William Courtenay: disambiguation
Five men sharing the name William, from the Powderham branch of the Courtenay family, feature on this site. ‘William‘ as a name on its own always refers to William Courtenay (1768-1835).
- William Courtenay (1709-1762): William’s grandfather who married lady Frances Finch and became the first viscount Courtenay in 1762.
- William Courtenay (1738-1783): eldest son of William’s great-uncle Henry Reginald Courtenay and probably William’s tutor who married Anne Downes and became a domestic chaplain to the second viscount in 1775 then rector of Kenn (Devon, England) in 1777.
- William Courtenay (1742-1788): William’s father who married Frances Clack and became the second viscount Courtenay in 1762.
- William Courtenay (1768-1835): ‘William‘ who became the third viscount Courtenay in 1788 and earl of Devon in 1831.
- William Courtenay (1777-1859): William’s second cousin, grandson of William’s great-uncle Henry Reginald Courtenay and nephew of William Courtenay (1738-1783), who married (1) Harriet Leslie Pepys, (2) Elizabeth Scott and became earl of Devon in 1835.
‘Lord Courtenay‘ indicates one of the three viscounts from 1762 to 1835. (This peerage became extinct when William died without leaving a son but ‘lord Courtenay’ has survived since 1835 as a ‘courtesy title’ for the eldest son of the current earl of Devon.)
‘Lord Devon‘ indicates one of the eleven earls from William in 1831 to the current earl, Charlie Courtenay, William’s second cousin six times removed, who succeeded his father as earl in 2015. (Charlie is married to Allison Joy Langer; they live with their children at Powderham-castle which has continued to be the family home.)
Pages
- Sisters
- Uncles, aunts and cousins
- George Smith retires
- George Smith’s coachcrash
- French household members
- French household: records
- Lady Honywood’s Memorial
- Captain Gawler’s dismission
- Valentia v. Valentia
- ‘Marie Courtenay’: a Romance with a new Afterword
Posts
- Buffaloes, Toxophylites and Volunteers
- Charlotte and the calash bonnet
- Isabella Courtenay and her niece
Images from the top
- William Blake: Albion rose, 1793. Wikimedia Commons
“Albion rose from where he labourd at the Mill with Slaves / Giving himself for the Nations he danc’d the dance of Eternal Death”.
- Thomas Bewick: Two feathers of the Green sandpiper, with vanes to left: smaller inside wing feather in foreground, larger tail feather behind, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1387359001. © The Trustees of the British Museum
Page history
- 2023 March 10: first published online.
- 2023 March 16&17: disambiguation of the name ‘William Courtenay’ added.
William Courtenay (1768-1835) 
