Thomas Keightley (official)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Keightley was an English courtier and official in Ireland, who as brother-in-law to Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
played a role in the abdication of James II
.
, Hertfordshire
, by his wife Anne, daughter of John Williams of London, whom he married in 1648. Thomas Keightley was appointed gentleman-usher to James, Duke of York, on 2 June 1672. Keightley appears to have temporarily adopted Catholicism, the religion of his master.
Soon after his marriage he sold his property at Hertingfordbury, and migrated to Ireland. On the appointment of his brother-in-law, Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon
, to the lord-lieutenancy in the autumn of 1685, Keightley was admitted into intimate relations with the Irish government. He was appointed vice-treasurer of Ireland early in 1686, and in July following was sent to London by Clarendon, nominally to attend to his private affairs, but really to keep Clarendon's brother, Rochester, posted on Irish matters, and to maintain Clarendon's influence at court.
Keightley seems to have stayed in London throughout James II's reign, but Clarendon's efforts to induce the king to give his brother-in-law a high place in the Irish government failed. When James II fled from Whitehall at the approach of William of Orange (December 1688), Keightley was sent by Clarendon to the fugitive king at Rochester to entreat him to stay in England. James II saw Keightley on the night of 22 December, but left for France early the next morning.
After the Glorious Revolution
Keightley returned to Ireland. In 1692 he was appointed a commissioner of the Irish revenue, a post which he had long sought. Many of his letters to John Ellis
, dated between 1698 and 1705, are in the British Museum. He welcomed his younger brother-in-law, the Earl of Rochester, who came to Ireland as lord-lieutenant in 1701, and was a lord justice on the retirement of Rochester in 1702. He was commissioner for the lord chancellor of Ireland in 1710. Keightley died on 19 January 1719.
, Staffordshire, 28 March 1580, purchased the estate of Hertingfordbury before 1643, when John Evelyn
visited him there (Diary
, i. 39), and he was sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1651. He may be the Thomas Keightley, merchant, of London, who sat as M.P. for Beeralston in the parliament of 1620–1. He died in London on 22 February 1662–3, and was buried in Hertingfordbury Church. He married Rose (1596–1683), daughter of Thomas Evelyn of Ditton, Surrey. This lady was a first cousin of John Evelyn
the diarist, and is described by him as possessing unusual sprightliness and comeliness when 86 years old.
On 9 July 1675 he married Frances, youngest daughter of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and Frances Hyde, Countess of Clarendon
, and sister of the Duke of York's first wife. On 19 January 1713 he met his wife, after an absence of more than twenty years, at Somerset House
, London. The long quarrel was due, in the opinion of the lady's relatives, to the uncertainties of her temper, and to no fault in her husband. She appears to have had religious difficulties, and was in 1686 living in retreat at Glaslough
, where she made the acquaintance of the controversialist Charles Leslie. Leslie may have written his Short and Easie Method with the Deists, 1698, in order to remove her doubts. His seven sons, all born in Ireland, between 1678 and 1688, died young. His wife and a daughter Catherine, wife of Lucius O'Brien, survived him.
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
played a role in the abdication of James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
.
Life
He was son of William Keightley (born 1621) of HertingfordburyHertingfordbury
Hertingfordbury is a small village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the county town of Hertford. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book.-Location:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, by his wife Anne, daughter of John Williams of London, whom he married in 1648. Thomas Keightley was appointed gentleman-usher to James, Duke of York, on 2 June 1672. Keightley appears to have temporarily adopted Catholicism, the religion of his master.
Soon after his marriage he sold his property at Hertingfordbury, and migrated to Ireland. On the appointment of his brother-in-law, Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon
Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon
Henry Hyde 2nd Earl of Clarendon PC was an English aristocrat and politician. He held high office at the beginning of the reign of James II of England, who had married his sister.-Early life:...
, to the lord-lieutenancy in the autumn of 1685, Keightley was admitted into intimate relations with the Irish government. He was appointed vice-treasurer of Ireland early in 1686, and in July following was sent to London by Clarendon, nominally to attend to his private affairs, but really to keep Clarendon's brother, Rochester, posted on Irish matters, and to maintain Clarendon's influence at court.
Keightley seems to have stayed in London throughout James II's reign, but Clarendon's efforts to induce the king to give his brother-in-law a high place in the Irish government failed. When James II fled from Whitehall at the approach of William of Orange (December 1688), Keightley was sent by Clarendon to the fugitive king at Rochester to entreat him to stay in England. James II saw Keightley on the night of 22 December, but left for France early the next morning.
After the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
Keightley returned to Ireland. In 1692 he was appointed a commissioner of the Irish revenue, a post which he had long sought. Many of his letters to John Ellis
John Ellis (official)
-Life:Born in or about 1643, he was the eldest son of John Ellis, author of Vindiciæ Catholicæ, by his wife Susannah, daughter of William Welbore of Cambridge. He received his education at Westminster School, and was elected student of Christ Church, Oxford, in 1664. At college he met Humphrey...
, dated between 1698 and 1705, are in the British Museum. He welcomed his younger brother-in-law, the Earl of Rochester, who came to Ireland as lord-lieutenant in 1701, and was a lord justice on the retirement of Rochester in 1702. He was commissioner for the lord chancellor of Ireland in 1710. Keightley died on 19 January 1719.
Family
His paternal grandfather, Thomas Keightley, born at KinverKinver
Kinver is a large village in South Staffordshire district, Staffordshire, England. It is in the far south-west of the county, at the end of the narrow finger of land surrounded by the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. The nearest towns are Stourbridge in the West...
, Staffordshire, 28 March 1580, purchased the estate of Hertingfordbury before 1643, when John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
visited him there (Diary
John Evelyn's Diary
The Diary of John Evelyn, a gentlemanly Royalist and virtuoso of the seventeenth century, was first published in 1818 under the title Memoirs Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, in an edition by William Bray. Bray was assisted by William Upcott, who had access to the Evelyn family...
, i. 39), and he was sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1651. He may be the Thomas Keightley, merchant, of London, who sat as M.P. for Beeralston in the parliament of 1620–1. He died in London on 22 February 1662–3, and was buried in Hertingfordbury Church. He married Rose (1596–1683), daughter of Thomas Evelyn of Ditton, Surrey. This lady was a first cousin of John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
the diarist, and is described by him as possessing unusual sprightliness and comeliness when 86 years old.
On 9 July 1675 he married Frances, youngest daughter of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and Frances Hyde, Countess of Clarendon
Frances Hyde, Countess of Clarendon
Frances Hyde, Countess of Clarendon - , was an English peeress and the mother-in-law of James II of England and grandmother of Queen Mary II and Queen Anne....
, and sister of the Duke of York's first wife. On 19 January 1713 he met his wife, after an absence of more than twenty years, at Somerset House
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...
, London. The long quarrel was due, in the opinion of the lady's relatives, to the uncertainties of her temper, and to no fault in her husband. She appears to have had religious difficulties, and was in 1686 living in retreat at Glaslough
Glaslough
Glaslough is a village and townland in the north of County Monaghan, Ireland, on the R185 regional road south of the border with Northern Ireland and northeast of Monaghan Town. Glaslough won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition in 1978. Castle Leslie, the large Victorian country house and luxury...
, where she made the acquaintance of the controversialist Charles Leslie. Leslie may have written his Short and Easie Method with the Deists, 1698, in order to remove her doubts. His seven sons, all born in Ireland, between 1678 and 1688, died young. His wife and a daughter Catherine, wife of Lucius O'Brien, survived him.