Francis Courtenay
Arms of Francis Courtenay of Powderham: Or, three torteaux a label azure[1]
Bornc. 1576
Died3 June 1638(1638-00-00) (aged 61–62)
Resting placeSt Clement's Church, Powderham, Devon
50°39′01″N 3°27′17″W / 50.6503°N 3.4547°W / 50.6503; -3.4547
NationalityEnglish
OccupationMP
Spouses
  • Mary Pole
  • Elizabeth Seymour
ChildrenSir William Courtenay, 1st Baronet
Edward Courtenay
Francis Courtenay
James Courtenay
Elizabeth Courtenay
Parent(s)Sir William Courtenay
Elizabeth Manners

Francis Courtenay, de jure 4th Earl of Devon, (c. 1576 – 3 June 1638) of Powderham, Devon, was an English Member of Parliament.[2] In 1831 he was recognised retrospectively as having been de jure 4th Earl of Devon, having succeeded his father in 1630.

Origins

Courtenay was the second but eldest surviving son of Sir William Courtenay (1553–1630), de jure 3rd Earl of Devon of Powderham Castle, Devon, by his first wife Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland (1526–1563).[3]

Career

He was MP for Devonshire in 1625[2] and possibly for Grampound in 1626.[4] In 1633 he was Colonel of a regiment of the Devon Trained Bands.[5]

Marriages and issue

Powderham Castle, the Courtenay family seat

Courtenay married twice. He married firstly, 7 November 1606, Mary (born 1586), widow of Nicholas Hurst of Oxton, Devon and eldest daughter of Sir William Pole (1561–1635), of Colcomb, Devon.[6] They had no children.

He married secondly, by 1628,[2] Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet (c. 1580 – 1659) of Berry Pomeroy, Devon, by whom he had issue:[7]

Death

Courtenay died on 3 June and was buried on 5 June 1638 at Powderham, Devon.[3][7] He was succeeded by his eldest son, William. His widow later married Sir Amos Meredith, 1st Baronet of Marston, Devon. She died by 6 February 1664.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ These were also the arms of Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (died 1377), and can be seen impaling Bohun on the monumental brass of one of his younger sons, Sir Peter Courtenay (died 1405), in Exeter Cathedral
  2. ^ a b c Venning & Hunneyball 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Mosley 1 2003, p. 1124.
  4. ^ Venning & Hunneyball 2010: "The Francis Courtney elected in 1626 at Grampound was most likely a Cornish namesake, although Courtenay’s distant kinship with one of the borough’s patrons, John Mohun, means that he cannot be entirely ruled out."
  5. ^ Devon Trained Bands 1633 at the British Civil War Project (archived at the Wayback Machine).
  6. ^ Vivian 1895, p. 247, 603.
  7. ^ a b Vivian 1895, p. 247.

References

External links

Peerage of England Preceded byWilliam Courtenay Earl of Devon de jure 1630–1638 Succeeded bySir William Courtenay, Bt
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