She was the daughter of Peter Beckford, the Speaker of Jamaica's House of Assembly, and his wife, the former Bathsuba Hering.[2] Her brother was William Beckford, who was Lord Mayor of London on two occasions.[3]
She married the Earl on 14 February 1745.
In addition to Thomas Howard and Richard Howard, their children included:[4]
Lady Elizabeth Howard (d. 31 Oct 1815), who married Rt. Rev. Henry Reginald Courtenay and had children
The Earl died in 1763, and the Countess remarried on 21 May 1771, her second husband being Field Marshal Sir George Howard, a relation of the earl.[5] There were no children from this second marriage.
She died at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, where her second husband was governor. By coincidence, her daughter-in-law Catherine died within a few days of her, while travelling from her home in Jamaica by sea to New York. Elizabeth's elder son, Catherine's husband, who had inherited the earldom, died only a few weeks later.[6]
