Quick Facts
Biography
Francis Courtenay, de jure 4th Earl of Devon, (ca. 1576 – 3 June 1638) of Powderham, Devon, was an English Member of Parliament. In 1831 he was recognised retrospectively as having been de jure 4th Earl of Devon, having succeeded his father in 1630.
Origins
He was the second but eldest surviving son of Sir William V Courtenay (1553–1630), de jure 3rd Earl of Devon of Powderham Castle, Devon, by his first wife Elizabeth Manners, daughter of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland (1526–1563), KG.
Career
He was MP for Devonshire in 1625 and for Grampound in 1626.
Marriage and children
He married twice. His first marriage in 1606 was (as her second husband) to Mary Pole (born 1586), eldest daughter of Sir William Pole (1561–1635), of Shute, Devon, the antiquary. They had no children.
Secondly he married Elizabeth Seymour, a daughter of Sir Edward Seymour, 2nd Baronet (c. 1580 – 1659) of Berry Pomeroy, Devon, by whom he had children including Sir William Courtenay, 1st Baronet (died 1702).