Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Coote,_1st_Earl_of_Mountrath

From Darryl Lundy's Peerage page on Charles Coote:

http://thepeerage.com/p12957.htm#i129565

Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath [1]

• M, #129565,
• b. circa 1605,
• d. 18 December 1661
• Last Edited=17 Feb 2011

Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath was born circa 1605.[2] He was the son of Sir Charles Coote, 1st Bt. and Dorothea Cuffe.[1]

He married, firstly, Mary Ruish, daughter of Rt. Hon. Sir Francis Ruish.[2]

He married, secondly, Jane Hannay, daughter of Sir Robert Hannay of Mochrum, 1st Bt. and Jane Stewart, before May 1645.[3]

He died on 18 December 1661.[4]

Sources:

• He was invested as a Knight in 1626.[2]
• He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for County Leitrim [Ireland] from 1634 to 1635.[2] He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for County Leitrim [Ireland] in 1639.[2]
• He held the office of Provost Marshal Connaught in 1639.[2]
• He succeeded to the title of 2nd Baronet Coote, of Castle Cuffe, Queen's Co. [I., 1621] on 7 May 1642.[2]
• He held the office of Parliamentary Lord President of Connaught in 1645.[2] He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for County Galway and Mayo from 1645 to 1659.[2]
• He held the office of Lord Justice of Ireland in 1660.[2]
• He gained the rank of Colonel of Horse in 1660.[2]
• He held the office of President of Connaught in 1660.[2]
• He was created 1st Baron Coote of Castle Cuffe, in Queen's Co. [Ireland] on 6 September 1660.[2]
• He was created 1st Earl of Mountrath, in Queen's Co. [Ireland] on 6 September 1660.[1] He was created 1st Viscount Coote of Castle Coote, co. Roscommon [Ireland] on 6 September 1660.[2]
• He held the office of Governor of Queen's County in 1661.[2]

Child of Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath and Mary Ruish

• 1. Charles Coote, 2nd Earl of Mountrath+[5] b. c 1628, d. 30 Aug 1672
• 2. Children of Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath and Jane Hannay
• 3. unknown son Coote [2]
• 4. unknown daughter Coote [2]
• 5. unknown daughter Coote [2]
• 6. Colonel Hon. Richard Coote+[5] b. Feb 1643, d. 1700

Citations

• 1. [S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume III, page 415. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
• 2. [S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 891. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
• 3. [S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume IX, page 359.
• 4. [S37] Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition, volume 1, page 892.
• 5. [S37] Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

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From Sir Charles Coote, the 1st and 2nd Baronets by Turtle Bunbury:

http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_family/hist_family_cuf...

Sir Charles Coote, 2nd Baronet, proved every bit as brutal as his father. 'Kakou korakos kakon oon', one might say. 'A bad egg from a bad crow.' In 1645, he was made Lord President of Connaught and "disregarding the truce made by order of the King in 1643 he continued to ravage it, like another Attila the Hun, with fire and the sword".

During the latter years of the Confederate Wars, he won major victories over rebel forces at Sligo (1646), Coleraine (1649), Carrickfergus (1649), Londonderry (1650), Athlone (1650), Portumna (1650), Ballyshannon (1651), Donegal (1651), Ballymote (1651) and Galway (1652). Thousands of suspected rebels, including children, were massacred under his command. Indeed he callously stated with regard to the slaughter of children that "nits will grow lice".

In 1653 he personally orchestrated the shipping of 2,000 rebels from Connaught to Jamaica, lately conquered by Cromwell's Admiral Penn. The Cuffe family maintained a connection with Jamaica until the 19th century.

Sir Charles Coote, the younger, continued to prosper during the Cromwellian era. By 1659 he was one of the five Commissioners entrusted with the governance of Ireland.

One of his few close friends was Sir William Petty, the man appointed by Cromwell to oversee the redistribution of forfeited Irish lands to loyal English soldiers and the London businessmen who sponsored the conquest. Sir Charles benefited greatly from this friendship, acquiring a substantial estate of 4444 acres in County Clare as well as lands throughout Leinster, Munster and Connaught.

Sir Charles Coote was a prime mover at the convention of 1660 for the Restoration of Charles II, who rewarded him with lands and the title of Earl of Mountrath. He was subsequently confirmed in his role as President of Connaught and appointed Governor of the merchant city of Galway. He also received a grant of Athlone Castle and was awarded an exceptionally generous annual salary. As one of three Irish Justiciars (chief governors) appointed, Coote enjoyed a large degree of independence in the governance of Ireland control over Irish affairs.

Coote's luck ran out in December 1661 when he died of the small pox. His widow, Lady Jane, remarried Sir Robert Reading. In compensation for the loss of her husband, she was granted a license to build and maintain lighthouses around the Irish coast and to extract dues from mariners accordingly for 31 years. The ruined lighthouse on the Old Head of Kinsale, County Cork, is the only one still standing.