Page:The Complete Peerage Ed 2 Vol 3.djvu/504

 484 COWPER d. at Colne Green,(*) 10, and was bur. 19 Oct. 1723, at Hertingfordbury. Will dat. 6 Nov. 1722, pr. 8 May I724.('') His widow, who was b. in 1685, was a Lady of the Bedchamber to the Princess of Wales, resigning her post Dec. 1717.0 She d. 5, and was bur. 15 Feb. 1723/4. Will dat. 10 Nov. 1723, pr. 26 Feb. 1723/4. II. 1723. 2. William (CowPER, rt//^r'K,'rtrd'5 Clavering-Cowper), Earl Cowper, £t?c., s. and h. by 2nd wife, b. 13, and bap. 14 Aug. 1709, at Hertingfordbury; matric. at Oxford (Ex. Coll.) 4 Oct. 1725; Hon. D.C.L. 28 June 1728; F.R.S. 11 May 1732; a Lord of the Bedchamber, 1733-47; Lord Lieut, and Custos Rot. of Herts, 1744 till his death. On the death of his mother's brother, 22 Mar. 1762, he, under his will, assumea the additional name of Clavering. A Whig. He ;;;., istly, 27 June 1732, Henrietta, yst. da. and coh. (whose issue became sole h.) of Henry (Nassau de Auverquerque), Earl of Grantham, by Henrietta, da. (whose issue became h.) of James Butler, styled Earl of OssoRY, s. and h. ap. of James, ist Duk.e of Ormonde. She d. v.p.^ 23 Sep., and was bur. 2 Oct. 1747, at Hertingfordbury. He m., andly, 1 May 1750, Georgiana Caroline, widow of the Hon. John Spencer, of Wimbledon, Surrey (who d. 10 June 1746), da. of John (Carteret), Earl Granville, by his ist wife, Frances, da. of Sir Robert Worsley, Bart., but by her had no issue. He d. at Cole Green, 18 Sep., and was bur. 2 Oct. 1764, at Hertingfordbury, aged c^^. Will dat. 27 Oct. 1759, pr. 13 Oct. 1764. His widow d. 25 Aug. 1780, at Richmond, Surrey, and was ^«r. with him. Will dat. 20 Feb. 1765 to 5 Apr. 1770, pr. 3 Sep. 1780. (*) " The house which he built there was pulled down in the beginning of this [19th] century, and replaced by the present [191 3] stately mansion of Panshanger." (Foss's "Judges of England). C") "Mr. Cowper who is made Lord Keeper is but 41 years of age, being the youngest Lord Keeper ever known; but he is a man of parts and learning, though of very bad principles and morals, being well known to have had two wives at a time; a man of no religion." (T. Hearne, 14 Oct. 1705). A rumour that he had contracted an informal marriage with his mistress, Miss Ailing, led Swift to give him the nick- name of " Will Bigamy." V.G. " His person was handsome, his oice melodious, his elocution perfect, his style pure and nervous, his manner engaging; on the other hand, in logical faculty and grasp of legal science he was deficient." {Diet. Nat. Biog.). " His strength as an orator," says Lord Chesterfield, "lay by no. means in his reason- ings, for he often hazarded very weak ones;" but, says Bishop Burnet, "he managed the Court of Chancery with impartial justice and great despatch;" and it is much to his credit he refused the New Year's gifts, which had hitherto been customary. In his politics, however, he was not so equitable, and his "Impartial History of Parties," which he presented to the King in 171 4, and in which " he artfully depreciates all the acts and principles " of the Tories " is anything but what its title imports." See Foss's "Judges of England. (') She resigned because none of the Prince's household were received at Court owing to the furious quarrel between the King and the Prince. V.G.