George Carey (c. 1541–1616)

Arms of Cary: Argent, on a bend sable three roses of the field

Sir George Cary (c. 1541 – 15 February 1616), of Cockington in Devon, was an English administrator and Member of Parliament who held various offices in Ireland. He was treasurer-at-war to the Earl of Essex's campaign in Ireland in 1599, and was appointed a Lord Justice in September 1599 (when Essex left the country) and again in 1603 (on Lord Mountjoy's departure). He was Lord Deputy of Ireland from May 1603 to February 1604. He had earlier served as Member of Parliament for Dartmouth (in the Parliament of 1586) and Devon (in that of 1588).^[1]

Cary should not be confused with his near namesake Sir George Carew, later Earl of Totnes, who also held posts in Ireland at the same period.

Marriages & progeny

Cary married twice:

• Firstly (as her second husband) to Wilmot Giffard (born 1541), daughter and sole heiress of John Giffard of Yeo Vale, Alwington, North Devon, and step-daughter of Robert Cary (d.1586) of Clovelly, Devon, half-uncle to Sir George Cary. By Wilmot Giffard he had the following progeny:^[2]
  • Thomas Cary, died without issue
  • Sir George Cary, killed in the Irish Wars, predeceased his father, without issue
  • Jana Cary, died without issue
  • Anna Cary, wife of Sir Richard Edgcumbe of Mount Edgcumbe, without issue.
• Secondly to Lettice Rich, a daughter of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick (1559-1619),^[3] without issue.^[4]

Succession

As his own children all died without issue, his heir to Cockington was his nephew George Cary,^[5] 5th son of his younger brother John Cary of Dudley, Staffordshire, and husband of Elizabeth Seymour, a daughter of Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baronet (d.1613), grandson of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector.^[6]

Notes

1. http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/carey-george-1541-1616
2. Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitation of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.151, pedigree of Cary
3. "Warwick, Earl of (E, 1618 - 1759)". Cracroft's Peerage. Heraldic Media Ltd. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
4. Vivian, p.151
5. Pole, Sir William (d.1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p.279
6. Vivian, p.703, pedigree of Seymour

References

• Dictionary of National Biography (entry for George Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes)
• Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. p. 1.
• www.tudorplace.com