BUTTON, John (c.1596-1665), of Buckland, nr. Lymington, Hants.

Button’s grandfather acquired the manor of Buckland, just outside Lymington, in the early sixteenth century, and settled it on his younger sons. VCH Hants, iv. 647. Button’s first wife brought him more property in the neighbourhood, and his brother-in-law Thomas South*, as recorder, was in a position to assist his return for the borough in 1625. PROB 11/125, f. 353v. He took the first seat unanimously by 18 votes, but he left no trace on the records of the first Caroline Parliament, and did not stand again in this period. Hants RO, 27M74A/DBC1, p. 137. He registered his disapproval of the Forced Loan by asking to be excused from subscribing, instead ‘voluntarily’ offering the £15 demanded. Add. 21922, f. 16v. As a result he was dismissed from the county bench, but procured a general pardon and was restored two years later. C231/4, f. 202. He helped to secure the return of his close friend and fellow protester Richard Whithed* for Lymington in 1628. He compounded at £25 for knighthood in 1630, and as sheriff revised the Ship Money assessment to include mercantile wealth. Add. 21922, f. 176v; CSP Dom. 1636-7, pp. 436, 469, 1637-8, p. 166; P. Haskell, ‘Ship Money in Hants’, Hants Studies ed. J. Webb et al. 82, 91, 104. He supported Parliament in the Civil War, but did not sit after Pride’s Purge; in 1659 he arranged for his son to represent Lymington in his stead. He resumed his seat with the return of the secluded Members, and sat in the Restoration Convention, but was disarmed by the deputy lieutenants in 1661. M.F. Keeler, Long Parl. 123; Add. 21922, f. 243v. He drew up his will in 1663, without religious preamble, and was buried at Lymington on 7 Mar. 1665. Hants RO, 1666A/016. His grandson John, the last of the family, was successful in both elections of 1679, but died before the year was out.