Katherine de Stafford

Katherine de Stafford
Countess of Suffolk
The Tomb of Katherine de Stafford and her husband Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk in Wingfield Church
Spouse(s)	Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk
Issue Michael de la Pole, 3rd Earl of Suffolk William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk Alexander de la Pole Sir John de la Pole Thomas de la Pole Katherine de la Pole Isabel de la Pole, Baroness Morley Elizabeth de la Pole, Lady Burnell
Father	Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford
Mother	Philippa de Beauchamp
Born	around 1376
Died	8 April 1419

Katherine de Stafford, Countess of Suffolk (born around 1376 – 8 April 1419) was a daughter of Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford and his wife Philippa de Beauchamp. By her marriage to Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, she became known as the Countess of Suffolk.

Family

Katherine was one of nine children born to Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford and his wife Philippa de Beauchamp. Some of her siblings included Margaret de Stafford, Countess of Westmorland and Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford.

Her paternal grandparents were Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford and Margaret de Audley. Her maternal grandparents were Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick and Katherine Mortimer, a daughter of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March.

Marriage and children

Katherine was married to Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk in April 1383. He was a son of Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk and Katherine Wingfield.^[1] They had the following issue, the eldest of whom would not be born until 1394, eleven years after their marriage:

• Michael de la Pole, 3rd Earl of Suffolk (1394–1415)
• William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk (1396–1450)
• Sir Alexander de la Pole (d. 1429), killed at the Battle of Jargeau
• Sir John de la Pole (d. 1429), died a prisoner in France.
• Sir Thomas de la Pole (aft. 1397-1433), a clerk, died in France while a hostage for his brother William. He had an illegitimate daughter and heiress Katherine de la Pole (1416–1488, buried in Rowley Abbey, Oxfordshire), second wife of Sir Miles Stapleton, and had issue
• Katherine de la Pole, abbess at Barking
• Isabel de la Pole (d. 1466), married Thomas de Morley, 5th Baron Morley, and had issue
• Elizabeth de la Pole, married first Edward Burnell, son of Hugh Burnell, 2nd Baron Burnell, second Sir Thomas Kerdeston

Michael died on 18 September 1415, from the flux. Katherine died four years later, on 8 April 1419.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Katherine de Stafford

16. Nicholas de Stafford               8. Edmund de Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford                       17. Eleanor de Clinton               4. Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford                             18. Ralph Basset, 1st Baron Basset of Drayton               9. Margaret Bassett                       19. Joan Grey of Ruthyn               2. Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford[1]                                   20. Hugh I de Audley               10. Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester                       21. Isolde de Mortimer               5. Margaret de Audley                             22. Gilbert de Clare, 3rd Earl of Gloucester               11. Margaret de Clare                       23. Joan of Acre               1. Katherine de Stafford                                         24. William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick               12. Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick                       25. Maud FitzJohn               6. Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick                             26. Ralph VII de Toeni               13. Alice de Toeni                       27. Mary de Toeni               3. Philippa de Beauchamp                                   28. Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Mortimer               14. Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March                       29. Margaret de Fiennes               7. Katherine Mortimer                             30. Piers de Geneville               15. Joan de Geneville                       31. Jeanne of Lusignan

References

1. Walker 2004.

Works cited

• Walker, Simon (2004). "Pole, Michael de la, second earl of Suffolk (1367/8–1415)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/22453. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)