Francis Drake - Marriage and Family

Marriage and Family

Francis Drake married Mary Newman in 1569. She died 12 years later, in 1581. In 1585, Drake married Elizabeth Sydenham—born circa 1562, the only child of Sir George Sydenham, of Combe Sydenham, who was the High Sheriff of Somerset. After Drake's death, the widow Elizabeth eventually married Sir William Courtenay of Powderham. As Sir Francis Drake had no children, his estate and titles passed on to his nephew (also named Francis).

The people of quality dislike him for having risen so high from such a lowely family; the rest say he is the main cause of wars.

—Gonzalo González del Castillo in a letter to King Philip II in 1592.

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