Howard, Francis, 1st Earl of Effingham (1683 -1743)

Francis Howard, 7th Baron Howard of Effingham, was the third and youngest son of Francis Howard, 5th Baron, and Philadelphia, daughter of Sir Thomas Pelham Baronet. A distinguished soldier, Lieutenant Colonel of the 3rd Foot Guards in 1722, he succeeded his brother Thomas in 1725. He was created Earl of Effingham 8 December 1731, and was made Deputy Earl Marshal the same year. He was promoted Brigadier General in 1739, and was Colonel of the 4th Horse Guards 1740 1743. He married firstly, 23 February 1713, Diana, daughter of Major General Fergus O'Farrell, and they had an only son, Thomas, who succeeded him. He married as his second wife, 23 May 1728, Anne, daughter of Robert Bristow, one of the Commissioners of the Board of Green Cloth, but they had no surviving issue.