William Cecil: a biography. [26], Sir William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley1,2 M, #57838, b. William Cecil was born in Lincolnshire in September, we think 1520, we’re assuming it’s 1520. How far he was personally responsible for the Anglican Settlement, the Poor Laws, and the foreign policy of the reign, remains to a large extent a matter of conjecture. Before he died, Robert, his only surviving son by his second wife, was ready to step into his shoes as the Queen's principal adviser. Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter (1542-1623) 3. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage. CECIL FAMILY. Cecil Family, originally also spelled Sitsilt, Syssell, or Seisill, one of England’s most famous and politically influential families, represented by two branches, holding respectively the marquessates of Exeter and Salisbury, both descended from William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Elizabeth I’s lord treasurer. (member of Parliament), and soon afterward he began a long career in royal government. Thomas William Cecil Winter family tree. [S37] BP2003 volume 3, page 4024. William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (1520-1598 CE) was Elizabeth I of England’s most important minister for much of her reign (1558-1603 CE). The precaution proved useless and four months later Cecil committed one of the rare rash acts of his life in marrying Mary Cheke. Mareen "the … [25], Father Richard Cecil, Esq., Sheriff of Rutland, Constable of Maxey & Warwick Castles3 b. c 1495, d. 19 Mar 1553, Mother Joan Heckington3 b. c 1500, d. 10 Mar 1587, Sir Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, 2nd Baron Burghley+1 b. In May 1535, at the age of fourteen, he went to St John's College, Cambridge,[4] where he was brought into contact with the foremost scholars of the time, Roger Ascham and John Cheke, and acquired an unusual knowledge of Greek. Cecil ingratiated himself with Warwick, and after less than three months he was out of the Tower. As Master of the Court of Wards, Burghley supervised the raising and education of wealthy, aristocratic boys whose fathers had died before they reached maturity. With a maxim such as this, it was easy for him to maintain that Elizabeth's coercive measures were political and not religious. 5 Mar 1542, d. 8 Feb 1622/23 Children of William Cecil, 1st Baron of Burghley and Mildred Cooke Elizabeth Cecil9 Anne Cecil+9 b. Hereinafter cited as. [11], Though a Protestant, Cecil was not a religious purist; he aided the Protestant Huguenots and Dutch just enough to keep them going in the struggles which warded danger from England's shores. With the land border with Scotland safe, the main burden of defence would fall upon the Royal Navy, Cecil proposed to strengthen and revitalise the Navy, making it the centerpiece of English power. [S8] BP1999 volume 1, page 162. His tight control over the finances of the Crown, leadership of the Privy Council, and the creation of a highly capable intelligence service under the direction of Francis Walsingham made him the most important minister for the majority of Elizabeth's reign. The interest of the state was the supreme consideration, and to it he had no hesitation in sacrificing individual consciences. Chapter 2 : A Growing Family. Born: 13 September 1520 or 1521, exact date unknown, in Bourne, Lincolnshire Died: 4 August 1598, after years of declining health, at Cecil House on the Strand in London Buried: St Martin’s Church in Stamford, the local church to Burghley House Married to: Mary Cheke (m. 1541–44) & Mildred Cooke (m. 1545–98) Children: A son by Mary Cheke and four children … Father of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter; Marguerite Cissell; Frances Fransica Cecil; Anne de Vere, Countess of Oxford; Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and 1 other; and Elizabeth Wentworth « less He frankly disbelieved in toleration; "that state," he said, "could never be in safety where there was a toleration of two religions. As the marquess of Winchester said of himself, he was sprung from the willow rather than the oak, and he was not the man to suffer for convictions. 1. 1698 in … His family on both his parent’s sides, there were minor royal officials, both his father and his grandfather had worked in the royal household. The historian Hilaire Belloc contends that Cecil was the de facto ruler of England during his tenure as Secretary; pointing out that in instances where his and Elizabeth's wills diverged, it was Cecil's will that was imposed. He was the first Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin, between 1592 and 1598. Charles Cecil (1619-1660) 3. Elizabeth Cecil (William, Samuel W., John, William) was born on 29 Mar 1775 in Fincastle VA. Elizabeth married William Crabtree Price on 21 Dec 1807 in Tazewell VA. William was born in 1785 in VA. The finest encomium was passed on him by the queen herself, when she said, "This judgment I have of you, that you will not be corrupted with any manner of gifts, and that you will be faithful to the state. William Cecil firstly married, Mary Cheke (Cheek), daughter of Sir Peter Cheke of Pirgo and Agnes Duffield, and had issue: Sir Thomas Cecil (born 5 May 1542), who inherited the Barony of Burghley upon the death of his father, and was later created Earl of Exeter. [3] However, the move to Stamford provides information concerning the Lord Treasurer's grandfather, David; he, according to Burghley's enemies, kept the best inn in Stamford. To say that he was Machiavellian is meaningless, for every statesman is so more or less; especially in the 16th century men preferred efficiency to principle. Born: BEF 1455. Four or more generations of descendants of William Cecil (1521-1598) if they are properly linked: 11 Oct. 1551; suc. 1589), da. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 428. London town house of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley. But the story, even as told by his biographer,[10] does not represent Cecil's conduct as having been very courageous; and it is more revealing that he found no seat in the parliament of 1558, for which Mary had directed the return of "discreet and good Catholic members". His daughter Anne became the first wife of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, in 1571; she served as a Maid of Honour to Queen Elizabeth before her marriage. The line "History teaches; never trust a Cecil!" This pedigree is traced through the … He had, moreover, had no part in the divorce of Catherine of Aragon or in the humiliation of Mary during Henry's reign, and he made no scruple about conforming to the Catholic reaction. William CECIL 1591-1668 Married 1 December 1608, Westminster, Middlesex, England, toCatherine HOWARD 1588-1673 with : Charles CECIL 1619-1660 Frances Cecil 1593-1644 Burghley is still very much a lived in family home. for Northamptonshire between 1562 and 1567.5 He was created 1st Baron of Burghley, co. Northampton [England] on 25 February 1570/71.1 He was invested as a Knight, Order of the Garter (K.G.) He was Sergeant-of-Arms to Henry VIII in 1526, Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1532, and a Justice of the Peace for Rutland. 17 June 1572.3 From: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/cecil-william-152021-1598#footnote2_xh76l00 _______________________, CECIL, Sir William (1520 or 1521-98), of Little Burghley, Northants., Stamford, Lincs., Wimbledon, Surr., Westminster, Mdx. 13 September 1521, d. 4 August 1598 Last Edited=26 Jan 2013 William Cecil, 1st Baron of Burghley was born on 13 September 1521.1 He was the son of Richard Cecil and Jane Heckington.4,1 He was baptised at Bourne, Lincolnshire, England.1 He married, firstly, Mary Cheke, daughter of Peter Cheke and Agnes Duffield, on 8 August 1541.5 He married, secondly, Mildred Cooke, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke and Anne FitzWilliam, on 21 December 1546.5 He died on 4 August 1598 at age 76 at Burghley House, The Strand, London, England.5 He was buried on 29 August 1598 at St. Martin's Church, Stamford, Lincolnshire, England.5 His will was proven (by probate) on 13 November 1598.5 He was educated at Grantham School, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England.1 He was educated at Stamford School, England.1 He was educated in May 1535 at St. John's College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England.1 He was admitted to Gray's Inn on 6 May 1541.1 He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) In his view, Mary had to be executed because her life was a rallying cause for the Catholics and played into the hands of the Spanish and of the pope, who excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570 and sent in Jesuits to organise a Catholic underground. After being educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, he trained as a lawyer. The American international relations theorist Hans Morgenthau claimed Burghley accepted a pension (a bribe) from Spain,[12] although Burghley's biographer Conyers Read has claimed that there is no evidence for this.[13]. From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p1925.htm#i57838 __________________________, William Cecil, 1st Baron of Burghley1 M, #2050, b. Hereinafter cited as "re: Penancoet Family. 1553; cr. of Sir Anthony Cooke of Gidea Hall, Essex, 2s. However, they do not claim Burghley knew of Stafford's treason. 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