John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton
Sir
John, Lord Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton (
1602-
August 28,
1678), fifth and youngest son of Sir Maurice Berkeley. He commanded the army against the Scots in 1638, and was knighted at Berwick in that year. He bore a conspicuous part in the civil wars that followed, supporting the royal cause; he became Governor of Exeter, and General of the
King Charles I’s forces in Devon. He participated in the exile of the royal family, in 1652, and was placed at the head of the Duke of York’s establishment, having the management of all the Duke's receipts and expenditures. On
May 19,
1658 he was raised to the
Peerage, as Baron Berkeley of Stratton, in the county of
Somerset. On the restoration he became one of the
Privy Council, and towards the close of
1669, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and administered the government for two years. In
1675 he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to Versailles, and died 28 August, 1678. Although holding so many distingnished offices some authorities assert that, at one time, he was under a cloud, in consequence of his being detected in selling of offices, and other corrupt practices.
Pepys speaks of him as being esteemed "a fortunate, though a passionate, and but weak man as to policy", and "the most hot, fiery man in discourse, without any cause", he ever saw. The intimate relations existing between Berkeley and
King Charles and the
Duke of York, as shown in Pepys' illustrative diary, fully account for the granting to him an interest in
New Jersey, as well as in
Carolina, which he had previously received.
{| border="2" align="center"
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|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
New Creation
|width="40%" align="center"|Baron Berkeley of Stratton
|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Charles Berkeley
|}
References
New Jersey Archives, First Series. Newark, NJ, 1880-1893., Volume 1, page 25.
Whitehead, William Adee, East Jersey under the proprietary governments. New York, New-Jersey historical society, 1846, page 103.
O'Callaghan, ed., Documents relating to the Colonial history of the State of New York, 1849 - 1851. Volume 2, page 599.