Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland

Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, KG, PC (23 April 1675[1] – 19 April 1722), known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was an English statesman and nobleman from the Spencer family. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1714–1717), Lord Privy Seal (1715–1716), Lord President of the Council (1718–1719) and First Lord of the Treasury (1718–1721).

He is an ancestor of both Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales, and through her, the current heir to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, William, Prince of Wales.

Family

He was the second son of Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland and Anne Digby, daughter of George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol.

His first wife was Lady Arabella Cavendish (19 August 1673 – 4 June 1698), daughter of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle. They had one daughter:

1. Lady Frances Spencer (c. 1696 – 27 July 1742), married Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle.

His second wife was Lady Anne Churchill (27 February 1683 – 15 April 1716). She died in April 1716, after a career of considerable influence on the political life of her time. They had six children:

1. Hon. Robert Spencer (2 December 1700 – 12 September 1701).
2. Robert Spencer, 4th Earl of Sunderland (24 October 1701 – 27 November 1729).
3. Lady Anne Spencer (1702 – 19 February 1769), married William Bateman, 1st Viscount Bateman.
4. Charles Spencer, 5th Earl of Sunderland (22 November 1706 – 20 October 1758), succeeded his aunt, Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough, as 3rd Duke of Marlborough.
5. Hon. John Spencer (13 May 1708 – 19 June 1746), father of John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer.
6. Lady Diana Spencer (1710 – 27 September 1735), married John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.

In 1717, he married an Irish lady of fortune, Judith Tichborne (c. 1702 – 17 May 1749), daughter of Sir Benjamin Tichborne of Beaulieu (younger brother of Sir Henry Tichborne, 1st Baron Ferrard, Irish cr. 1715) and Elizabeth Gibbs. They had three children who died in infancy:

1. Unnamed child (born and died 1718).
2. Lady Margaret Spencer (born and died 1719) - her coffin was removed from St James' Church London where she had been first been buried and interred at the family vault in Great Brington Church on the same day as her father's burial that of 1st May 1722
3. Hon. William Spencer (1720 – 17 April 1722) - interred in the family vault in Great Brinton Church on the same day as his father that of 1st May 1722

After his death, she married Sir Robert Sutton (1671 – 13 August 1746).

another possible birth date is 23 December 1674 in Sunderland, Durham, England

Links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Spencer,_3rd_Earl_of_Sunderland
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=107352780&ref...
• http://histfam.familysearch.org/getperson.php?personID=I51609&tree=... (dead link)
• http://thepeerage.com/p10509.htm

Citations

http://thepeerage.com/p10509.htm

1. [S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume XII/1, pages 153, 487-489. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
2. [S8] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 2, page 1867, says 14 Sep 1699. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition.
3. [S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003). Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
4. [S9] Charles Kidd and David Williamson, editor, DeBretts Peerage and Baronetage (London, U.K.: DeBrett's Peerage, 1999), volume 12, page 1871. Hereinafter cited as DeBretts Peerage, 1999.
5. [S10] John Pearson, Blood Royal: The Story of the Spencers and the Royals (London, U.K.: HarperCollins, 1999), pages 67. Hereinafter cited as Blood Royal.