Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway PC (1564 – 3 January 1631) was an English soldier and statesman. He was the son and heir of Sir John Conway of

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

, and his wife Ellen or Eleanor, daughter of Sir Fulke Greville of Beauchamp's Court, Warwickshire and his wife

Elizabeth Willoughby, 3rd Baroness Willoughby de Broke Elizabeth Willoughby, 3rd Baroness Willoughby de Broke, ''de jure'' 11th Baroness Latimer (c.1512 – c. 15 November 1562) was an English noblewoman and wife of Sir Fulke Greville. Life Elizabeth Willoughby was the eldest daughter of Edward Will ...

. Lord Conway commanded a foot regiment at the sack of Cadiz in 1596, where he was knighted. He then served as governor of

Brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...

, an English Cautionary Town near

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where his daughter Brilliana (who married Robert Harley) was born. In the first parliament held in the reign of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

, he sat as member for Penryn. When Brill was handed back to the

States of Holland The States of Holland and West Frisia () were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a count, but only his "lieutenant" (the stad ...

in 1616, he was given a pension. Conway was appointed to the Privy Council in 1622 and made a Secretary of State in January 1623 for five years. In the parliament which convened on 19 February 1624 he was returned for

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...

. He was created Baron Conway, of Ragley, in 1624 or 1625 and Viscount Conway in 1627, and received the Irish peerage title of Viscount Killultagh. No doubt as a result of his time in the

, he was a supporter of a '

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

' foreign policy; he was sent as ambassador to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. In 1628, he was appointed

Lord President of the Council The Lord President of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lor ...

, a post he held until his death on 3 January 1631.

Family

Conway married firstly Dorothy (died 1613), daughter of Sir John Tracy of Tedington, Gloucestershire, and widow of Edmund Bray. They had three sons and four daughters, including Conway's son and heir

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

. In 1614 or 1615, Conway married secondly Katherine (died 1639), daughter of Giles Hueriblock, a merchant from

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, and widow of John West (died 1612) and Richard Fust (died 1613), both of the London

Grocers' Company The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London, ranking second in order of precedence. Established in 1345 for merchants engaged in the grocery trade, it is one of the Great Twelve City Livery Compan ...

. She was an extensive investor in New World ventures including the

Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day ...

. The second Lady Conway left various bequests for education and relief of poverty. She is buried in St Mary's Church, Acton.

Notes

References

* ;Attribution * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Edward Conway, 1st Viscount 1564 births 1631 deaths Secretaries of state of the Kingdom of England Lord-lieutenants of Hampshire Lord Presidents of the Council Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Privy Council of England 16th-century English nobility Peers of England created by James I People from Warwickshire 16th-century English soldiers English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1624–1625 Viscounts Conway Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by Charles I