Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Howard,_8th_Duke_of_Norfolk

Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal (11 December 1683 – 23 December 1732) was the son of Lord Thomas Howard (of Worksop) and Mary Elizabeth Savile.

Upon his uncle's death, he gained the title of 17th Baron Furnivall and 8th Duke of Norfolk. He married Maria Winifreda Francisca Shireburn, daughter of Sir Nicholas Shireburn, 1st and last Bt., of Stonyhurst Hall, on 26 May 1709, when she was age 16 and a half, with a fortune of more than £30,000.

Thomas Howard died on 23 December 1732 at age 49 without a male heir. Upon his death, the title passed to his brother, Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk.

Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal (11 December 1683 – 23 December 1732) was the son of Lord Thomas Howard (of Worksop) and Mary Elizabeth Savile. Upon his uncle's death, he gained the title of 17th Baron Furnivall and 8th Duke of Norfolk. He married Maria Winifreda Francisca Shireburn, daughter of Sir Nicholas Shireburn, 1st and last Bt., of Stonyhurst Hall, on 26 May 1709, when she was age 16 and a half, with a fortune of more than £30,000.[1][2]

At the time of the Jacobite Rising of 1715 he used his influence to secure the acquittal of his brother Edward Howard from the charge of high treason.[3]

Howard was arrested on 29 October 1722 under suspicion of involvement in a Jacobite plot, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. His wife, refused permission to visit, prevailed upon the Earl of Carlisle to act as surety for his bail in May 1723.[3] Howard was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England 1729-30.[3]

His marriage is said to have been unhappy, and his wife, a staunch Catholic and Jacobite, separated from him when he—in her words—"truckled to the Usurper".[4]

Thomas Howard died on 23 December 1732 at age 49 without a male heir. Upon his death, the title passed to his brother, Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk.[1][2]

His widow is said to have married, in November 1733, Peregrine Widdrington, with whom she certainly lived.[1] He was the brother of William Widdrington, the 4th and last Baron Widdrington of Blankney,[2] and had taken part in the Jacobite Rising of 1715.[1]