married Anne Clarges daughter of Sir Walter Clarges,
1st Bt.
children:
16(i). Laurence Shirley,
4th Earl Ferrers, b. 18 Aug 1720, Live Staunton Harold Hall,
Leicestershire ; He was found guilty and hanged for murder on
5 May 1760; He was the last aristocrat hanged in England. His
titles and estates were forfeited, but then revived in his next
eldest brother, Washington Shirley
The 4th Earl Ferrers, descendant
of an ancient and noble family, was the eldest son of Hon. Laurence
Ferres, himself a younger son of the 1st Earl Ferrers-a descendant
of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. At the age of twenty,
he quit his estates and Oxford education, and during the time
he spent in Paris he plunged into every kind of excess. Ferrers
inherited his title from his insane uncle in 1745 and with it
estates in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire. He
resided, however, at Staunton Harold
Hall in northwest Leicestershire. In 1752, he married the
youngest daughter of Sir William Meredith. Ferrers was also a
cousin to Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, the prominent Methodist
lady and supporter of George Whitefield, though he was not involved
in the Methodist revival. source: Wikipedia
16(ii). Vice-Admiral
Sir Washington Shirley, 5th Earl Ferrers born 26 May 1722;
died October 1778; British Royal Navy officer, peer, freemason
and amateur astronomer. Inherited the Earldom upon the execution
of his elder brother Laurence Shirley as well as the failure
of his brother to leave issue.
Shirley
was the second son of Hon. Laurence Shirley (himself the fourth
son of Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers) and his wife, Anne.
Circa 1738, he joined the Royal Navy and rose through the ranks
as a Second Lieutenant in 1741, First Lieutenant in 1746 and
Post-Captain soon after.
Two weeks after the execution of his brother, Laurence Shirley,
4th Earl of Ferrers in 1760, Shirley took his seat in the House
of Lords (as the new Earl Ferrers) and in 1763, George III granted
him the family estates, previously forfeit by his brother as
a felon (much to the surprise of Casanova, then visiting London)
and he began to transform the family seat of Staunton
Harold in Leicestershire. He was later promoted as a Rear
Admiral in 1771 and Vice-Admiral in 1775.
In 1761, Ferrers had been elected to the Royal Society for
his work on the observations of the transit of Venus. He died
in 1778 at Chartley Manor Place, Staffordshire and was buried
at Staunton Harold. As he had no children by his wife, Anne,
his title and estates passed to his younger brother, Robert.
source: Wikipedia
married Anne Elliot on 1 December 1747 at St George
East, Stonehouse Devon. She was the daughter of ____-Elliot,
of Plymouth, esq.
no children
16(iii). Robert
Shirley, 6th Earl Ferrers born 18 Jul 1723; He died
on 17 April 1787 at age 63. Inherited the Earldom upon the death
of his elder brother Washington Shirley who died without issue
in 1778.
married Catherine Cotton on 26 December 1754, daughter
of Rowland Cotton
The Lineage of the 7th, 8th, 9th
and 10th Earl Ferrers Continues through this marriage
16(iv). Rev.
Walter Shirley born 28 Sep 1726; He died prior to the death
of his elder brother Robert Shirley on 7 April 1786 at age 59.
The Earldom reverted to his descendents upon the failure of a
male heir in the descent of his elder brother Robert Shirley.
Walter Shirley was born at Staunton Harold in Leicestershire,
the grandson of Robert, first Earl Ferrers. He was first cousin
to the Countess of Huntingdon and brother to the notorious Earl
Ferrers, who was hanged at Tyburn in 1760 for murder. He was
educated at Oxford and after his ordination was presented to
the Irish living of Loughrea. Shirley was converted by Henry
Venn and exercised an evangelical ministry despite the opposition
of his bishop. Shirley played a major role in the controversy
of 1770 over the relationship of the Methodist Church to the
doctrines of Calvinism.Rev. Hon. Walter Shirley graduated from
University College, Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England,
with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.).1 He was the Rector at Loughrea,
County Galway, Ireland
married Henrietta Maria Phillips, dau of John Phillips
esq.
The Lineage of the 11th
Earl Ferrers Continues through this marriage to the present day
16(v). Mary Shirley
16(vi). Elizabeth Shirley
16(vii). Rear-Admiral Thomas Shirley, born 6 Apr 1733.
He died on 7 April 1814 at age 81, without issue. Thomas Shirley
gained the rank of Admiral in the service of the Royal Navy.
He lived at Horkstow Hall, Lincolnshire, England. (more
information)
married 1) Mary Elsegood on 30 March 1773, daughter
of W. Elsgood.
married 2) Anne Hele on 6 November 1809, daughter of
Thomas Hele.
no children
16(viii). Ann Shirley
16(ix). John Shirley, died infant.
16(x). Jane Shirley
Lineage of the Earl Ferrers