The entire drama of "Downton Abbey" begins with the deaths of two Crawleys on the Titanic. James Crawley was Patrick and Violet's nephew, being the son of the sixth earl's younger brother. He also had a son, Patrick, presumably named for his uncle. Because Robert and Cora have no sons, James was the next-closest male relative and thus Robert's heir. His son, Patrick, would have been earl after him, which is why the family wished Mary, Robert's eldest daughter, to marry Patrick. Of course, the Titanic disaster put an end to that plan and sent the succession further down the Crawley family tree.
We also meet some of the Levinsons, Cora's family. Cora's irrepressible mother, Martha, is the one responsible for getting her into British society in the first place. Cora also has a brother, Harold, who has never married or had children.
