In 1801 he was created Baron Loftus, of Long Loftus in the County of York, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom,[6] by which title the Marquesses of Ely sat in the House of Lords until the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999.

This line of the family failed on the early death of his son, John, the fourth Marquess, in 1889.

The latter's only surviving son, George, the seventh Marquess, was High Sheriff of County Fermanagh.

Charles Tottenham, father of the first Baronet, represented New Ross in the Irish House of Commons.

The aforementioned the Right Reverend Lord Robert Tottenham, second son of the first Marquess, was Bishop of Clogher.

Jane Loftus (1820–1890) was the wife of the second Marquess, and Lady of the Bedchamber and great friend of Queen Victoria.

The Right Reverend Ann Tottenham, daughter of the eighth Marquess, was a bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada.

[9] In 1969, Ely married Judith Marvelle Porter, daughter of Dr John Jacob Porter, and they have two adopted children:[9] The heir presumptive is the present peer's brother Lord Timothy Craig Tottenham (born 1948), whose heir apparent is his elder son Scott Craig Tottenham (born 1977),[9] whose son Charles Craig Luis Tottenham (born 2007) is next in line.