Biography of William Cavendish 1505-1557

In or before 1505 [his father] Thomas Cavendish [aged 32] and [his mother] Alice Smith [aged 26] were married.

Around 1505 William Cavendish was born to [his father] Thomas Cavendish [aged 33] and [his mother] Alice Smith [aged 27].

On 12th November 1515 [his mother] Alice Smith [aged 37] died.

In 1524 William Cavendish [aged 19] and Margaret Bostock [aged 16] were married.

On 13th April 1524 [his father] Thomas Cavendish [aged 52] died.

In 1535 [his daughter] Catherine Cavendish was born to William Cavendish [aged 30] and [his wife] Margaret Bostock [aged 27]. She married before 1578 Thomas Brooke, son of George Brooke 9th Baron Cobham and Anne Braye Baroness Cobham.

On 16th June 1540 [his wife] Margaret Bostock [aged 32] died.

In 1542 William Cavendish [aged 37] and Elizabeth Parker were married. They had three children, none of which survived to adulthood.

In 1543 Robert Barlow aka Barley [aged 14] and [his future wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 16] were married.

In 1546 [his wife] Elizabeth Parker died in childbirth.

On 20th August 1547 William Cavendish [aged 42] and Bess of Hardwick [aged 20] were married. The difference in their ages was 22 years.

On 18th June 1548 [his daughter] Frances Cavendish was born to William Cavendish [aged 43] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 21]. She married before 1584 her sixth cousin Henry Pierrepont and had issue.

In 1549 the Leche family sold Chatsworth House, Derbyshire [Map] to William Cavendish [aged 44]. His wife Bess of Hardwick [aged 22] had persuraded him to sell his ancestral lands around Cavendish, Suffolk [Map] and buy land around her ancestral lands.

On 10th June 1549 [his daughter] Temperance Cavendish was born to William Cavendish [aged 44] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 22]. She died a year later.

Around 1550 John "The Elder" Bettes [aged 19]. Portrait of William Cavendish [aged 45].

In 1550 [his daughter] Temperance Cavendish died.

On 17th December 1550 [his son] Henry Cavendish was born to William Cavendish [aged 45] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 23]. He married 9th February 1568 his sixth cousin Grace Talbot, daughter of George Talbot 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and Gertrude Manners Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford.

On 27th December 1552 [his son] William Cavendish 1st Earl Devonshire was born to William Cavendish [aged 47] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 25]. He married (1) 21st March 1580 Anne Keighley and had issue (2) after 1603 Elizabeth Boughton Countess Devonshire and had issue.

In 1553 William Cavendish [aged 48] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 26] commissioned the building of a new house [Chatsworth House, Derbyshire [Map]]. She selected a site near the river, which was drained by digging a series of reservoirs, which doubled as fish ponds.

On 28th November 1553 [his son] Charles Cavendish was born to William Cavendish [aged 48] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 26]. He married before 6th December 1592 Catherine Ogle 8th Baroness Ogle, daughter of Cuthbert Ogle 7th Baron Ogle and Catherine Carnaby Baroness Ogle, and had issue.

On 31st March 1555 [his daughter] Elizabeth Cavendish Countess Lennox was born to William Cavendish [aged 50] and [his wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 28] at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire [Map]. She married 1574 Charles Stewart 5th Earl Lennox, son of Matthew Stewart 4th Earl Lennox and Margaret Douglas Countess Lennox, and had issue.

In January 1556 [his daughter] Mary Cavendish Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford and Lucrece Cavendish were born to William Cavendish [aged 51] and Bess of Hardwick [aged 29].

On 25th October 1557 William Cavendish [aged 52] died.

Around 27th August 1559 William St Lo [aged 41] and [his former wife] Bess of Hardwick [aged 32] were married. They were half third cousin twice removed.

In the 1560s Chatsworth House [Map] was completed following the death of William Cavendish.

On 6th February 1568 [his son-in-law] Gilbert Talbot 7th Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 15] and Mary Cavendish Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford [aged 12] were married. She the daughter of William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford [aged 41]. He the son of George Talbot 6th Earl of Shrewsbury [aged 40] and Gertrude Manners Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford. They were sixth cousins.

Three days later on Gilbert and Mary would become step-siblings when their father and mother respectively George Talbot 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and Bess of Hardwick were married. She by marriage Countess of Shrewsbury Countess Waterford. It is likely the latter marriage a condition of the former. He the son of Francis Talbot 5th Earl of Shrewsbury and Mary Dacre. They were fifth cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward III of England.

On 19th March 1616 [his son-in-law] Henry Pierrepont [aged 70] died. Church of St Edmund, Holme Pierrepoint [Map]. Designed by John Smythson. Probably carved by Hugh Hall who also carved the monument to Thomas Smith originally at Wybynbury but since moved to Nantwich [Map]. Elizabethan Period. Armorials:

Top left Cavendish Arms - he was married to Frances Cavendish [aged 67] daughter of William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick.

Top right Pierrepoint Arms.

Centre Bottom: Quartered 1&4 Pierrepoint Arms 2&3 Unknown Arms impaled Quartered 1&4 Cavendish Arms 2&3 Unknown Arms.

Frances Cavendish: On 18th June 1548 she was born to William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick. Before 1584 Henry Pierrepont and she were married. She the daughter of William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford. They were sixth cousins. In January 1632 Frances Cavendish died.

[his daughter] Anne Cavendish was born to William Cavendish and Margaret Bostock. She married 1561 Henry Bayntun.