Biography of William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire 1672-1729

Paternal Family Tree: Cavendish

Maternal Family Tree: Sybil of Lansgtone Manor 1462-1502

On 26 Oct 1662 [his father] William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire (age 22) and [his mother] Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire (age 16) were married. She the daughter of James Butler 1st Duke Ormonde (age 52) and Elizabeth Preston Duchess Ormonde (age 47). He the son of William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire (age 45) and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire (age 43).

Around 1672 William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire was born to William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire (age 31) and Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire (age 26).

On 23 Nov 1684 [his grandfather] William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire (age 67) died at his house in Roehampton, Surrey. He was buried in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey [Map]. His son [his father] William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire (age 44) succeeded 4th Earl Devonshire, 4th Baron Cavendish Hardwick. [his mother] Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire (age 38) by marriage Countess Devonshire.

On 21 Jun 1688 William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 16) and Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire (age 14) were married. He the son of William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire (age 48) and Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire (age 42). They were half third cousins.

Invitation to William of Orange from the Immortal Seven

In 1694 [his father] William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire (age 53) was created 1st Duke Devonshire by King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland (age 43) in recognition of William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire 1640-1707's support of the Glorious Revolution he having been one of the signatories of the Invitation to William of Orange from the Immortal Seven. [his mother] Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire (age 48) by marriage Duchess Devonshire.

Before 26 Sep 1698 [his daughter] Henrietta Cavendish was born to William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 26) and Mary Heneage.

On 26 Sep 1698 [his son] William Cavendish 3rd Duke Devonshire was born to William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 26) and [his wife] Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire (age 24).

On 04 Oct 1699 [his daughter] Rachel Cavendish was born to William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 27) and [his wife] Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire (age 25).

On 27 Sep 1700 [his daughter] Elizabeth Cavendish was born to William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 28) and [his wife] Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire (age 26).

On 23 Nov 1701 [his son] James Cavendish was born to William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 29) and [his wife] Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire (age 27).

On 17 Mar 1704 [his son] Charles Cavendish was born to William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 32) and [his wife] Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire (age 30).

On 06 Dec 1706 [his son-in-law] Lionel Tollemache (age 24) and [his daughter] Henrietta Cavendish (age 8) were married. She the daughter of William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 34) and Mary Heneage. He the son of Lionel Tollemache 3rd Earl Dysart (age 57) and Grace Wilbraham Countess Dysart (age 45).

On 18 Aug 1707 [his father] William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire (age 67) died. His son William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 35) succeeded 2nd Duke Devonshire, 5th Earl Devonshire, 5th Baron Cavendish Hardwick. [his wife] Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire (age 33) by marriage Duchess Devonshire.

In 1710 William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 38) was appointed 516th Knight of the Garter by Queen Anne of England Scotland and Ireland (age 44).

In 1710 [his mother] Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire (age 64) died. She was buried in the Duke of Ormonde Vault, King Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey with her parents.

In 1710. John James Baker. Known as "Whig Junto". From www.tate.org ... This is a portrait of a political group named the Whig Junto and a Black servant, whose identity is unknown. It is the only known portrait of the Junto, which was an ideologically close-knit group of political peers who formed the leadership of the Whig party in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The members of the group are shown gathered together on a grand terrace, while a vista onto a garden is revealed by the Black servant, who holds back a heavy velvet curtain. The grand architectural setting is imagined, and is deliberately evocative of power and status. The picture was commissioned by Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford (age 57), who stands on the right, as if welcoming the company. It is not known if Orford (age 57) had a Black servant in his household or whether the individual was included to emphasise Orford's (age 57) wealth and social standing. At the time, Britain was profiting heavily from the trade of enslaved people from West Africa. The presence of Black servants, many of whom were enslaved, in both aristocratic and merchant households had come to symbolise property and wealth. This reflected the dehumanising view of enslaved Black people held by the British elite.

The scene conjures one of the Junto's country house meetings where, in between parliamentary sessions, policy and party strategy were formulated. From left to right the sitters round the table can be identified as Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland (age 34); Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton (age 61); John Somers, 1st Baron Somers (1C 1697) (age 58); Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax (age 48); and William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire (age 38). The lavish surroundings probably represent Orford's (age 57) house, Chippenham, where Junto meetings sometimes took place. It was also ideally located for the nearby Newmarket horse races, which the members of the Junto frequently attended when parliament was not sitting.

The portrait is dated 1710, before the crushing electoral defeat of the Whigs in October of that year. It shows the political allies while in power, when Sunderland (age 34) was Secretary of State, Wharton (age 61) Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Somers Lord President of the Privy Council, Devonshire (age 38) Lord Steward and a member of the Privy Council, and Orford (age 57) First Lord of the Admiralty. On the surface the portrait shows a relaxed gathering of fellow connoisseurs, seated round a table consulting antique medals and books of prints. Fittingly, Somers and Halifax (age 48) sit at the centre of the company, holding a book and handling a medal respectively. Both were known collectors and antiquarians - Somers was one of the founders of the Whig Kit-Cat Club, a convivial drinking and dining club, but which also had a political propagandist agenda; he had also purchased the Resta collection of drawings from Italy in 1709. Halifax (age 48) had a celebrated library and a collection of antique medals (sold in 1740), to which those being consulted presumably allude. Behind this exterior of cultural appreciation, however, the portrait advertises Whig policy in 1709-10, which supported the continuation of war against France in opposition to Tory calls for peace. The two visible prints are friezes from Trajan's column showing episodes from the Dacian wars, with the Roman army crossing the Danube. The viewer is invited to make parallels between the valour and victories of the Roman emperors and the current military greatness achieved for Britain by the Duke of Marlborough's campaigns. The globe, showing the Pacific, presumably alludes to Whig foreign policy ambitions beyond Europe. By defeating France in Europe, they aimed to gain commercial access to Spanish American trade routes. It reflects the competitive European colonial pursuit of new markets, including the selling of enslaved West African people to Spanish territories overseas.

John James Baker (or Backer, or Bakker) is thought to have been Flemish, from Antwerp. He was Godfrey Kneller's (age 63) (1646-1723) long-time studio assistant and drapery painter, and this is his largest, most ambitious and complex work. The symbolic programme was presumably devised by Orford in discussion with Baker. The Duke of Devonshire was not a regular member of the Junto, although an increasingly important Whig peer, but his inclusion here is presumably because of his kinship relationship with Orford. The picture is thus a demonstration of Orford's private as well as professional networks, and also his pride and ambition. It would have been displayed at Chippenham in the newly appointed, fashionable interiors, alongside other works that Orford commissioned to advertise his public achievement and the private and professional networks that sustained his power and influence.

On 17 Jan 1718 [his daughter] Henrietta Cavendish (age 19) died.

On 27 Mar 1718 [his son] William Cavendish 3rd Duke Devonshire (age 19) and [his daughter-in-law] Catherine Hoskyns Duchess Devonshire (age 19) were married. He the son of William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 46) and Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire (age 44).

Around 1724 [his son-in-law] William Morgan (age 23) and [his daughter] Rachel Cavendish (age 24) were married. She the daughter of William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 52) and Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire (age 49).

On 28 Dec 1725 [his wife] Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire (age 51) died.

On 09 Jan 1727 [his son] Charles Cavendish (age 22) and [his daughter-in-law] Anne Grey were married. She the daughter of Henry Grey 1st Duke Kent (age 56) and Jemima Crew Marchioness Kent (age 52). He the son of William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 55) and Rachel Russell Duchess Devonshire.

Before 04 Jun 1729 Charles Jervas (age 54). Portrait of William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 57).

On 04 Jun 1729 William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire (age 57) died. His son [his son] William Cavendish 3rd Duke Devonshire (age 30) succeeded 3rd Duke Devonshire, 6th Earl Devonshire, 6th Baron Cavendish Hardwick. [his daughter-in-law] Catherine Hoskyns Duchess Devonshire (age 30) by marriage Duchess Devonshire.

Royal Ancestors of William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire 1672-1729

Kings Wessex: Great x 19 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England

Kings Gwynedd: Great x 15 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd

Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 20 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth

Kings Powys: Great x 16 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys

Kings England: Great x 10 Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Kings Scotland: Great x 14 Grand Son of William "Lion" I King Scotland

Kings Franks: Great x 16 Grand Son of Louis VII King Franks

Kings France: Great x 12 Grand Son of Philip "The Fair" IV King France

Royal Descendants of William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire 1672-1729

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom x 1

Diana Spencer Princess Wales x 1

Ancestors of William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire 1672-1729

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Cavendish 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Cavendish 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Smith

Great x 2 Grandfather: William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Hardwick 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Leeke

Great x 1 Grandfather: William Cavendish 2nd Earl Devonshire 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Keighley

Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Keighley

GrandFather: William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Edward Bruce

Great x 2 Grandfather: Edward Bruce 1st Lord Kinloss

Great x 1 Grandmother: Christian Bruce Countess Devonshire

Father: William Cavendish 1st Duke Devonshire 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Cecil

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley

Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Heckington

Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Cecil 1st Earl Salisbury 12 x Great Grand Son of King John "Lackland" of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Anthony Cooke

Great x 3 Grandmother: Mildred Cooke Baroness Burghley 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King John "Lackland" of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Fitzwilliam 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King John "Lackland" of England

Great x 1 Grandfather: William Cecil 2nd Earl Salisbury 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: George Brooke 9th Baron Cobham 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Brooke 10th Baron Cobham 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Braye Baroness Cobham 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Brooke 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Frances Newton Baroness Cobham

GrandMother: Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Howard 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Howard 4th Duke of Norfolk 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Frances Vere Countess of Surrey 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Howard 1st Earl Suffolk 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Audley 1st Baron Audley Walden

Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Audley Duchess Norfolk 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Grey Baroness Audley 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Catherine Howard Countess Salisbury 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Dacre 3rd Baron Dacre Gilsland 7th Baron Greystoke 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Dacre 4th Baron Dacre Gilsland 8th Baron Greystoke 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Talbot Baroness Dacre Gilsland 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Mary Dacre 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: James Leybourne

Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Leybourne Duchess Norfolk

William Cavendish 2nd Duke Devonshire 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: James "Lame" Butler 9th Earl Ormonde 2nd Earl Ossory 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Edward Butler 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Fitzgerald Countess Ormonde and Ossory 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Walter Butler 11th Earl Ormonde 4th Earl Ossory 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Mary Burke 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Frances Walsingham Countess Essex 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Butler Viscount Thurles 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Butler 1st Viscount Mountgarret 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Edmund Butler 2nd Viscount Mountgarret 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Butler Viscountess Mountgarret 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Helen Butler Countess Ormonde and Ossory 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Barnaby Fitzpatrick 1st Baron Ossory

Great x 3 Grandmother: Grizzel Fitzpatrick Viscountess Mountgarret

GrandFather: James Butler 1st Duke Ormonde 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Nicholas Poyntz 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Nicholas Poyntz 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Berkeley 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: John Poyntz 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph Verney

Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Verney 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Braye 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Poyntz 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Sydenham III 9 x Great Grand Son of King John "Lackland" of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Alexander Syndeham 10 x Great Grand Son of King John "Lackland" of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Sydenham 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King John "Lackland" of England

Mother: Mary Butler Duchess Devonshire 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Preston of Whitehill in Midlothian

Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard Preston 1st Earl Desmond

GrandMother: Elizabeth Preston Duchess Ormonde 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Piers "Red" Butler 8th Earl Ormonde 1st Earl Ossory 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: James "Lame" Butler 9th Earl Ormonde 2nd Earl Ossory 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas "Black Tom" Butler 10th Earl Ormonde 3rd Earl Ossory 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: James Fitzgerald 10th Earl Desmond 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Joan Fitzgerald Countess Ormonde and Ossory 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Butler 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Edmund Sheffield 1st Baron Sheffield 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Sheffield 2nd Baron Sheffield 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Vere Baroness Sheffield 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Sheffield Countess Ormonde and Ossory 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Howard 1st Baron Howard 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Douglas Howard Baroness Sheffield 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward "Longshanks" I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Gamage Baroness Howard 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King John "Lackland" of England