William Courtenay (abt. 1529 - 1557)

Born about 1529 in Tavistock, Devon, England

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Paulet) Ughtred — married 25 Nov 1545 in Powderham, Devon, England

Descendants

Died 29 Sep 1557 at about age 28 in Saint-Quentin, Picardie, France [uncertain]

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Sir William Courtenay was a member of the aristocracy in British Isles.

Note on Surname The accepted spelling of the English Courtenay family is Courtenay and not Courteney. Although there may be older sources that refer to this profile as William Courteney, the accepted spelling seems most appropriate.

Note on Title He did not receive the title, of Earl of Devon, in his lifetime. In 1831, 274 years after his death, a decision, of the House of Lords, determined that he had succeeded his sixth cousin once removed (Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon) as de jure 2nd Earl of Devon in 1556.

Biography

William Courtenay (II) was the eldest son of George Courtenay, of Powderham, Devon, and his wife, Catherine St Leger and was born about 1529-1530, as he is aged six at the inquisition into the property of his grandfather Sir William Courtenay (I) on 27 October 1536. His father having died before this date, William (II) was declared heir to his grandfather's estates.^[1]

He was made a ward of Cromwell, and after to the King who granted it, with the right of marriage, to Sir John Paulet, later 2nd Marquess of Winchester on 4 May 1545.^[1] The licence for the marriage of William to Sir John's daughter Elizabeth was issued 28 November 1545,^[2] and the marriage probably took place within a year.

He had a licence to enter upon his inheritance on 16 February 1553, and was knighted at the coronation of Mary I on 20 October 1553. He was elected a Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle in 1555 and on the death of his distant cousin, Edward Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon at Padua 18 September 1556 became head of the family of Courtenay.^[3]

He should have succeeded as 2th Earl of Devon, as the remainder on the original creation was for heirs male of the grantee rather than male heirs but like a number of his descendants he was unaware of his rights to the Earldom. It wasn't until 14 May 1831 that the House of Lords made this declaration.^[4]

Note

de jure 2nd Earl of Devon [E., 1553].

Death

Several sources state that he was killed at St. Quentin and/or give his date of death as 18 August 1557, but the later Houses of Parliament biography asserts that he was neither killed, nor probably wounded there, although states that he was at the Siege but was "visited by a bodily sickness". The Houses of Parliament biography states he died 29 Sep 1557, likely not recovering from the "sickness".

Sources

Footnotes:

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} History of Parliament Online: Sir William Courtenay by A.D.K. Hawkyard (accessed 14 February 2015).
2. ↑ Cokayne, p. 332
3. ↑ Cokayne, p. 332
4. ↑ Cokayne, p. 332 & 336

Publications:

• Hawkyard, A.D.K., (1982), 'Courtenay, Sir William II (1529/30-57), of Powderham, Devon and London' in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558, ed. by S.T.Bindowff, 1982. Retrieved from The History of Parliament website (http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/courtenay-sir-william-ii-152930-57 : 14 February 2015).

• Charles Mosley, editor, Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Name: Name: Genealogical Books; Location: Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A; Date: 2003), volume 1, page 1123.

• Vivian, John Lambrick, The Visitations of the County of Devon 1620 (Name: Eland; Location: Exeter; Date: 1895;;), p. 76.

• Brydges, Egerton, Collins's Peerage of England (Name: T. Bensley; Location: London, England; Date: 1812), Family History Library, 2:374, 6:264.

• The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, Los Angles Public Libary, 4:332-3.

See also

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Courtenay_(died_1557)