JAMES STANLEY, 7th earl of Derby (1607-1651), sometimes styled the Great Earl of Derby, eldest son of William, 6th earl, and Elizabeth de Vere, daughter of Edward, i7th earl of Oxford, was born at Knowsley on Jan. 31, 1607. During his father's life he was known as Lord Strange. He was elected M.P. for Liverpool in 1625, received high offices in the North of England, and on March 7, 1628, entered the House of Lords as Baron Strange. When the Civil War broke out in 1642, Lord Strange devoted himself to the king's cause. His plan of securing Lancashire at the beginning and raising troops there, which promised success, was however dis couraged by Charles, who was said to be jealous of his power and royal lineage and who commanded his presence at Nottingham. His subsequent attempts to recover the county were unsuccessful. After several defeats he left for the Isle of Man in June 1643 to attend to affairs there, and in the summer of 1644 he took part in Prince Rupert's successful campaign in the north, when Lathom House, where Lady Derby had heroically resisted the attacks of the besiegers, was relieved, and Bolton Castle taken. He followed Rupert to Marston Moor, and of ter the complete defeat of Charles's cause in the north withdrew to the Isle of Man, where he held out for the king and offered an asylum to royalist fugitives. His administration of the island imitated that of Strafford in Ireland. It was strong rather than just. In July 1649 he refused scornfully terms offered to him by Ireton. By the death of his father on Sept. 29, 1642 he had succeeded to the earldom, and on Jan. 12, 165o, he obtained the Garter. On Aug. 15, 1651, he landed at Wyre Water in Lancashire in support of Charles's invasion, and met him on the 17th. Proceeding to Warrington he failed to obtain the support of the Presbyterians through his refusal to take the Covenant, and on the 25th was totally defeated at Wigan, being severely wounded and escaping with difficulty. He joined Charles at Worcester ; after the battle he accompanied him to Boscobel, and while on his way north alone was captured near Nantwich and given quarter. He was tried by court-martial at Chester on Sept. 29, his quarter was disallowed and he was con demned to death. When his appeal for pardon to parliament was rejected, though supported by Cromwell, he endeavoured to escape; but was recaptured and executed at Bolton on Oct. 15, 1651. He was buried in Ormskirk church. According to Clarendon Derby was "a man of great honour and clear courage," and his defects the result of too little knowledge of the world. Lord Derby left in ms. "A Discourse concerning the Government of the Isle of Man" (printed in the Stanley Papers and in F. Peck's Desiderata Curiosa, vol. ii.) and several volumes of historical col lections, observations, devotions (Stanley Papers) and a common place book. He married on the 26th of June 1626 Charlotte de la Tremoille (1599-1664) , daughter of Claude, duc de Thouars, and granddaughter of William the Silent, prince of Orange, by whom besides four daughters he had five sons, of whom the eldest, Charles (1628-1672), succeeded him as 8th earl.
Charles's two sons, William, the 9th earl (c. 1655-1702), and James, the loth earl (1664-1736), both died without sons, and consequently, when James died in February 1736, his titles and estates passed to Sir Edward Stanley (1689-1776), a descendant of the 1st earl. From him the later earls were descended, the 12th earl (d. 1834) being his grandson.