardons in 1583 and 1602, and a crown grant of the castle, town, and lands of Kincorr in 1623. Terence…

Cole, Sir William (1571?–1653), English soldier and planter, was the only son of Emmanuel Cole, third son of Thomas Cole of London, and appears to have been raised in Devonshire. He may have studied at Cambridge, graduating BA and…

Cole, William Willoughby (1807–86), 3rd earl of Enniskillen and amateur geologist, was born 25 January 1807 at Florence Court, Co. Fermanagh, the country seat of the earls of Enniskillen. Cole was the eldest of three sons of the 2nd earl and his wife Charlotte, daughter of Henry…

Colley (Cowley), Sir George (d. 1614), landowner, was the son of Sir Henry Colley of Edenderry, King's Co. (Offaly), first governor of Philipstown, seneschal of King's Co., and member of the Irish council. The family had come to Ireland in the 1530s when…

Colthurst, Sir John Conway (c.1743–1787), 2nd baronet and landowner, was eldest of five sons of John Conway Colthurst (d. 1775), 1st baronet, and his wife Charlotte (d. 1774), third daughter of Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st earl of Kerry. His father, MP for Doneraile (1751–60…