Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux was the eldest son of Sir Richard Devereux, who was created a Knight of the Bath on 20 February 1547 and died that same year, in the lifetime of his father, The 1st Viscount Hereford. Walter Devereux's mother was Lady Dorothy Hastings, daughter of The 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford, said to have been a mistress of Henry VIII. Through his paternal ancestry he was related to the Bourchier family, to which previous Earls of Essex had belonged: John Devereux, son of Walter Devereux who died at the Battle of Bosworth, married Cecily Bourchier, sister of Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex.
Walter Devereux (1411–1459)
Early in 1446 Walter Devereux contracted a marriage for his son, Walter, with Anne Ferrers, daughter of William de Ferrers, 6th Baron Ferrers of Chartley; and entails manors on his son and new daughter-in-law. On 1 June 1446, he was entrusted with the collection of a loan for the king necessary for Henry VI's meeting in October with the King of France to negotiate a final peace.