Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford

Lieutenant-General Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, (baptised 17 September 167215 November 1739), also known in Jacobite Peerage as the 1st Duke of Strafford and 3rd Baron Raby from 1695 to 1711, was an English peer, diplomat and statesman who served as First Lord of the Admiralty.

Background Thomas was the eldest surviving son of Sir William Wentworth of Northgatehead—who served as High Sheriff of Yorkshire—and his wife Isabella Apsley, daughter of the prominent Royalist commander Sir Allen Apsley and his wife Frances Petre. His paternal grandfather, Sir William Wentworth of Ashby Puerorum, was a younger brother of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford

His education seems to have been deficient; critics said that he was almost illiterate, by which they simply meant not reading Latin and ancient Greek and certainly, his spelling was appalling. This, combined with his reputation among his enemies as a very poor public speaker would lead many to question his qualifications to be a diplomat. He could read, write and speak French and German. Jonathan Swift said that while he was lively and spirited, he was "proud as hell".

Military career

In about 1687, he was a page of honour to Queen Mary of Modena. On 31 December 1688, he was commissioned a cornet in Colchester's Regiment of Horse. Thomas Wentworth saw much service as a soldier in the Low Countries, and was occasionally employed on diplomatic errands. He fought courageously at the Battle of Steenkerque, and was wounded. For his good service he was appointed an aide-de-camp to King William in August 1692, was commissioned guideon and 1st major in the 1st Troop of Horse Guards 4 October 1693, and cornet and 1st major in the same 20 January 1694. On 7 May 1695, Wentworth was appointed a groom of the bedchamber to the king. After ingratiating himself with the Prussian king, he went on to serve as Queen Anne's envoy (1703–1706) and then ambassador (1706–1711) to Berlin. Throughout his Berlin embassy, Frederick I, King in Prussia repeatedly utilised Raby's presence to legitimise his newly acquired royal status. For his role in furthering the Jacobite cause, he was created "Duke of Strafford" in the Jacobite Peerage of England on 5 June 1722 by the Old Pretender. On the collapse of the Plot, the Government, while fully aware of his deep involvement, decided to take no action against him, and he lived out his last years in peace. He would occasionally still attend House of Lords debates, although he was a very bad public speaker.

Marriage and issue On 6 September 1711, he married Anne Johnson, daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Johnson of Bradenham in Buckinghamshire and of Toddington in Bedfordshire, a Member of Parliament for Aldeburgh in Suffolk, by his first wife Anne Smithson, daughter and heiress of Hugh Smithson of Friston and Aldborough, 3rd son of Sir Hugh Smithson, 1st Baronet, of Stanwick, Yorkshire (ancestor of Hugh Percy (Smithson), 1st Duke of Northumberland). Anne brought him a dowry rumoured to be £60,000. The marriage was both advantageous and happy and her letters show their deep mutual affection. By his wife he had issue, one son and three daughters as follows: William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford (1722–1791), son and heir; Anne Wentworth, who married William James Conolly; Lucy Wentworth, who married Sir George Howard; Henrietta Wentworth, who married Henry Vernon (1718–1765) of Hilton in Staffordshire, by whom she had issue, including Henrietta, Lady Grosvenor.

Death and succession Thomas Wentworth died on 15 November 1739 of kidney stones, after years of failing health and was succeeded in his titles by his only son William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford (1722–1791).