According to
Lauder (2002) he was the sixth John to have been head of the family. He was the eldest son and heir of the fifth John Quicke (died 1729) by his wife Rebecca Nutcombe (died 1733), a daughter and heiress of Richard Nutcombe of Nutcombe in the parish of
Clayhanger, Devon, who also owned the adjoining manor of
Ashbrittle in Somerset, inherited by marriage from the Doble family. His paternal grandmother (wife of Andrew Quicke (1666–1736) of Newton St Cyres) was Dorothy Northcote (died 1728), a daughter of
Sir Arthur Northcote, 2nd Baronet of Hayne in the parish of Newton St Cyres, by his wife Elizabeth Godolphin, a daughter of Sir
Francis Godolphin (1605–1667) and a sister of
Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (1645–1712),
First Lord of the Treasury. Elizabeth's nephew
Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin (1678–1766) married
Henrietta Churchill,
suo jure Duchess of Marlborough (1681–1733) the daughter of the great
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. This Northcote marriage gave the Quicke family a "strong connection" (Lauder, 2002) with the powerful Churchill family, until Henrietta's line died out. His younger brother was Rev. Nutcombe Quicke (1727/8-1809), Chancellor of
Exeter Cathedral,), having married a daughter of
George Lavington,
Bishop of Exeter. that they had inherited their estate in Newton St Cyres on the marriage of Richard Quicke of Sandford to the heiress Elizabeth Bidwell, daughter of John Bidwell of Newton St Cyres (parents of Andrew Quicke (died 1557) of Newton St Cyres). ==Career==