Edward Stafford, 4th Baron Stafford

The Lord Stafford
Spouse(s)	Isabel Forster
Issue Edward Stafford
Noble family	Stafford
Father	Edward Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford
Mother	Maria Stanley
Born	1572
Died	26 September 1625
Buried	Stafford Castle Church[1]

Edward Stafford, 4th Baron Stafford (1572 – 16 September 1625) was the son of Edward Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford and Maria Stanley, daughter of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby and Dorothy Howard. He became 4th Baron Stafford on the death of his father in 1603

He married Isabel Forster, the daughter of Thomas Forster of Tong, Shropshire. Isabel was reported to be a family chambermaid in a letter to the Earl of Leicester which includes "My Lorde Stafford's son is basely married to his mother's chambermaid."^[2]

Edward Stafford continued on with his father's patronage of the Lord Stafford's Company, a travelling group of players, who were active until at least 1617^[3]

Death and Succession

Stafford had one son, Edward (1602 – 6 April 1621). He married Ann Wilford, daughter of James Wilford, Newman Hall, Quendon, Essex. They had two children:

1. Mary Stafford, who married Sir William Howard, younger son of Thomas, Earl of Arundel. Was created Countess of Stafford for life in her own right in 1640, following the death of her nephew. Thomas Howard was created Viscount Stafford.
2. Henry Stafford, 5th Baron Stafford (24 September 1621 – 4 August 1637). Born after his father's death

However, the younger Edward pre-deceased his father in 1621 and the barony passed to Henry, the grandson of the 4th Baron, in 1625^[2]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Edward Stafford, 4th Baron Stafford

Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham               Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham                       Catherine Woodville               Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford                             Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland               Lady Alianore Percy                       Lady Maud Herbert               Edward Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford                                   ??               Sir Richard Pole                       ??               Ursula Pole                             George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence               Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury                       Isabella Neville               Edward Stafford                                         George Stanley, 9th Baron Strange               Thomas Stanley, 2nd Earl of Derby                       Joan L'Estrange               Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby                             Edward Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings               Anne Hastings                       Mary Hungerford, Baroness Botreaux               Maria Stanley                                   John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk               Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk                       Katherine de Moleyns               Dorothy Howard                             Hugh Tilney               Agnes Tilney                       Eleanor Tailboys

References

1. Castle Church History
2. A general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, extinct, dormant, and in abeyance.by John Burke Publisher Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1831
3. English Dramatic Companies 1558-1642. Author - John Tucker Murray, Published by London Constable. In Archove.org checked 19 Jan 2010