Sir Edward Duke, 1st Baronet (c. 1604 – 1671) was an English

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of ...

in 1640. Duke was the son of Ambrose Duke of

Benhall Benhall is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located to the south of Saxmundham, in 2007 its population was estimated to be 560, reducing to 521 at the 2011 Census. Geography Benhall is split into t ...

and his wife Elizabeth Calthrop, daughter of Bartholemew Calthrop of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. His father died in 1610 and he inherited the estates of

, Suffolk. John Burke, John Bernard Burke ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies'', p.175
/ref> He was

High Sheriff of Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The Sheriff was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county a ...

in 1638 when he also built a new mansion at Benhall. In April 1640, Duke was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Orford. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

and made a

commissioner of array A commission of array was a commission given by English sovereigns to officers or gentry in a given territory to muster and array the inhabitants and to see them in a condition for war, or to put soldiers of a country in a condition for military ...

. In 1661, Duke was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Benhall and

Brampton, Cambridgeshire Brampton is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, about south-west of Huntingdon. It lies within Huntingdonshire, a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic counties of England, hist ...

by King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

. Duke married Ellenor Panton, daughter of John Panton of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and of Brunslip,

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

, and had 29 children by her. His son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

succeeded to the baronetcy and was also MP for Orford. His daughter Elizabeth married Nathaniel Bacon and as he had forbidden the match, she was cut off without a penny. However, both Thomas Bacon, Nathaniel's wealthy merchant father, and Elizabeth's brother John made ample provision for the young couple.The Project Gutenberg eBook of Bacon's Rebellion, 1676, by Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Edward 1600s births 1671 deaths English MPs 1640 (April) High Sheriffs of Suffolk Knights Bachelor Baronets in the Baronetage of England