William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire

Biography

Cavendish was born as the eldest surviving son of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire. After marrying the daughter of Whig martyr Lord Russell, Rachel Russell, Cavendish was sent out to the country, probably commanding his father's troop of cavalry, and was a volunteer in Flanders in 1692. His first attempt at entering politics was by competing in a by-election in 1691 for the House of Commons, which did not succeed. However, in 1695, he did manage to enter the House of Commons representing the county of Derbyshire.

Horse racing

Cavendish was significant in horse racing. He was the owner of Flying Childers, who is often considered the first true great racehorse in the history of thoroughbreds. Childers was also the son of Darley Arabian, which was one of the first three horses that led to the creation of the English thoroughbred. Cavendish intended to use Childers as a hunter for practical field use after buying him from Colonel Leonard Childers as a yearling, before eventually becoming putting him in racing and him becoming the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland. However, Childers was not a great breeder, and instead, his brother Bartlett's Childers, who was unsuitable for racing, was bred, leading to Bartlett being the male ancestor of Eclipse.

Personal life

He married the Hon. Rachel Russell (1674–1725), daughter of William Russell, Lord Russell, on 21 June 1688. She served as a Lady of the Bedchamber at the court of Queen Anne.

They had ten children:

1. Lady Mary Cavendish (18 August 1696 – 15 June 1719)
2. William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire (26 September 1698 – 5 December 1755)
3. Lady Rachel Cavendish (4 October 1699 – 18 June 1780) married Sir William Morgan on 14 May 1723
4. Lady Elizabeth Cavendish (27 September 1700 – 7 November 1747) married Sir Thomas Lowther, 2nd Baronet
5. Lord James Cavendish (23 November 1701 – 14 December 1741)
6. Lord Charles Cavendish (17 March 1704 – 28 April 1783) married Anne Grey on 9 January 1727, father of Henry Cavendish
7. Lady Anne Cavendish (died 23 August 1780 aged 70)
8. Lady Katherine Cavendish (died 12 September 1715 aged 9)
9. Lord John Cavendish (died 11 May 1720 aged 12)
10. Lady Diana Cavendish (died 12 February 1722)

References

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References

1. "CAVENDISH, William (1672-1729) {{!}} History of Parliament".
2. (26 November 2019). "Horse Breeds and Human Society: Purity, Identity and the Making of the Modern Horse". Routledge.
3. "James Seymour, 1702–1752, The Duke of Devonshire's Flying Childers, 1742".
4. (1810). "The genealogy of the English race horse; with the natural history of his progenitors". J. Barfield.
5. (1899). "Live Stock Journal". Vinton.
6. (1905). "The American Trotter: A Treatise on His Origin, History and Development". American Horse Breeder Publishing Company.
7. (29 March 2012). "Eclipse: The Horse That Changed Racing History Forever". Abrams.
8. "Warrant Books: April 1713, 1–15 Pages 169–184 Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 27, 1713. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1955.".
9. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975
10. Jervas, Charles. "Lady Rachel Cavendish, Lady Morgan (1697–1780), as a Shepherdess".
11. Cox, John Charles. (1881). "The Chronicles of the Collegiate Church or Free Chapel of All Saints, Derby".