The Butler ancestry can be traced in an unbroken line to one Hervey who lived in England in about 1130. The power of the family stems from his son Hervey Walter who married Maud de Valognes, sister in law of Ranulph de Glanville, the most powerful of Henry II’s subjects. Their son Hubert Walter served Hernry II, Richard I and John and held the positions of Primate, Chief Justiciar, Papal Legate and Chancellor. When Hubert died died King John said “Now for the first time I am King of England”, this was ten years before he signed the Magna Carta. Hubert’s eldest son, Theobold, was the first to migrate to Ireland where in 1185 he was created Chief Butler. For more information on the wider Butler family see “Butler family history” written by family historian Lord Dunboyne (published in book form).
The branch of the Butler family covered in these pages stems from the village of Cappawhite, county Tipperary in Ireland. The seat of the family was a homestead named “Kilmore” on the outskirts of the village. The family has been traced back to the start of the 19th century. Earlier information is difficult to obtain as official birth, death and marriage records in Ireland were only established in the 1850’s. This was some five years after the start of the great potato famine in which the population of Ireland was halved through death and emigration. The civil war with England also destroyed most of the official records at that time.
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