John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery

Life

He was the second son of Richard Vaughan, 2nd Earl of Carbery, and his second wife Frances (c.1621 – 9 October 1650), daughter of Sir John Altham of Oxhey, Watford, Hertfordshire. He inherited his title and the Carmarthenshire estate (Golden Grove) in 1686 on the death of his father. His elder brother Francis had already died.

He was invested as a Knight, Order of the Bath (KB) in April 1661. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Carmarthen between 1661 and 1679 and again for Carmarthenshire between 1679 and 1689. He served as the governor of Jamaica from 1674 to 1678. His deputy was the celebrated privateer and fellow Welshman Sir Henry Morgan. During his tenure as governor, he unsuccessfully tried to defeat the Jamaican Maroons, who were led at the time by Juan de Serras.

He had a reputation for debauchery; Samuel Pepys described him as "the lewdest fellow of the age". Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, whose impeachment Vaughan strongly supported, called him a man who was "as ugly in face as in fame". As governor of Jamaica, he became notorious for corruption, and was even accused of selling his servants into slavery.

He was President of the Royal Society between 1686 and 1689, having been elected a Fellow in 1685. He was Colonel of the Regiment of Foot from 1673 to 1674 and Lord of the Admiralty from 1689 to 1690.

On his death his titles became extinct. His estates passed to a cousin, another John Vaughan (1693–1765), who rebuilt the Golden Grove mansion.