“ FOX, SIR STEPHEN (1627–1716) , English statesman, born on the 27th of March 1627, was the son of William Fox, of Farley, in Wiltshire, a yeoman farmer. At the age of fifteen he first obtained a situation in the household of the earl of Northumberland; then he entered the service of Lord Percy, the earl’s brother, and was present with the royalist army at the battle of Worcester as Lord Percy’s deputy at the ordnance board. ”

“ Though his place as a statesman is in the second or even the third rank, yet he was a useful man in his generation, and a public servant who creditably discharged all the duties with which he was entrusted. ”

“ Unlike other statesmen of his day, he grew rich in the service of the nation without being suspected of corruption, and without forfeiting the esteem of his contemporaries.
He was twice married (1651 and 1703) ; by his first wife, Elizabeth Whittle, he had seven sons, who predeceased him, and three daughters ”