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Cowper, Earl (GB, 1718 - 1905)

 

Creation: let.pat. 20 Mar 1718

 

Extinct: 18 Jul 1905

 

Family name: Cowper

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Arms:

Quarterly of 9:  I, Argent three Martlets Gules on a Chief engrailed of the last as many Annulets Or (Cowper);  II, Quarterly: 1, Azure billettée a Lion Rampant Or (Nassau);  2, Or a Lion rampant guardant Gules ducally crowned Azure (Dietz);  3, Gules a Fess Argent (Vianden);  4, Gules two Lions passant guardant in pale Or (Katznellogen);  over all an Inescutcheon Argent a Lion rampant Sable (Auverquerque);  III, Quarterly 1 and 4, Or a Chief indented Azure (Butler);  2 and 3, Gules three Covered Cups Or (Office of Chief Butler of Ireland);  IV, Argent three Unicorns' Heads erased Sable (Preston);  V, Quarterly 1 and 4, Barry of six Argent and Azure (de Grey);  2 and 3, Vert a Chevron between three Stags at gaze trippant Or (Robinson);  VI, Argent on a Saltire Azure a Bezant (Yorke);  VII, Quarterly 1 and 4, Gyronny of eight Or and Sable (Campbell);  2, Or a Fess chequy Argent and Azure (Stewart);  3, Argent a Lymphad her Sails furled and Oars in action all proper (Lordship of Lorne);  VIII, Barry of six Argent and Azure in chief three Torteaux (Grey, Duke of Kent);  IX, Argent a Fess between six Annulets Gules (Lucas)

Crest:

A Lion's Gamb erect and erased Or holding a Cherry Branch Vert fructed Gules

Supporters:

On either side a Light Dun Horse, with a large blaze down the face, mane close shorn except for a tuft upon the withers, a black list down the back, a bob tail, and three white feet, viz. the hind feet and near forefoot

Motto:

 Tuum Est

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William [Cowper], 1st Baron Cowper later 1st Earl Cowper, PC

1st son and heir of Sir William Cowper, 2nd Bt. MP, of Ratling Court, co. Kent, by his wife Sarah Holled, dau. of Samuel Holled, a merchant of London

born

c. 1665

mar. (1)

c. 1686 Judith Booth (dsps. 2 Apr 1705), dau. and hrss. of Sir Robert Booth, of Wallbrook, London

mar. (2)

Sep 1706 Mary Clavering, a Lady of the Bedchamber to the Princess of Wales (b. 1685; d. 5 Feb 1723/4), dau. and hrss. of John Clavering, of Chopwell, co. Durham

children by second wife

1. Hon William Cowper, later 2nd Earl Cowper

2. Very Rev Hon Spencer Cowper DD, Dean of Durham (dsp. 25 Mar 1774), mar. 19 May 1743 Hon Dorothy Townshend, 1st dau. of by his second wife of Charles [Townshend], 2nd Viscount Townshend

1. Lady Sarah Cowper (d. unm. 1758)

2. Lady Anne Cowper (d. 26 Mar 1750), mar. 1731 James Edward Colleton, of Haynes Hill, co. Berkshire

died

10 Oct 1723 (bur. at Hertingfordbury, co. Hertford)

created

14 Dec 1706 Baron Cowper, of Wingam in the County of Kent

20 Mar 1717/8 Viscount Fordwich and Earl Cowper, with a special remainder to those dignities, and with a further extension of the remainder of the Barony of Cowper, failing heirs male of the body of the grantee, to his brother, Sir Spencer Cowper and the heirs male of his body

suc. by

son by second wife

note

barrister Middle Temple, 1868; King's Counsel 1689; Recorder of Colchester; Member of Parliament (Whig) for Hertford 1695-1700 and for Beeralston 1701-05; Keeper of the Great Seal 1705 ; Privy Councillor 1705; a Commissioner for the Union with Scotland 1706; suc. his father as 3rd Baronet of Ratling Court 26 Nov 1706; Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 1707-10 and 1714-18; Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire 1710-12 and 1714-21 ; a Lord Justice (Regent) of the Realm 1714; Lord High Steward of England 1716 and 1717; Governor of the Charterhouse

 

William [Cowper later Clavering-Cowper], 2nd Earl Cowper

born

13 Aug 1709

mar. (1)

27 Jun 1732 Lady Henrietta d'Auverquerque (dvp. 23 Sep 1747;  bur. at Hertingfordbury, co. Hertford), 3rd dau. and sole hrss. in her issue of Henry [d'Auverquerque], 1st Earl of Grantham, by his wife and cousin Lady Henrietta Butler, sister of James [Butler], 2nd Duke of Ormonde, and Charles [Butler], 3rd Duke of Ormonde, and 1st dau. of Thomas [Butler], 1st Baron Butler, styled Earl of Ossory (by his wife Emilia of Nassau, 1st dau. of Louis of Nassau, Lord of Auverquerque), 1st surv. son and heir ap. of James [Butler], 1st Duke of Ormonde

children by first wife

1. Hon George Nassau Clavering-Cowper, later 3rd Earl Cowper

2. Lady Caroline Clavering-Cowper (dspm. 2 Jun 1773), mar. 24 Jul 1753 as his first wife Henry Seymour (d. 1805), of Redland Court, co. Gloucester, Trent, co. Somerset, and Northbrook, co. Devon, a Groom of the Bedchamber, and had issue

mar. (2)

1 May 1750 Lady Georgiana Caroline Spencer (widow of Hon John Spencer, of Wimbledon, co. Surrey, and Althorp, co. Northumberland, 3rd son by his second wife of Charles [Spencer], 3rd Earl of Sunderland; d. 25 Aug 1780;  bur. at Hertingfodbury, co. Hertford), sister and cohrss. of Robert [Carteret], 3rd Earl Granville, and 3rd dau. of John [Carteret], 2nd Earl Granville, by his first wife Frances Worsley, only dau. of Sir Robert Worsley, 4th Bt., of Appuldercombe in the Isle of Wight

died

18 Sep 1764 (bur. at Hertingfordbury, co. Hertford)

suc. by

son by first wife

note

a Lord of the Bedchamber 1733-47 ; Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of Hertfordshire 1744-64; assumed the additional name of Clavering on the death of his maternal uncle 1762

 

George Nassau [Clavering-Cowper], 3rd Earl Cowper

born

26 Aug 1738

mar.

2 Jun 1775 Hannah Anne Gore (d. 5 Sep 1826;  bur. at Leghorn, Italy), dau. and cohrss. of Charles Gore, of Horkstowe, co. Lincoln

children

1. Hon George Augustus Clavering-Cowper, later 4th Earl Cowper

2. Hon Peter Leopold Louis Francis Nassau Clavering-Cowper, later 5th Earl Cowper

3. Hon Edward Spencer Clavering-Cowper MP, of Digswell, co. Hertford (b. 1779; dsp. 1823), mar. 1808 Catharine Phillipps, dau. of Thomas March Phillipps, of Garendon Park, co. Leicester

died

22 Dec 1789 (bur, at Hertingfordbury, co. Hertford)

created

31 Jan 1778 Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, with remainder to the heirs male of his body

suc. by

son

note

Member of Parliament (Whig) for Hertford 1759-61; a Knight of St Hubert of Bavaria; inherited the estates of his maternal grandfather 1754

 

George Augustus [Clavering-Cowper], 4th Earl Cowper

born

9 Aug 1776

died

12 Feb 1799 (bur. at Hertingfordbury, co. Hertford)

suc. by

brother

 

Peter Leopold Louis Francis Nassau [Clavering-Cowper], 5th Earl Cowper

born

6 May 1778

mar.

20 Jul 1805 Hon Emily Mary Lamb (b. 21 Apr 1787; mar. (2) 16 Dec 1839 Henry John [Temple], 3rd Viscount Palmerston; d. 11 Sep 1869;  bur. in Westminster Abbey), 1st dau. of Peniston [Lamb], 1st Viscount Melbourne, by his wife Elizabeth Milbanke, dau. of Sir Ralph Milbanke, 5th Bt., of Halnaby, co. York

children

1. Hon George Augustus Frederick Cowper, later 6th Earl Cowper

2. Hon William Frances Cowper later Cowper-Temple, later 1st Baron Mount Temple

3. Hon Charles Spencer Cowper (b. 9 Jun 1816; dsps. 30 May 1879), mar. (1) 1 Sep 1852 Lady Harriet Anne D'Orsay (widow of Alfred, Count D'Orsay; dsps. 17 Dec 1869), only dau. and hrss. of Charles John [Gardiner], 1st Earl of Blesington, by his first wife Mary Campbell Browne, widow of Maj William Browne and dau. of Alexander McDougall, surgeon, and (2) 11 Apr 1871 Jessie Mary McLean, dau. of Col Clinton McLean, and had issue by his first wife:

1a. Mary Harriette Cowper (d. young 1854)

1. Lady Emily Caroline Catherine Frances Cowper (b. 6 Nov 1810; d. 15 Oct 1872), mar. 16 Jun 1830 Anthony [Ashley-Cooper], 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, and had issue

2. Lady Frances Elizabeth Cowper, a Lady of the Bedchamber 1841-67 (b. 9 Feb 1820; d. 26 Mar 1880), mar. 29 Apr 1841 Hon Robert Jocelyn, styled Viscount Jocelyn (b. 20 Feb 1816; dvp. 12 Aug 1854), 1st son and heir ap. by his first wife of Robert [Jocelyn], 3rd Earl of Roden, and had issue

died

21 Jun 1837 (bur. at Hertingfordbury, co. Hertford)

suc. by

son

 

George Augustus Frederick [Cowper], 6th Earl Cowper

born

26 Jun 1806

mar.

7 Oct 1833 Lady Anne Florence De Grey, suo jure Baroness Lucas of Crudwell (b. 8 Jun 1806; d. 25 Jul 1880), 1st dau. of Thomas Philip [Robinson later Weddell later De Grey], 2nd Earl de Grey, by his wife Lady Henrietta Frances Cole, 5th dau. of  William Willoughby [Cole], 1st Earl of Enniskillen

children

1. Hon Francis Thomas de Grey Cowper, later 7th Earl Cowper

2. Hon Henry Frederick Cowper, Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire 1865-85 (b. 18 Apr 1836; d. 10 Nov 1887)

1. Lady Henrietta Emily Mary Cowper (d. 28 Jun 1853)

2. Lady Florence Amabell Cowper (d. 26 Apr 1886), mar. 9 Aug 1871 Hon Auberon Edward William Molyneux Herbert, of Old House, Berry Wood, Ringwood, co. Hampshire, Member of Parliament for Nottingham 1870-74 (b. 18 Jun 1838; d. 5 Nov 1906), 2nd son of Henry John George [Herbert], 3rd Earl of Carnarvon, and had issue

3. Lady Adine Eliza Anne Cowper (d. 20 Oct 1868), mar. 29 Sep 1866 Hon Julian Henry Charles Fane (b. 10 Oct 1827; d. 19 Apr 1870), 4th son of John [Fane], 11th Earl of Westmorland, and had issue

4. Lady Amabell Cowper (d. 15 Oct 1906), mar. 18 Nov 1873 Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Talbot Kerr GCB RN (b. 28 Sep 1839; d. 12 May 1927), 4th son of John William Robert [Kerr], 7th Marquess of Lothian, and had issue

died

15 Apr 1856 (bur. at Hertingfordbury, co. Hertford)

suc. by

son

note

Member of Parliament (Whig) for Canterbury 1830-34; Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1834; Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of Kent 1846-56

 

Francis Thomas de Grey [Cowper], 7th Earl Cowper, KG PC

born

11 Jun 1834

mar.

25 Oct 1870 Lady Katrine Cecilia Compton (b. 26 Jul 1845; d. 23 Mar 1913; bur. at Hertingfordbury, co. Hertford), 1st dau. of William [Compton], 4th Marquess of Northampton, by his wife Eliza Elliot, 2nd dau. of Adm Hon Sir George Elliot KCB (2nd son of Gilbert [Elliot Murray Kynynmound], 1st Earl of Minto)

died

s.p. 19 Jul 1905 (bur. at Hertingfordbury, co. Hertford)

note

Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of Bedfordshire 1861-1905; Knight of the Garter 1865; Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery 1869-74; Privy Councillor 1871; on 15 Aug 1871 he was declared to have inherited, as heir general of Thomas [Butler], 1st Baron Butler of Moore Park, styled Earl of Ossory, eldest son of James [Butler], 1st Duke of Ormonde, the Barony of Butler of Moore Park, of Moore Park in the County of Hampshire, in the Peerage of England (writ sum. 14 Sep 1666), and the Lordship of Dingwall in the Peerage of Scotland (cr. 8 Jun 1609), the attainder affecting those titles having been reversed in that year; Captain of the Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms 1871-74; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1880-82; suc. his mother as 8th Baron Lucas of Crudwell 25 Jul 1880; High Steward of Colchester 1883

 

On the death of the 7th Earl Cowper the Princedom of the Holy Roman Empire, the Earldom and Barony of Cowper and the Viscountcy of Fordwich became extinct, the Barony of Butler of Moore Park fell into abeyance among his sisters and their heirs, and the Lordship of Dingwall and the Barony of Lucas of Crudwell devolved on his nephew as the heir general of the original grantees of those titles.

 

First written 2 Jun 2003

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