Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset (December 1694 or early 1695 – December 1757) was an English peer and landowner.

Family

The son of

Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, of Berry Pomeroy, 5th Baronet (1660 or 1663 – 29 December 1740) of Bradley House, Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire was an English landowner and Tory politician. Early life Seymour was baptized on 18 December 1663, the eldest ...

, of

Berry Pomeroy Berry Pomeroy is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England, east of the town of Totnes. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Ipplepen, Marldon, Torbay (unitary authority), Stoke Gabri ...

, a descendant of

Lord Protector Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (150022 January 1552) (also 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp), also known as Edward Semel, was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour (d. 1537), the third wife of King Henry VI ...

by his first marriage, to

Catherine Fillol Catherine Fillol (or Filliol; c. 1507 – c. 1535) was the daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Fillol (1453 – 9 July 1527), of Woodlands, Horton, Dorset, and of Fillol's Hall, Essex. She became the first wife of Sir Edward Seymour, who we ...

, Edward Seymour was baptised at

Easton Royal Easton Royal is a village in the civil parish of Easton in Wiltshire, England, about east of Pewsey and south of Marlborough. The village was the location of Easton Priory from 1234 to 1536. The village mistakenly gained the Royal suffix in ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, on 17 January 1694. On 8 March 1716 or 5 March 1717, at

Monkton Farleigh Monkton Farleigh is a village and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, on high ground northwest of Bradford-on-Avon, and a similar distance east of the city of Bath. The parish includes the hamlets of Farleigh Wick and Pinckney Green. In th ...

, Edward Seymour married

Mary Webb Mary Gladys Webb (25 March 1881 – 8 October 1927) was an English Romance (literary fiction), romance novelist and poet of the early 20th century, whose work is set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside and among Shropshire characters and ...

(born at

Seend Seend is a village and civil parish about southeast of the market town of Melksham, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of Devizes and northeast of the county town of Trowbridge. The parish includes the sub-village of Seend Cleeve and the ...

on 22 October 1697, died 1 February 1768, and buried at Seend), a daughter of Daniel Webb, of Monkton Farleigh, and wife Elizabeth Somner, daughter of John Somner, of Seend. They had at least five children. His first cousin was

Francis Seymour, 1st Marquess of Hertford Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, KG, PC, PC (Ire) (5 July 1718 – 14 June 1794) of Ragley Hall, Arrow, in Warwickshire, was a British courtier and politician who, briefly, was Viceroy of Ireland where he had substantial e ...

, son of his uncle

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Ragley, 1st Baron Conway of Killultagh, MP, PC (Ire) (28 May 1679 – 3 February 1731/1732), was a British politician, born Francis Seymour. Background Born Francis Seymour, he was the second s ...

Inheritance and titles

In December 1740, his father died and Seymour inherited his manors in Wiltshire and Devon. On 11 September 1744, with the unexpected death of George Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp (1725–1744), the only son of Algernon Seymour, Earl of Hertford, himself son and heir of

Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (13 August 16622 December 1748), known by the epithet "The Proud Duke", was an English peer. He rebuilt Petworth House in Sussex, the ancient Percy seat inherited from his wife, in the palatial form which s ...

, the likelihood emerged of Seymour succeeding his distant cousin as

Duke of Somerset Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and Baron Seymour, as the future 7th Duke was then aged sixty, and his wife was past child-bearing age. On 23 November 1750, the Duke died, and Seymour duly succeeded to his titles.The Complete Peerage vol. XII pI, pp. 82-83. However, he inherited little of the great wealth enjoyed by his two immediate predecessors, as the 7th Duke had arranged for the principal

Percy family The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

estates and houses of

Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a G ...

Northumberland House Northumberland House (also known as Suffolk House when owned by the Earls of Suffolk) was a large Jacobean townhouse in London, so-called because it was, for most of its history, the London residence of the Percy family, who were the Earl ...

Petworth House Petworth House in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Sa ...

, and

Syon House Syon House is the west London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, it lies within the 200-acre (80 hectare) Syon Park, in the London Borough of Hounslow. The family's traditional central London residence had be ...

to be divided between his daughter

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

and his nephew Charles Wyndham. As a result, the Dukes of Somerset were never again among the greatest landowning families.

Progeny

Seymour's children were all born long before the dukedom came to him: *

Edward Seymour, 9th Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 9th Duke of Somerset, etc. (2 January 1717 – 2 January 1792) was the eldest son of Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset and his wife, the former Mary Webb. He was also a baronet. He was baptized on 27 January 1717 at East ...

(2 January 1717 – 2 January 1792) *

Webb Seymour, 10th Duke of Somerset Webb Seymour, 10th Duke of Somerset (3 December 1718 – 15 December 1793) was a British peer. He was Duke of Somerset from 2 January 1792 until his death. Family Webb Seymour was the son of Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset and his wife, ...

(3 December 1718 – 15 December 1793) *Lord William Seymour (1724 – 5 November 1800), m. 5 June 1767 Hester Maltravers (d. May 1812), and had issue: **Edward Seymour (b. 3 May 1768) **William Seymour (b. 28 March 1769) **Hester Seymour (b. 24 November 1770) *Very Reverend

Lord Francis Seymour Lord Francis Seymour (1725 - 16 Feb 1799) was a clergyman of the Church of England and a younger son of Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset. He was Dean of Wells from 1766 until his death. Biography Seymour was the fifth child and fourth son of E ...

(1726 – 16 February 1799),

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...

, m. 1749 Catherine Payne (d. 24 December 1801), and had issue, from which descended

Edward Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset Brigadier-General Edward Hamilton Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset, KBE, CB, CMG (12 May 1860 – 5 May 1931) was the son of Reverend Francis Payne Seymour and Jane Margaret Dallas. His father was the great-grandson of Lord Francis Seymour. H ...

; also an ancestor of Colonel

Henry Abel Smith Colonel Sir Henry Abel Smith, (8 March 1900 – 24 January 1993) was a British Army officer who served as Governor of Queensland, Australia. He married Lady May Cambridge, a niece of Queen Mary, consort of King George V. Early life and fa ...

husband of

Lady May Abel Smith Lady May Helen Emma Abel Smith (formerly Lady May Cambridge, ''née'' Princess May of Teck; 23 January 1906 – 29 May 1994) was a relative of the British royal family. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and a niece of Queen Mar ...

, born Princess of Teck, great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. *Lady Mary Seymour (1744 – 21 July 1762), m. 20 October 1759 Vincent John Biscoe, of

Hookwood Charlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The historic county boundary between Surr ...

(1721 – 29 April 1770) The 8th Duke of Somerset died between 12 and 15 December 1757, and was buried at

Maiden Bradley Maiden Bradley is a village in south-west Wiltshire, England, about south-west of Warminster and bordering the county of Somerset. The B3092 road between Frome and Mere forms the village street. Bradley House, the seat of the Duke of Somerse ...

on 21 December 1757.

Ancestry

References

External links

1695 births 1757 deaths Seymour, Edward, 6th Baronet 508 Seymour, Edward, 6th Baronet Edward Seymour, 08th Duke of Somerset {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub