Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave

Captain Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, 3rd Baron Sheffield, (7 December 1565 – 6 October 1646) was an English peer and member of parliament, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire from 1603 to 1619 and Vice-Admiral of Yorkshire from 1604 to 1646. He was created Earl of Mulgrave in 1626.

Early life Edmund Sheffield was born on 7 December 1565 to John Sheffield, 2nd Baron Sheffield and Douglas Howard, daughter of William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham.

Sheffield's grandfather, Sir Edmund Sheffield, a second cousin of Henry VIII, was raised to the Peerage in 1547 as Baron Sheffield of Butterwick, and was murdered in the streets of Norwich during Kett's Rebellion in 1549.

Sheffield was educated at Christ Church, Oxford from 1574 to 1579.

Career

In 1582, Sheffield was commanded by Queen Elizabeth I to accompany the Duke of Anjou on his return voyage to the European mainland. Sheffield later served as a volunteer in the Netherlands in 1585. On 25 July 1588, Sheffield was knighted by for valiant services in the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604).

For his services, Queen Elizabeth I granted Sheffield in 1591 the Manor of Mulgrave in Yorkshire, part of the forfeited estate of Sir Francis Bigod. On 21 April 1593, Sheffield was made a Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter by Queen Elizabeth I. Sheffield joined the Virginia Company on 23 May 1609 and the New England Company on 3 November 1620.

Personal life Sheffield married Ursula Tyrwhitt before 13 November 1581, daughter of Sir Robert Tyrwhite of Kettleby and Elizabeth Oxenbridge. They had six sons and eleven daughters:

Charles Sheffield Sir John Sheffield Edmund Sheffield William Sheffield Phillip Sheffield George Sheffield Mary Sheffield, wife of Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron and mother of Sir Thomas Fairfax Magdalen Sheffield Elizabeth Sheffield Tryphena Sheffield Dorothy Sheffield Douglas Sheffield Margaret Sheffield Ursula Sheffield Sarah Sheffield Anne Sheffield Frances Sheffield, wife of Sir Philip Fairfax of Steeton and mother of William Fairfax

Ursula died in 1619. Due to financial difficulties, Sheffield set out to marry a rich wife. They had three sons and two daughters:

Captain James Sheffield Colonel Thomas Sheffield Robert Sheffield Margaret Sheffield Sarah Sheffield

Death and legacy Sheffield died on 6 October 1646 at Butterwick House in Hammersmith. He was buried in St Pauls, Hammersmith in a tomb of black and white marble long, high and over, defended with iron rails, where a monument to his memory was erected by his wife Mariana, Countess of Mulgrave.

Sheffield was succeeded by his grandson, Edmund Sheffield, 2nd Earl of Mulgrave, son of Sir John Sheffield.

Sheffield's Garter stall plate is visible in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Ancestry