The
Vaughans
of
Golden Grove
claimed descent from
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn
,
prince of Powys
(q.v.)
. The first member of the family to settle at
Golden Grove
was
JOHN
VAUGHAN
. His son,
WALTER
VAUGHAN
m. (1)
Katherine
, second daughter of
Gruffydd ap Rhys
of
Dinefwr
(see
Rice
family
), and (2)
Letitia
, daughter of
Sir
John
Perrot
(q.v.)
. He was succeeded by his eldest son,
JOHN
VAUGHAN
(
1572
-
1634
),
who served under the
earl of Essex
in the
Irish campaign
of
1599
. He was
Member of Parliament
for
Carmarthen borough
in
1601
and
1620-22
. Appointed
Comptroller of the Household
to the
prince of Wales
(afterwards
Charles
I
), he accompanied him to
Spain
in
1623
. He was created
baron Vaughan of Mullingar
and
earl of Carbery
in the
Irish
peerage. He m. (1)
Margaret
, daughter of
Sir
Gelly
Meyrick
(q.v.)
, and (2)
Jane
, daughter of
Sir
Thomas
Palmer
of
Wingham
,
Kent
. He d.
6 May 1634
, and was buried at
Llandeilo-fawr
.
John
Vaughan
was succeeded by his eldest and only surviving son,
RICHARD
VAUGHAN
(
1600?
-
1686
),
who had been
knighted
on the occasion of the coronation of
Charles
I
in
Feb. 1625/6
. He was a
Member of Parliament
for
Carmarthenshire
,
1624-9
, and admitted to
Gray's Inn
in
Feb. 1637/8
. In
March 1642
the
House of Commons
nominated him
lord-lieutenant of the militia
, to be raised in
Carmarthenshire
and
Cardiganshire
; but on the outbreak of the
Civil War
he was appointed by the
king
to the
command of the Royalist Association of the three western counties
.
The House of Commons
, therefore, resolved to impeach him in
April 1643
.
Carbery
does not appear to have taken any active steps until the summer of
1643
when he summoned representatives of
Pembrokeshire
to a conference at
Carmarthen
, with a view to suppressing those who had Parliamentary sympathy there, and to the security of
Milford Haven
, where troops, withdrawn from
Ireland
, might land. He entered the county in Aug.
Tenby
submitted on
30 Aug.
, and a garrison was placed in
Haverfordwest
.
Pembroke
, however, proved defiant under the leadership of the
mayor
,
John
Poyer
(q.v.)
, who was joined by
Rowland
Laugharne
(q.v.)
.
Carbery
appointed his uncle,
Sir
Henry
Vaughan
of
Derwydd
(below),
commander of the Royalist forces
in
Pembrokeshire
. With the assistance of ships of the
Parliamentary fleet
,
Laugharne
took the offensive, reduced the
Royalist garrisons
, and captured the fort which they were building at
Pill
on
Milford Haven
(
23 Feb. 1644
).
Sir
Henry
Vaughan
withdrew from
Haverfordwest
and
Carbery
left the county, resigning his commission in April. He was ordered to pay an immediate fine of £160 for his delinquency to the
Committee for Compounding
, and on
17 Nov. 1645
his full obligation was assessed at £4,500. But
Rowland
Laugharne
personally intervened in his favour, and on
9 April 1647
the
House of Commons
remitted the fine. The fact that he escaped sequestration suggests that he took no definite part in the struggle after
1644
. He tried to dissuade the
Carmarthenshire
gentry from lending any support to
Poyer
and
Laugharne
in the revolt against disbanding in
1648
. During the
Civil War
disturbances
Jeremy
Taylor
took refuge at
Golden Grove
and dedicated his
Holy Living
,
1650
, and
Holy Dying
,
1650/1
, to
Carbery
as his
patron
and protector. After the
Restoration
Carbery
was appointed
lord-president of the Marches of Wales
at
Ludlow
, and there he had
Samuel
Butler
as his
secretary
and
steward of the castle
; part of
Hudibras
is said to have been composed there.
Carbery
was removed from the
presidency
in
1672
owing to charges brought against him of ill-treatment of his servants and tenants at
Dryslwyn
. He d.
3 Dec. 1686
. He m. (1)
Bridget
, daughter of
Thomas
Lloyd
,
Llanllyr, Cards.
, (2)
Frances
, daughter of
Sir
John
Altham
,
Oxhey, Herts.
, and (3)
lady
Alice
Egerton
, daughter of
John
,
1st earl of Bridgwater
. His surviving children were by his second wife.
FRANCIS
VAUGHAN
, the eldest son, was
Member of Parliament
for
Carmarthen
,
1661-7
, and d. in
1667
without issue. He was, therefore, succeeded by
John
, who was the
3rd and last
earl of Carbery
.
JOHN
VAUGHAN
(
1640
-
1713
),
3rd earl of Carbery
,
matriculated from
Christ Church
,
Oxford
,
23 July 1656
, and was admitted to the
Inner Temple
in
1658
. He was
knighted
in
1661
and represented the
borough of Carmarthen
in
Parliament
,
1661-79
, and the county,
1679-81
and
1685-7
. He was appointed
governor
of
Jamaica
in
1674
. There he was in constant conflict with the
deputy-governor
, the notorious
Sir
Henry
Morgan
(q.v.)
, who intrigued with
buccaneers
and endangered the peace with
France
and
Spain
, which the
governor
was instructed to preserve. He was superseded by the
earl of Carlisle
in
1678
. After his succession to his father's estates he settled down in
London
, pursuing his
scientific investigations
. He was
president
of the
Royal Society
(
1686-9
). He was also a member of the
Kit-Kat Club
, and is described by
Samuel
Pepys
as ‘
one of the lewdest fellows of the age
.’ As he d. in
Jan. 1712/13
without male issue, the earldom became extinct.
Sir
HENRY
VAUGHAN
(
1587?
-
1659?
),
Royalist
, was the 6th son of
Walter
Vaughan
of
Golden Grove
and a younger brother of
John
Vaughan
,
1st earl of Carbery
. He settled at
Derwydd
. He was
sheriff
of
Carmarthenshire
in
1620
and
Member of Parliament
for the county in
1621-9
and
1640
. He was
knighted
at
Oxford
1 Jan. 1643
, and disabled from sitting in the
Commons
5 Feb. 1644
. Accompanying
Carbery
into
Pembrokeshire
in
1643
he was given
command of the Royalist forces
there. After the success of
Rowland
Laugharne
at
Pill
(
Feb. 1644
) he abandoned
Haverfordwest
and retired to
Carmarthen
. He was taken prisoner at the
battle of Naseby
(
14 June 1645
) and committed to the
Tower
.
WILLIAM
VAUGHAN
(
1575
-
1641
),
author and colonial pioneer
,
was the second son of
Walter
Vaughan
of
Golden Grove
and brother of
John
Vaughan
,
1st earl of Carbery
. He matriculated from
Jesus College
,
Oxford
,
4 Feb. 1592
(
B.A.
March 1594
,
M.A.
Nov. 1597
). He travelled widely on the Continent. In
1616
he was
sheriff
of
Carmarthenshire
. He m.
Elizabeth
, daughter and heiress of
David ap Robert
of
Llangyndeyrn
(now called
Torcoed
). In
1617
he purchased land from the
Company of Adventurers to Newfoundland
, and sent out settlers from
Wales
at his own expense in that year and two years later. The settlement he called ‘
Cambriol
,’ and
he gave it
Welsh
place-names; it was situated on the south coast at the head of
Tripaney Bay
.
Vaughan
was prevented by ill-health from going out himself in
1622
, and he did not succeed in establishing the colony. Owing to severe weather conditions and other causes the scheme was abandoned. He was
knighted
in
1628
. His writings include (
a
) a work entitled
Golden Grove
(
1600
), a commonplace-book which includes quotations from a great variety of authors, classical, mediaeval, and contemporary, arranged under three headings — moral, economic, and political. He also wrote (
b
) a
Latin
poem in celebration of the marriage of
Charles
I
, and (
c
) the curious compilation which he entitled
The Golden Fleece
(
1626
). In both he employed the pseudonym ‘
Orpheus Junior
.’
The Golden Fleece
contains verse, both in
Latin
and
English
, animadversions on religion of a distinctly anti-Romanist character, and observations on the commercial weaknesses of the kingdom, all leading to the
advocacy of colonisation
, particularly in
Newfoundland
. He also wrote other pamphlets dealing mainly with questions of religion and health. He d. at
Llangyndeyrn
in
Aug. 1641
, and was buried in the churchyard there.
