Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset (December 1694 or early 1695 – Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire, 12/15 December 1757, bur. 21 December 1757) was a British nobleman.
The son of Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet, a descendant of Lord Protector Somerset by his first marriage, he was baptized at Easton Royal, Wiltshire on 17 January 1694, and succeeded his distant cousin, Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, as 8th Duke of Somerset and Baron Seymour on 23 November 1750. The 8th Duke only inherited a fragment of the immense Percy family wealth enjoyed by his two immediate predecessors, and the Dukes of Somerset were never again amongst the richest landowning families in Britain. The principal Percy estates and houses of Alnwick Castle, Northumberland House, Petworth House and Syon House were divided between the 7th Duke's daughter and nephew.
In Monkton Farleigh on 8 March 1716 or 5 March 1717, he married Mary Webb (Seend, Wiltshire, 22 October 1697 – 1 February 1768, bur. Seend, Wiltshire, 8 February 1768), daughter of Daniel Webb, of Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire, and wife Elizabeth Somner, sister of Edward Somner, of Seend, Wiltshire, and daughter of John Somner and wife, and had five children:
- Edward Seymour, 9th Duke of Somerset (2 January 1717 – 2 January 1792)
- Webb Seymour, 10th Duke of Somerset (3 December 1718 – 15 December 1793)
- Lord William Seymour (1724 – 5 November 1800), m. 5 June 1767 Hester Maltravers (d. May 1812), and had issue:
- Hon. Edward Seymour (b. 3 May 1768)
- Hon. William Seymour (b. 28 March 1769)
- Hon. Hester Seymour (b. 24 November 1770)
- Very Reverend Lord Francis Seymour (1726 – 16 February 1799), Dean of Wells Cathedral, m. 1749 Catherine Payne (d. 24 December 1801), and had issue, from which descended Edward Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset
- Lady Mary Seymour (1744 – 21 July 1762), m. 20 October 1759 Vincent John Biscoe, of Hookwood (1721 – 29 April 1770)
Famous quotes containing the words edward, duke and/or somerset:
“We black men seem the sole oasis of simple faith and reverence in a dusty desert of dollars and smartness.”
—W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)
“When the Prince of Wales [later King George IV] and the Duke of York went to visit their brother Prince William [later William IV] at Plymouth, and all three being very loose in their manners, and coarse in their language, Prince William said to his ship’s crew, “now I hope you see that I am not the greatest blackguard of my family.””
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1966)