Lady Ursula Salusbury

Born out of wedlock, she was the daughter of Henry Stanley, Earl of Derby.

Ursula Stanley was the illegitimate but acknowledged daughter of Henry Stanley, 4th earl of Derby (September 1531-September 25,1593) by his longtime mistress, Jane Halsall (c.1536?c.1550?-c.1591?) of Knowsley, Lancashire. In 1586, Ursula married Sir John Salisbury or Salusbury of Sterney, Derbyshire and Lleweni, Denbighshire (1566/7-July 24,1612). They had seven sons and three daughters, including Henry (d.1632), John, and Arabella. Her happy marriage was the subject of a book of poems, “The Phoenix and the Turtle,” commissioned by her husband in 1601. Contributors included Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare. One story, without much foundation, has the earl of Derby hiring Shakespeare as a tutor for his two illegitimate daughters, Ursula and her sister Dorothy. Although he was at one time a wealthy man, Salisbury died deeply in debt.

Mother of ten children, her husband was a poet.

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 15 2016, 13:22:18 UTC
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 15 2016, 13:39:00 UTC

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• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 15 2016, 13:39:00 UTC