Sir William Courtenay, 2nd Baronet (11 March 1676 – 6 October 1735) of

Powderham Castle Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house in Exminster, Devon, south of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of Kenton, where the main public entrance gates are located. It is a Grade I listed building. The park and gar ...

, Powderham, Devon, was an English landowner, a leading member of the Devonshire gentry and Tory politician who sat in the

English House of Commons 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 ...

from 1701 to 1707 and in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

almost continually from 1707 to 1735.

Early life

Courtenay was the son of Colonel Francis Courtenay, MP for

Devonshire Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the wes ...

from 1689 to 1699, and his wife Mary Boevey, daughter of William Boevey (died 1661), of Flaxley Abbey, Gloucestershire. The Boevey family was of Netherlandish

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

descent. Mary's brother was John Boevey (died 1706) who refers to himself in his will dated 6 March 1703 as "John Boevey of Powderham Castle". Courtenay's father died in 1699, predeceasing his own father Sir William Courtenay, 1st Baronet. Courtenay succeeded his grandfather in 1702 to the baronetcy and the estate of

. He married Lady Anne Bertie, daughter of

James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon (16 June 1653 – 22 May 1699), styled Hon. James Bertie until 1657 and known as the 5th Baron Norreys from 1657 until 1682, was an English nobleman. Early life and relations Bertie was the eldest son of Monta ...

on 13 July 1704.

Career

Courtenay first stood for Parliament at

Honiton Honiton () is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, Devon, River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 12,154 (based on 2021 census). History The ...

at the first general election of 1701. He was defeated, but was then returned unopposed for

at the second general election of 1701. He was returned again unopposed in the general elections of 1702, 1705, and

1708 In the Swedish calendar it was a leap year starting on Wednesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–June * January 1 – Charles XII of Sweden invades Russia, by crossing the ...

. He was a moderate Tory, but opposed the impeachment of Dr. Sacheverell in 1710. He stood down at the 1710 general election in favour of Sir William Pole, but when Pole had to submit to re-election on appointment to office, Courtenay was pressured by popular demand to stand again. He defeated Pole by a massive majority at the by-election on 22 July 1712. He was returned unopposed at the 1713 general election. From 1714 to 1716 he served as

Lord Lieutenant of Devon The Office of the Lord Lieutenant was created during the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547), taking over the military duties of the Sheriffs and control of the military forces of the Crown. From 1569 there was provision for the appointment of Dep ...

. He was returned as a Tory at the 1715 general election and was returned unopposed again at the succeeding general elections in

1722 Events January–March * January 27 – Daniel Defoe's novel '' Moll Flanders'' is published anonymously in London. * February 10 – The Battle of Cape Lopez begins off of the coast of West Africa (and present-day Gabon), ...

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

and

1734 Events January– March * January 8 – Salzburgers, Lutherans who were expelled by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salzburg, Austria, in October 1731, set sail for the British Colony of Georgia in America. * February 16 – ...

Death and legacy

Courtenay died on 6 October 1735. He directed his body to be buried in the north aisle of Powderham Church "near the monument there erected". He further desired "my executor ''(who was his nephew William Courtenay (died 1735) of Powderham)''...to bestow and lay out the summe of fifty pounds in erecting a monument near the place of interment in such manner as my executor shall think fit". No such monument survives. His children included:John Burke ''A General and heraldic dictionary of the peerage and baronetage of the British Empire, Volume 1''
/ref> *

William Courtenay, 1st Viscount Courtenay William Courtenay, 1st Viscount Courtenay (11 February 1709 – 16 May 1762), also ''de jure'' 7th Earl of Devon, was a British peer. He was the son of William Courtenay, 6th Earl of Devon and 2nd Baronet Courtenay, and Lady Anne Bertie. Life S ...

* Henry Reginald Courtenay, MP. *Eleanor Courtenay (died 1765) who married John Francis Basset (1714–1757) MP for Barnstaple in 1740–1741, of Heanton Court,

Heanton Punchardon Heanton Punchardon ( ) is a village, civil parish and former manor, anciently part of Braunton Hundred. It is situated directly east-southeast of the village of Braunton, in North Devon. The parish lies on the north bank of the estuary of the ...

. There is a fuller list of his children in the Powderham parish registers available through FindMyPast. (Mary born 1705, William 1706, James 1707, Anna Sophia 1708, William 1709, Eleanora 1710, Bridget 1712, Henry Reginald 1714, Isabella 1716, Mary 1717, Elizabeth 1718, Peregrine 1720). Peregrine, Anna Sophia and Isabella (wife of John Andrew of Exeter) were mentioned in a deed dated 2 May 1765 and registered in Dublin.Registry of Deeds Book 252 Page 561 Memoria
image on Family Search
/ref> He left £10 each to his nieces Elizabeth, Mary, Lucy and Isabella Courtenay for mourning clothes. He also bequeathed them each the sum of £30 to buy a diamond ring each, to be worn in his memory. He bequeathed to Sir William Courtenay his nephew the sum of £100 and also made him his residuary beneficiary. In 1831 Courtenay was recognised as having been ''de jure'' 6th

Earl of Devon Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the Redvers family (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.), and later by the Courtenay famil ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtenay, William 1676 births 1735 deaths Lord-lieutenants of Devon Baronets in the Baronetage of England English landowners Devon, William Courtenay, 6th Earl of English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 English MPs 1701 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Devon Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Devon Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Honiton