John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

John Stafford
Earl of Wiltshire
Arms of Sir John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, KG
Born	24 November 1427
Died	8 May 1473
Spouse(s)	Constance Green
Issue	Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire
Father	Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham
Mother	Lady Anne Neville

John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire KG, KB (24 November 1427[1]^[unreliable source] – 8 May 1473) was an English nobleman, the youngest son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham. In 1461 he was appointed Knight of the Order of the Bath.

Career

He fought on the Yorkist side at the Battle of Hexham in 1464. In 1469, he was made Steward of the Duchy of Cornwall for life. He was made Earl of Wiltshire on 5 January 1470[2] by King Edward IV, and was briefly arrested under Warwick's government and prevented from attending the Parliament of November 1470 (he was one of six Yorkist nobles not to receive a summons).[3]

In return for his loyalty he was made Chief Butler of England, and was empowered, with Lord Mountjoy to pardon rebels who surrendered by 7 June that year.[4] He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1472.

Diplomacy

He did act for some time as a diplomat, working with the Earl of Northumberland to deal with ambassadors of James III of Scotland about national grievances.[5]

Personal life

He married Constance Green, daughter of Sir Henry Green of Drayton House Northamptonshire[5] and Margaret de Ros. They only had one child, Edward, who succeeded him as Earl of Wiltshire, although during the latter's minority he was kept as a ward of the King, meaning revenues from his estates were paid to the Crown.[6]

Ancestors

Ancestors of John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

8. Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford 4. Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford 9. Philippa de Beauchamp 2. Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham 10. Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester 5. Anne of Gloucester 11. Eleanor de Bohun 1. John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire 12. John de Neville 6. Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland 13. Maud Percy 3. Anne Neville 14. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster 7. Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland 15. Katherine Swynford

References

1. "Stafford".
2. The historic peerage of England: exhibiting, under alphabetical arrangement, the origin, descent, and present state of every title of peerage which has existed in this country since the Conquest; being a new edition of the "Synopsis of the Peerage of England" by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas and William Courthope, published 1857. On Google Books, accessed 6 February 2010.
3. Ross, C., Edward IV, Trowbridge 1975, p. 155
4. Ross, C., Edward IV, Trowbridge 1975, p. 150
5. Burke, J. (1831). A general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, extinct, dormant, and in abeyance. England. H. Colburn & R. Bentley. p. 493. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
6. Ross, C., Edward IV, Trowbridge 1975, p.380; this 'provided up to £1,400 a year towards the rebuilding of St George's Chapel at Windsor'.

Political offices
Preceded by John Wenlock, 1st Baron Wenlock	Chief Butler of England 1471–1473	Succeeded by Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers
Peerage of England
New creation	Earl of Wiltshire 1470–1473	Succeeded by Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire