Hervey, John, 1st Earl of Bristol (1665 -1751)

John Hervey was born in Bury St Edmunds, the son of Sir Thomas Hervey. After receiving his education in Bury and at Clare College, Cambridge, he became Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds in March 1694. In March 1703 he was created 1st Baron Hervey, of Ickworth in the County of Suffolk, and in October 1714 was created 1st Earl of Bristol as a reward for his zeal in promoting the principles of the revolution and supporting the Hanoverian succession. He twice married: firstly to Isabella (died 1693), daughter of Sir Robert Carre, 3rd Baronet, of Sleaford, and secondly to Elizabeth (died 1741), daughter and co-heir of Sir Thomas Felton, 4th Baronet, and his wife Lady Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of James Howard, 3rd Earl of Suffolk and 3rd Baron Howard de Walden. John Hervey had several sons, two of whom predeceased him. On his death in 1751 the earldom of Bristol and the barony of Hervey, along with the estates of Ickworth House, passed to his grandson George, the eldest son of his second son John, 2nd Baron Hervey.