Sir William Talbot, 3rd Baronet (c.1643-1691) was the last of the Talbot baronets of Carton: his title was forfeited on account of his loyalty to King

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

. He was an Irish politician and judge, who served briefly as

Master of the Rolls in Ireland The Master of the Rolls in Ireland was a senior judicial office in the Irish Chancery under English and British rule, and was equivalent to the Master of the Rolls in the English Chancery. Originally called the Keeper of the Rolls, he was respons ...

. He was born about 1643, the only son of Sir Robert Talbot, 2nd Baronet of Carton, and Grace Calvert, daughter of

George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632), was an English politician and colonial administrator. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I. He lost mu ...

and his wife Anne Mynne (or Mayne). His father was the eldest of eight brothers, of whom the most eminent were

Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell PC (c. 1630 – 14 August 1691) was an Irish politician, courtier and soldier. Talbot's early career was spent as a cavalryman in the Irish Confederate Wars. Following a period on the Continent, he joined ...

, and Peter Talbot, Archbishop of Dublin. All three brothers served the Stuart dynasty with notable loyalty during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

and the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

, and William shared his family's loyalty to the Stuarts. He was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

, succeeded to his father's title in 1670, and for a time acted as Secretary to the Province of Maryland, presumably at the request of his maternal uncle,

Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (8 August 1605 – 30 November 1675), also often known as Cecilius Calvert, was an English nobleman, who was the first Proprietor of the Province of Maryland, ninth Proprietary Governor of the Colony of Newfo ...

, who was Proprietor of Maryland. The Talbot and Calvert families were devoutly

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

; William's uncle Archbishop Talbot died in prison in 1680, a victim of the fabricated Popish Plot. Perhaps inspired by his uncle's example, Sir William in 1682 made a public plea for

religious toleration Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...

of Catholics. His open Catholic beliefs, combined with the influence of his uncle Lord Tyrconnell who, as

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

, became for a short time almost all-powerful in Ireland, gained him preferment, especially during the reign of the ardently Catholic King James II. He became a Commissioner of the Revenue in 1682, a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

in 1687 and Master of the Rolls in 1689. He sat in the

Patriot Parliament Patriot Parliament is the name commonly used for the Irish Parliament session called by King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland which lasted from 1688 to 1691. The first since 1666, it held only one session, which lasted from 7 May ...

of 1689 as member for Meath. After the downfall of James II, Talbot was attainted and his lands and title were subsequently forfeited under the Williamite Settlement. He died at

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

in May 1691. He married in 1683 Lady Anne Nugent, widow of Lucas Dillon, 6th Viscount Dillon, and daughter of

Richard Nugent, 2nd Earl of Westmeath Richard Nugent, 2nd Earl of Westmeath (1621/23 – 25 February 1684) was an Irish nobleman. Life He was the grandson of Richard Nugent, 1st Earl of Westmeath and Jenet Plunkett. Nugent's father, Christopher, Lord Delvin, had predeceased the first ...

and Mary Nugent; she died in 1710.''Burke's Peerage'' p.3854 They had no children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talbot, Sir William, 3rd Baronet Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland 1640s births 1691 deaths Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Irish MPs 1689 Masters of the Rolls in Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Meath constituencies

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...