Russell, Dukes of Bedford (Tavistock and Endsleigh)
The Russells took the Tavistock Abbey estates in the 1540s and kept them. In 1840 the Duke was Francis, 7th Duke, who succeeded on 20 October 1839. Endsleigh in Devon is among the seats Burke names. The acreage shown is the part that fell inside the Dartmoor parishes.
Family tree
Click a name to see everything the sources say about that person, with the exact words quoted, below the chart. Yellow marks the 1840 tithe owner.
Francis, Marquess of Tavistock
Francis, Marquess of Tavistock, only son of the 4th Duke by his second marriage. Married 1764 Lady Elizabeth Keppel. Killed by a fall from his horse on 22 March 1767. S1
Children shown: Francis, 5th Duke, John, 6th Duke
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Bedford, Duke of
Francis, 5th Duke
Francis, 5th Duke, born 22 July 1765; died unmarried at Woburn Abbey on 2 March 1802. S1
Child of Francis, Marquess of Tavistock
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Bedford, Duke of
John, 6th Duke
John, 6th Duke, born 6 July 1766. Married 1st, 21 March 1786, Georgiana Elizabeth Byng; 2ndly, 23 June 1803, Georgiana Gordon. Died 20 October 1839. S1
Child of Francis, Marquess of Tavistock. Children shown: Francis, 7th Duke, John Russell
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Bedford, Duke of
Francis, 7th Duke
Francis, 7th Duke, K.G., born 13 May 1788. Married 8 August 1808 Anna Maria, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Harrington. Called to the House of Lords as Baron Howland on 15 January 1833. Died 14 May 1861. The owner named in the 1840 tithe lists. S1
Child of John, 6th Duke. Children shown: William, 8th Duke
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Bedford, Duke of
William, 8th Duke
William, 8th Duke, born 30 June 1809, only son of the 7th Duke. S1
Child of Francis, 7th Duke
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Bedford, Duke of
John Russell
John Russell, third son of the 6th Duke by his first marriage; created Earl Russell and Viscount Amberley. S1
Child of John, 6th Duke
Where this comes from
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Bedford, Duke of
Stories from the record
Each story is backed by at least two independent sources, at least one of them a printed or official record. The sources are listed under it.
The murder of Lord William Russell, 1840
Lord William Russell, a brother of the 5th and 6th Dukes of Bedford and so uncle of the 7th Duke, was found dead with his throat cut at 14 Norfolk Street, Park Lane, on the morning of 6 May 1840. His Swiss valet, Francois Benjamin Courvoisier, was tried at the Central Criminal Court in June 1840 for his murder, found guilty and sentenced to death. Accounts say he admitted his guilt to his own counsel during the trial after stolen silver was traced to a hotel in Leicester Square. He was hanged outside Newgate on 6 July 1840.
Sources: Newgate Calendar account (Ex-Classics transcription); Wikipedia, Lord William Russell; Capital Punishment UK, Courvoisier
Places on this family's land
Places on this site that stand on, or beside, the fields this family held in 1840.
On their 1840 fields (1)
- Peter Tavy Village Hall organisation
Where the sources differ
Notes
Many of the Duke's tenants appear in the tithe lists as joint entries ('Duke of Bedford and ...'). Those are counted separately, so the acreage above is a minimum, not the full Bedford estate.
Sources
S1 Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage (1869), entry Bedford, Duke of
Tithe polygons: Devon Tithe Mapping Polygonisation Project (Adnams 2023), © Devon County Council and Devon Heritage Centre, CC BY 4.0. Transcriptions: Devon County Council.
