John was born in 1643 in Dublin, the sixth child of
James Butler and his wife
Elizabeth Preston. At the time his father was the 1st
Marquess of Ormond, but he would later become the 1st Duke. His father's family, the
Butler dynasty, were
Old English. John's mother was his father's second cousin once removed. She was a rich heiress, the only child of
Richard Preston, 1st Earl of Desmond. His parents had married on Christmas Day 1629. John was one of 10 siblings, but five died in childhood. See
Thomas,
Richard, and
Elizabeth. John was born in Dublin, where his mother had rejoined his father in 1642 after the Confederates allowed her to leave
Kilkenny Castle. In 1647 he was then taken by his parents to England when his father handed Dublin over to the Parliamentarians. In 1648 his mother took him and his siblings to
Caen in Normandy, France, while his father stayed somewhat longer in England. His father then also fled to France and was employed by the king in Paris and on international missions. In 1652 the family in Caen ran out of money and his mother went with the children to London and obtained some help from Cromwell. In 1655 she moved to Ireland and lived with her children at Dunmore near Kilkenny. At the restoration, their father rejoined them in Ireland. == In Parliament ==