Rothe family genealogy

Of County Kilkenny[1]

Arms: Or, on a mount in base ppr. a stag trippant ar. attired gu. in front of an oak tree vert. Crest: On a mount ppr. a stag lodged ar. attired or.

This family was descended from John, son of William Rothe, of Northon Rothe, Lancashire, England, who came to Ireland, temp. Henry II. They had their chief residence at Ballyraughtan and Tullaghmaine, in the county Kilkenny; and a branch of the family resided at New Ross, in the county Wexford.

Robert, son of David Rothe (or Rooth), Esq., of Ballyraughtan, temp. Henry VII. and Henry VIII., married Ellen, dau. of Walter Butler, Esq., Polestown, county Kilkenny, and had seven sons, of whom David, the eldest son, succeeded his father. The direct descendant and representative of said David, the eldest son of Robert, was Robert Rothe, of Tullaghmaine, who was a Colonel in the army of King James II.; forfeited therefor his estate, and followed his sovereign to France. John, of Ballyevan, the fifth son of Robert, son of David Rothe, of Ballyraughtan, temp. Henry VII., and Henry VIII., as above mentioned, was the ancestor of the branch of the family which settled at New Ross.

1. Thomas Rooth, had:

2. John, who had:

3. David, who had:

4. Thomas, who had:

5. Edward Rooth, Alderman, of Kilkenny, who had:

6. Richard, Ald., of Kilkenny, who died 4th July, 1637. He married Joan, daughter of John Archer, Ald., of Kilkenny, and had three daughters:

1. Mary.
2. Margaret.
3. Ellice.

Notes

[1] Rothe: David Rothe, Bishop of Ossory, was born in Ireland in the second half of the 16th century, and was educated at Douay. He was consecrated Bishop of Ossory in 1618. His name is appended to the Declaration of the Kilkenny Confederation. On the 18th August, 1646, he interdicted Kilkenny for not agreeing to the Nuncio’s policy; he died 20th April, 1650. He is beet known for his Analecta Sacra, published about 1617; which was an exposure of the Plantation Schemes of James I. in Ireland, and an appeal for union among Irishmen. Thomas Ryves, an Oxford graduate, was knighted by the king for his reply to the Analecta. It may be well to mention that the Nuncio here mentioned was Giovan Baptista Rinuccini, Archbishop of Fermo, who acted a prominent part in Ireland between the years 1645 and 1649. He was born at Rome on the 15th Sept., 1592. In 1645, he was sent by Pope Innocent X. as Nuncio to the Confederate Catholics (known as the “Kilkenny Confederation”), then in arms in Ireland; the main object of his embassy was to secure the free exercise of the Catholic religion in Ireland. His retinue consisted of twenty-six Italians, several Irish officers, and his secretary, Belling. He resided chiefly at Kilkenny, Limerick, and Galway; but some of his letters are dated from Duncannon, Waterford, Bunratty, and Maryborough. It was his policy throughout to oppose all propositions for peace that did not provide for the open recognition of his faith in Ireland, and the appointment of a Catholic Viceroy. He vainly endeavoured to reconcile the bitter animosities between Owen Roe O’Neill and Preston. In 1649 the Nuncio left Ireland; he died in 1653, and his remains were buried in the Cathedral of Fermo.