Elizabeth Butler, Duchess of Ormond and 2nd Baroness Dingwall (née Preston; 1615–1684) reunited the Ormond estate as her maternal grandfather, Black Tom, 10th Earl of Ormond had it, by marrying James Butler, later Duke of Ormond, her second cousin once removed (see Family tree). She had inherited her share of the Ormond estate through her mother, Elizabeth Preston, who was Black Tom's daughter and only surviving child. Her husband had inherited his share from his grandfather Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond, Black Tom's successor in the earldom. Her share was the bigger one and included Kilkenny Castle.
Birth and origins
Elizabeth was born on 25 July 1615. She was the only child of Richard Preston and Elizabeth Butler. Her father had been a younger son of the Prestons of Whitehill, Scottish gentry of the Edinburgh area. He was a page at the Scottish court and became a favourite of James VI of Scotland, who made him a groom of his bedchamber and ennobled him by creating him Lord Dingwall in 1609.
Elizabeth's mother was the only surviving child of Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond, called Black Tom. She had been married before to her first cousin Theobald Butler, 1st Viscount Butler of Tulleophelim, who had died childless in 1613. Her family was Old English and descended from Theobald Walter, who had been appointed Chief Butler of Ireland by King Henry II in 1177.
Elizabeth's parents were both Protestant. They had married in 1614, not long before her maternal grandfather's death on 22 November 1614.
Black Tom's succession and inheritance
Her parents' lives were overshadowed by the problems of Elizabeth's maternal grandfather's succession and inheritance. Black Tom, had settled most of his estate on his male heir, his nephew Walter, who succeeded him as Earl of Ormond in 1614, according to the normal rules of succession of his title. However, Black Tom was a Protestant, whereas his nephew Walter, called "of the rosary beads", was a devout Catholic. King James I considered this a setback for his Irish politics. He intervened to keep the Ormond lands in Protestant hands. He decided that most of the estate should go to Black Tom's only child, Elizabeth. The King furthermore ordained that this daughter should marry his favourite Richard Preston, 1st Lord Dingwall, a Scottish Protestant. Accordingly, Elizabeth's parents married in 1614 as said before.
Father's succession
Elizabeth was a single child. Her mother was about 30 at her birth and Elizabeth was her first child. Her father was about 35. He had married late and as a former favourite of James I, he was probably a homosexual. Very soon her potential to become a rich heiress was recognised and marriage plans were made. Marquess of Buckingham wanted to marry Elizabeth, aged 3, to his nephew George Feilding. As a favour for her father, Buckingham arranged that the King advanced her father to Earl of Desmond in the peerage of Ireland in 1619.
In 1628 Elizabeth Preston, aged 13, only child, became a rich heiress when both her parents died in quick succession. First, on 10 October, her mother died in Wales and was buried in Westminster Abbey, then on 28 October her father drowned during a passage between Dublin and Holyhead. His title as Earl of Desmond became extinct, but Elizabeth inherited his Scottish title of Lord Dingwall to become Baroness Dingwall suo jure as the title had been created for her father with remainder to heirs and assigns whatsoever. As the only child Elizabeth inherited all her parents' part of the Ormond estate, which included Kilkenny Castle and the County Palatine of Tipperary. As she was a minor, she became a ward of the crown. Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland (1590–1649) was appointed her guardian.
Marriage and children
At Christmas 1629, aged 14, she married her second cousin once removed, James Butler. The common ancestor was James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond, who was her great grandfather and his great-great grandfather (see Family tree). The marriage made her Viscountess Thurles as he was at the time styled Viscount Thurles, which was the courtesy title of the heir apparent of the earls of Ormond. In 1630 the couple went to live at Carrick-on-Suir.