William Digby DCL (1661 - 1752)

Born 20 Feb 1661 in Coleshill, Warwickshire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 27 Nov 1752 at age 91 in England [uncertain]

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Biography

William was born on 20 Feb 1661, a younger son of Kildare Digby 2nd Baron Digby and Mary Gardiner.

He matriculated at Magdalen College, Oxford on 16 May 1679, and received a BA in 1681. ^[1]

In 1686 he succeeded his elder brother as fifth Baron Digby. This was an Irish peerage and did not entitle him to a seat in the English House of Lords. He was instead elected to the House of Commons for Warwick in 1689, a constituency he continued to represent until 1698. In September 1698, he inherited the estate of Sherborne Castle from his third cousin once removed, John Digby, 3rd Earl of Bristol.

Lord Digby married Lady [Noel-531|Jane Noel]] (c. 1664 – 10 September 1733), daughter of Edward Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough, in 1686. They had four sons and eight daughters.[1]

Also in 1686 Lease for a year from the Rt. Hon. William, Lord Digby, Baron of Geashill King's County, the Rt. Hon. Mary, Lady Digby, his mother, and the Rt. Rev. Father in God Symon Digby, Lord Bishop of Lymrick Limerick, to Sir Clement Fisher of Packington, co. War., bart., John de la Fontaine of Kirby Bellars, co. Leic., esq., Thomas Byrche of Leacroft, co. Staff., esq., and Matthew Johnson of the Middle Temple, London, esq ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ 'Dabbe-Dirkin', in Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714, ed. Joseph Foster (Oxford, 1891)
2. ↑ National Archives MS 3888/A 1560

• Wikipedia William Digby, 5th Baron Digby

See also:

• A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland, Volume 1 (Google eBook) Sir Bernard Burke, Ashworth Peter Burke. Harrison, 1894]

Note

William Digby is my 6th Great Grandfather. Hence my interest in his profile. Michael Fraser-Allen