Person Page - 10538

     Lady Dorothy Percy was baptised on 20 August 1598.³ She was the daughter of Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland and Lady Dorothy Devereux.^3,1 She married Robert Sydney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, son of Robert Sydney, 1st Earl of Leicester and Barbara Gamage, circa January 1615.⁴ She died on 20 August 1650 at age 52.^4,3
     From circa January 1615, her married name became Sydney.

     Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland was born before 27 April 1564.³ He was the son of Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland and Katherine Neville.⁴ He married Lady Dorothy Devereux, daughter of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex and Lettice Knollys, in 1594.⁴ He died on 5 November 1632.³
     Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland also went by the nick-name of 'The Wizard Earl'.³ He was a soldier in the Low Countries from 1585 to 1586.³ He succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Northumberland [E., 1557] on 21 June 1585.³ He succeeded as the 3rd Baron Percy [E., 1557] on 21 June 1585.³ He was appointed Knight, Order of the Garter (K.G.) in 1593.³ He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Sussex.³ He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Westmorland.³ He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Yorkshire.³ He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Cumberland.³ He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Northumberland.³ He was a soldier in the Low Countries from 1600 to 1601.³ He was appointed Privy Counsellor (P.C.) in 1603.³ He was Captain of the Gentleman Pensioners between 1603 and 1605.³ He seems to have been innocent of the Gunpowder Plot, but was imprisoned in the Tower of London.³ He held the office of Joint Lord-Lieutenant of Sussex from 1604 to 1605.³ He was fined £30,000, and compunded for this by a payment of £11,000.³ In 1628 he was granted a patent from King Charles I giving him precedence of 1299 for the Barony of Percy and 1377 for the Earldom of Northumberland.³

     Robert Smythe is the son of Sir John Smythe and Isabel Rich. He married Lady Dorothy Sydney, daughter of Robert Sydney, 2nd Earl of Leicester and Lady Dorothy Percy, on 8 July 1652.¹
     He lived at Bidborough, Kent, England^G.³

     Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland was born in 1641 at Paris, France^G.¹ He was the son of Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland and Lady Dorothy Sydney.¹ He married Lady Anne Digby, daughter of George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol and Lady Anne Russell, on 10 June 1665.² He died on 28 September 1702 at Althorp, Brington, Northamptonshire, England^G, from a palpitation of the heart.² He was buried on 7 October 1702 at Brington, Northamptonshire, England^G.² His will was proven (by probate) in November 1702.³
     He was styled as Lord Spencer between June 1643 and August 1643.⁴ He succeeded as the 4th Baron Spencer of Wormleighton [E., 1603] on 20 September 1643. He succeeded as the 2nd Earl of Sunderland [E., 1643] on 20 September 1643.¹ He gained the rank of Captain on 13 June 1667 in the Prince Rupert Regiment of Horse. He held the office of Ambassador Extraordinary to Spain from September 1671 to May 1672.¹ He held the office of Ambassador Extraordinary to France from September 1672 to March 1673.¹ He held the office of Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoteniary to the United Provinces in May 1673, jointly, to negotiate for peace.¹ He held the office of Gentleman of the Bedchamber between 19 October 1673 and June 1679.¹ He was appointed Privy Counsellor (P.C.) on 27 March 1674.¹ He was Commissioner, for concluding a Treaty of Commerce with France on 24 July 1674.¹ He held the office of Secretary of State for the North between 20 February 1678 and 9 April 1680.¹ He held the office of Ambassador Extraordinary to France from July 1678 to October 1678.¹ He was Commissioner, to negotiate for peace and neutrality between the English and French in America on 10 July 1679.¹ He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire between 4 December 1679 and August 1681, during the minority of the Earl of Shrewsbury.² He was Commissioner, for Tangier on 27 March 1680.¹ He held the office of Secretary of State for the South between April 1680 and February 1680/81.¹ He held the office of Secretary of State for the North between 28 January 1682 and April 1684.¹ He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Warwickshire from 1683 to 1686.² He held the office of Secretary of State for the South between April 1684 and October 1688.² He held the office of Lord President of the Council between 4 December 1685 and October 1688.² He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Warwickshire from 1687 to 1688.² He was appointed Knight, Order of the Garter (K.G.) on 26 April 1687.² In July 1688 he declared himself a Papist.² In October 1688 King James II dismissed him from all his posts, declaring "You have your pardon; much good doe it you. I hope you will be more faithfull to your next master than you have been to me."² He fled to Holland at the Revolution, being excepted from pardon both by King James II and by King William III.² On 19 December 1688 he wrote to Churchill to ask him to "make things easy for a man in my condition" and "when I saw you last ... I apprehended nothing but from the Papists." He was later arrested (it is said in woman's clothes) at Rotterdam by the Dutch but was released before 8 Mar 1688/9 when he wrote to William III from Amsterdam thanking him for being set at liberty.² Circa January 1691 he returned to England.² On 26 April 1691 at Kensington Palace, Kensington, London, England^G, he kissed hands.² On 28 April 1691 he took the oaths at Parliament.² He held the office of Lord Chamberlain of the Household between 19 April 1697 and 26 December 1697.² He held the office of a Lord Justice, Regent of the Realm between 25 April 1697 and 16 November 1697.²
     Cockayne writes that "even Burnet, who considers him 'a man of a clear and ready apprehension, and a quick decision in business', says that 'in order to the supporting himself, he ... changed sides often, with little regard either to religion or the interest of his country,' so that 'he came by this to lose himself so much, that even those who esteemed his parts, depended little on his firmness.³' " Cockayne adds "the Princess Anne, writing to the Princess of Orange, 20 March 1687, sums him up briefly as 'the subtillest workinest villain that is on the face of the earth.' Speaker Onslow writes that he 'was without dispute the most capable man and of the greatest genius for public affairs of any in those times ... Although he never spoke in Parliament and very awkward in it everywhere else.³' " According to Cockayne, "his descendant, Winston Churchill, comments on his 'astounding record, outstripping the fiercest hatreds and mounting upon every form of error, treachery, and disaster! ... Certainly no man played a greater part in the downfall of King James, except King James himself ... Sunderland was during the reign of Charles and James, in the aspect of a competent official, one of those dangerous beings who, with many gifts of mind, have no principle of action; who do not care what is done, so long as they are in the centre of it; to whom bustle, excitement, intrigue, are the breath of life... under King William a discrete, timid, wise counsellor, wondering with all the world how he could have escaped so well the consequences of his violent days.³' "

     Lady Anne Digby was born circa 1646.¹ She was the daughter of George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol and Lady Anne Russell.¹ She married Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, son of Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland and Lady Dorothy Sydney, on 10 June 1665.¹ She died on 16 April 1715.¹ She was buried on 26 April 1715 at Brington, Northamptonshire, England^G.¹ Her will was proven (by probate) in April 1715.³
     After her marriage, Lady Anne Digby was styled as Countess of Sunderland on 10 June 1665.
     Cockayne writes that "she was a great friend of the famous Duchess of Marlborough, and accordingly was an object of jealousy to Queen Anne, who, when Princess, writes of her to the Princess of Orange, 13 March 1686/7, as 'a flattering, dissembling, false woman; but she has so fawning and endearing a way, that she will deceive any body at first... She will cheat, though it be for a little. Then she has had her gallants, though may be not so many as some ladies here; and with all these good qualities she is a constant church woman'. John Evelyn speaks of her as 'a wise and noble person ... of great soul and much prudence.' Many of her letters to Evelyn and to Henry (Sidney), Earl of Romney, Lord Sunderland's uncle (with whom she is supposed to have had 'commerce de galanterie'), are printed in the latter's Diary.³"

     George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol was born in October 1612 at Madrid, Spain^G.³ He was the son of John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol and Beatrice Walcott.³ He was baptised on 6 November 1612 at Madrid, Spain^G.⁴ He married Lady Anne Russell, daughter of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford and Hon. Catharine Brydges.⁵ He died on 20 March 1676/77 at age 64 at Chelsea, London, England^G.³ He was buried on 24 March 1676/77 at Chenies, Buckinghamshire, England^G.³ His will was proven (by probate) on 10 April 1677.⁶
     He graduated from Magdalen College, Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England^G, on 31 August 1636 with a Master of Arts (M.A.)³ He gained the rank of Colonel in the Regiment of Horse.³ He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Dorset from 1640 to 1641.³ In November 1640 he was a manager for the impeachment of the Earl of Strafford, but voted against his attainder.³ He succeeded as the 2nd Baron Digby of Sherborne, co. Dorset [E., 1618] on 9 June 1641, in his father's lifetime.³ He held the office of Governor of Nottingham in 1642.³ He was High Steward between 1643 and 1646 at Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England^G.³ He held the office of Secretary of State from September 1643 to 1645.³ He was appointed Privy Counsellor (P.C.) on 28 September 1643.³ He gained the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1645 in the north of Trent.³ On 14 March 1648 the House of Commons resolved that he be put to death.⁷ On 24 October 1648 he was excepted from pardon.³ He gained the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1651 in the French Army.³ He was appointed Knight, Order of the Garter (K.G.) in January 1652/53 at Paris, France^G.³ He succeeded as the 2nd Earl of Bristol [E., 1622] on 21 January 1652/53.³ He gained the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1657 in the English Army.³ He held the office of Secretary of State in 1657.³ He was High Steward between 1660 and 1663 at Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England^G.³ His last will was dated 5 October 1675.
     Clarendon wrote that he was "a man of very extraordinary parts by nature and art, a graceful and beautiful person, equal to a very good part in the greatest affairs, but the unfittests man alive to conduct them, having an ambition and vanity superior to all his other parts, and a confidence in himself which sometimes intoxicated, transported, and exposed him."⁶ Walpole wrote "he was a singular person whose life was one contradiction. He wrote against Popery and embraced it; he was a zealous opposer of the Court and a sacrifice for it; was conscientiously converted in the midst of his persecution of Lord Strafford, and was most unconscientiously a prosecutor of Lord Clarendon. With great parts he always hurt himself and his friends; with romantic bravery he was always an unsuccessful commander."⁶

     Lady Anne Russell was born circa 1620. She was the daughter of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford and Hon. Catharine Brydges.^1,2 She married George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, son of John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol and Beatrice Walcott.² She died on 26 January 1696/97.³ Her will was proven (by probate) on 3 February 1696/97.³
     Her married name became Digby.² After her marriage, Lady Anne Russell was styled as Countess of Bristol on 21 January 1652/53. Her last will was dated 10 April 1696.

     Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford was baptised on 19 October 1587 at Watford, Hertfordshire, England^G.³ He was the son of William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh and Elizabeth Long.⁴ He was also reported to have been born in 1593.^4,5 He married Hon. Catharine Brydges, daughter of Giles Brydges, 3rd Baron Chandos of Sudeley and Lady Frances Clinton, on 26 February 1608/9 at St. Mary le Strand, London, England^G.⁴ He died on 9 May 1641 at age 53, from smallpox.⁴ He was buried at Chenies, Buckinghamshire, England^G.⁴ His will was proven (by probate) on 8 February 1642.⁴
     He was appointed Knight on 30 March 1607.⁴ He succeeded as the 2nd Baron Russell of Thornhaugh, co. Northampton [E., 1603] on 9 August 1613.⁴ He held the office of Custos Rotulorum of Devon between 1619 and 1641.⁴ He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Devon between 1623 and 1641.⁴ He succeeded as the 5th Baron Russell [E., 1539] on 3 May 1627.⁴ He succeeded as the 4th Earl of Bedford [E., 1550] on 3 May 1627.⁴ In 1630 he undertook the work of draining the fens in Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire.⁴ His last will was dated 14 October 1639. He was appointed Privy Counsellor (P.C.) on 19 February 1641.⁴

     John Digby, 3rd Earl of Bristol was born circa 1635.² He was the son of George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol and Lady Anne Russell.¹ He married, firstly, Alice Bourne, daughter of Robert Bourne, on 26 March 1656 at Bobbingworth, Essex, England^G.² He married, secondly, Rachael Wyndham, daughter of Sir Hugh Wyndham and Jane Wodehouse, in August 1663.² He died on 18 September 1698, without issue.² He was buried at Sherborne, Dorset, England^G.²
     He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) (Tory) for Dorset between 1675 and 1677.² He succeeded as the 3rd Baron Digby of Sherborne, co. Dorset [E., 1618] on 20 March 1676/77.² He succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Bristol [E., 1622] on 20 March 1676/77.² He held the office of Vice-Admiral of Poole.² He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Dorset between 1679 and 1698.²
     On his death, all of his titles became extinct.²

     Lord Robert Spencer was baptised on 2 May 1666 at Brington, Northamptonshire, England^G.¹ He was the son of Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland and Lady Anne Digby.¹ He died on 5 September 1688 at age 22 at Paris, France^G, from 'a wound which he received in a duel, the consequences of a riot in which he was engaged at Bury ... after lingering long, at Paris', unmarried.¹
     He was styled as Lord Spencer on 2 May 1666.¹ He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England^G, on 2 September 1680.¹ He gained the rank of Guidon on 29 October 1685 in the 3rd Troop of Horse Guards.¹ He became a Roman Catholic.¹ He held the office of Envoy to the Duke of Modena on a special mission in August 1687.¹ He gained the rank of Cornet on 25 June 1688 in the 3rd Troop of Horse Guards.¹
     Cockayne writes that "according to Edmund Verney, August 1685, Lord Spencer and others 'whipped the Earle of Carnarvan in his owne home & didd some other Peccadillios in his Castle besides.' Sir John Reresby writes, 11 May 1686, 'my Lord Spencer [is] not well by the ill usage he and the rest of his company received from the constables and watch three nights agoe, being upon a high ramble.' Evelyn speaks of him, July 1688, as one who 'rambles about the world, dishonours both his name and his family, adding sorrow to sorrow to a mother, who has taken all imaginable care of his education.¹' "