Sir William Cavendish, the second son of the first Sir Thomas, became the founder of several noble families. He was married three times: first to a daughter of Edward Bostock, of Whatcross in Cheshire; secondly, to a daughter of Sir Thomas Conyngsby, and widow of William Paris; and thirdly, to Elizabeth, daughter of John Hardwick, of Hardwick, and widow of Robert Barley, of Barley. He was “a man of learning and business,” and was much employed in important affairs by his sovereigns; filling the posts of Treasurer of the Chamber and Privy Councillor to Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Mary. At the suppression of the religious houses under Henry VIII., he was “appointed one of the Commissioners for visiting them, and afterwards was made one of the auditors of the Court of Augmentation,” which was instituted for the purpose of augmenting the revenues by the suppression of the monasteries; for his services he received three valuable manors in Hertfordshire which, later on, he exchanged for other lands, in Derbyshire and other counties. He was also knighted by Henry VIII. By his first wife he had issue, one son and two daughters who died young, and two other daughters, one of whom, Catherine, married Sir Thomas Brooke, son of Lord Cobham, and Anne, who married Sir Henry Baynton. By his second wife he had three daughters, who all died young, and she herself died in child-birth. By his third marriage, with “Bess of Hardwick,” he had a numerous family, viz.:—Henry Cavendish, of Tutbury, Member of Parliament for Derbyshire, who married Grace, daughter of George, Earl of Shrewsbury, but died without lawful issue; Sir William Cavendish, created Earl of Devonshire, of whom hereafter; Sir Charles Cavendish, of Bolsover Castle and of Welbeck Abbey (whose son, William Cavendish, by his first wife, was created Duke, Marquis, and Earl of Newcastle, Baron Ogle, Baron Cavendish, of Bolsover, Viscount Mansfield, K.G., Commander-in-Chief, &c., &c., and was the author of the splendid work on Horsemanship, &c., and whose life was charmingly written by his wife, Margaret Lucas, Maid of Honour to Queen Henrietta), ancestor of the Dukes of Newcastle, Portland, &c.; Frances, married to Sir Henry Pierrepoint, ancestor to the Dukes of Kingston; Elizabeth, married to Charles Stuart, Duke of Lennox (younger brother of Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and father of King James I.), the issue of which marriage was the sadly unfortunate lady, Arabella Stuart; and Mary, married to Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury.
The West Front.
Sir William Cavendish was created Baron Cavendish, of Hardwick, and Earl of Devonshire, by King James I., “at which time of his creation, his majesty stood under a cloth of state in the hall at Greenwich, accompanied with the princes, his children, the Duke of Holstein, the Duke of Lennox, and the greatest part of the nobility, both of England and Scotland.” His lordship was one of the first adventurers who settled a colony and plantation in Virginia, and on the discovery of the Bermuda Islands, he and others had a grant of them from the king, one of the cantons being called after him. He married twice—his first wife being Anne, daughter of Henry Kighley, of Kighley, by whom he had issue, besides William, his successor, Gilbert, who died without issue; Frances, wife of Lord Maynard; and three others, who died in infancy: by his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edward Boughton, and widow of Sir Richard Wortley, he had a son, Sir John Cavendish. His lordship’s successor was his second son, Sir William (who had been under the tuition of Thomas Hobbes, of whom more will be said on subsequent pages); he married Christian, only daughter of Edward, Lord Bruce, of Kinloss, a kinswoman of the king, “who gave her, with his own hand, and made her fortune ten thousand pounds.” By her he had three sons and one daughter, viz.:—William, his successor; Charles, who was Lieutenant-General of Horse to his cousin the Earl of Newcastle, and was slain at Gainsborough; Henry, who died young; and Anne, wife of Lord Rich, eldest son of the Earl of Warwick.
William Cavendish, third Earl of Devonshire, was only ten years of age when his father died, and he was placed, as we have just said, under the care of Hobbes, who travelled and remained with him, and was, for the rest of his life, supported by the earl’s family. The earl married Elizabeth Cecil, daughter of the Earl of Salisbury, by whom he had two sons, William (who succeeded him), Charles, and one daughter. William, fourth Earl of Devonshire, before succeeding to the title, sat in the Long Parliament for Derbyshire, and, as a youth, he was one of the train-bearers to the king at his coronation. He was among the principal persons who brought about the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688, and the placing of William III. on the throne. He married Mary, daughter of the Duke of Ormonde, and had issue by her, William, his successor; Henry, James, and Elizabeth. His lordship was the rebuilder of Chatsworth, and was by William III. advanced to the dignity of Marquis of Hartington and Duke of Devonshire. He was succeeded in his titles and estates by his son. His Grace died in 1707, and his funeral sermon, preached by White Kennett, Bishop of Peterborough, has been many times printed, and is attached to the memoirs of the family of Cavendish by that prelate.
William Cavendish, second Duke and fifth Earl of Devonshire, was Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, and succeeded to all his father’s appointments, among which were Lord Steward of the Household, Privy Councillor, Lord Warden and Chief Justice in Eyre of all places north of the Trent, Lord-Lieutenant, K.G.; he was also constituted one of the regents of the kingdom. He married Rachel, daughter of William Lord Russell, and by her had issue, with several others, his successor, William, who became third Duke of Devonshire, and married Catherine, heiress of John Hoskins, by whom he had a numerous family. His Grace held many important posts in the State; among which were those of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, Lord Steward of the Household, and Lord Justiceship for the administration of Government during his Majesty’s absence. He was succeeded by his son—
William, fourth Duke of Devonshire, who was, during his father’s lifetime, called to the Upper House by his title, hitherto of courtesy, of Marquis of Hartington. He was appointed Master of the Horse and a Privy Councillor. In 1754 he was one of the Lords of the Regency, and Governor of the County of Cork; in the following year he was Lord High Treasurer of Ireland; and in 1756 was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and First Commissioner of the Treasury. In 1757 he was Chamberlain of the Household to the king, and held, besides, many other offices. His Grace married Charlotte, daughter, and ultimately heiress, of Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington and Cork, by which union—the lady being Baroness Clifford in her own right—the Barony of Clifford came into the Cavendish family. By this issue he had three sons and one daughter, viz.:—William, who succeeded him; Richard, who died unmarried; George Augustus Henry, created Earl of Burlington, from whom the present noble representative of the House of Cavendish, the seventh Duke of Devonshire, is descended; and Dorothy, married to the Duke of Portland.
William, fifth Duke of Devonshire, the eldest son of the last named peer, was married twice: first, to the Lady Georgiana, daughter of Earl Spencer, one of the most accomplished and elegant women of the time, and who is perhaps better known as “The Beautiful Duchess” than by any other name; and, secondly, to Lady Elizabeth Foster, daughter of the Earl of Bristol, and widow of John Thomas Foster, Esq. By the “Beautiful Duchess” his grace had issue, one son, William Spencer Cavendish, who succeeded him, and two daughters: Georgiana, married to the Earl of Carlisle; and Harriet Elizabeth, married to Earl Granville. On his death, in 1811, the title and estates passed to his only son—
William Spencer Cavendish, sixth Duke and ninth Earl of Devonshire, one of the most liberal-minded of men and one of the most genuine patrons of Art and Literature. His Grace, whose career earned for him the proud title of “The good Duke”—a title which, with all his others, has descended to his successor—was born in Paris in 1790, and besides holding office as Lord High Chamberlain, &c., went in a style of more than princely splendour on an embassy to Russia from the British Court, and so conducted that important mission as to gain exceeding distinction and general applause. His Grace, who never married, died in 1858, and was succeeded in his titles and estates—with the exception of the Barony of Clidord, which fell in abeyance between his sisters—by his second cousin, the present noble peer, who, as we have said, was grandson to the first Earl of Burlington, brother to the fifth duke.
