Culture, General Things, Succession Relationships, Cousins, Third Cousin Succession Heading, Third Cousin

On 15 Nov 1786 Richard Temple 7th Baronet (age 55) died. His third cousin John Temple 8th Baronet (age 55) succeeded 8th Baronet Temple of Stowe. There is some disagreement as to whether he was legally the 8th Baronet, with some sources, including Cracroft stating:

Following the death of Sir Richard Temple the Baronetcy of Temple of Stow was claimed by his third cousin, John Temple (age 55), British Consul-General in Washington 1786-98, a great-grandson of Mary Temple and her husband Robert Nelson. In spite of a letter of support from his kinsman, George [Grenville later Nugent-Temple-Grenville] (age 33), 1st Marquess of Buckingham, the heir general of the 1st Baronet, Mr John Temple's claim to the Baronetcy cannot be through his mother, as the succession to the baronetcy was restricted to male heirs of the body of the 1st Baronet. His claim must, therefore, be through his father, Capt Robert Temple, of Boston, Massachusetts, British North America (and indeed the Marquess of Buckingham describes him as the "heir male" of the 1st Baronet in his letter from Stowe dated 3 Dec 1786). Without further information it is difficult to see Mr John Temple's placing amongst the male line descendants of the 1st Baronet and the nature of the kinship between his parents, unless he descends, as has been suggested, from the Rev Thomas Temple, Rector of Burton-on-the-Water, and third son of the 1st Baronet.

In addition to Mr John Temple's claim it is possible that there are living male line descendants of Col Edmund Temple, of Sulby Priory, co. Northampton, through his third son, Edmund Temple, of Leicester, and it is for this reason that the Baronetcy of Temple of Stowe is regarded as being dormant rather than extinct.