To Marry an English Lord
Page 33
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“P.S. Will you send us another letter of credit for £2,000 made out to Hon. Michael Herbert and Mrs. L.B. Herbert?”
THE HON. MICHAEL HERBKRT, to his Wilson in-laws
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WILSON, BELLE
Daughter of Richard T. Wilson of New York and Newport
Married November 27, 1988
To: the Hon. Michael Henry Herbert, later knighted; younger brother of 13th Earl of Pembroke
Wilson, a New York banker with investments in railroads, was originally from Georgia and had served as commissary-general in the Confederate Army. Belle’s sister May was the mother of May Goelet [q.v.]; her sister Grace married Cornelius Vanderbilt, cousin of Consuelo Vanderbilt [q.v.]. Belle was one of Charles Worth’s most famous success stories. Herbert, secretary at the British legation in Washington, was later posted to Constantinople; he was appointed British ambassador to Washington in 1902 and died the following year.
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“We have just been staying up at Tandragee [the Manchesters’ place in Ireland] with lord and Lady Mandeville—poor little thing, she is so delicate—so utterly helpless—and most charming. What a contrast to the Duchess. She cannot endure a country life and is quite miserable. . . .”
MRS. ADAIR to Lady Waldegrave (1877)
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WORK, FRANCES
Daughter of Frank Work of New York and Newport
Married September 22, 1880
To: the Hon. James Boothby Burke-Roche, later 3rd Baron Fermoy
Frances’ father was a stockbroker for Cornelius Vanderbilt. Burke-Roche was a handsome sporting type who looked like poor husband material, but the headstrong Frances insisted on marrying him. They lived in New York a few years (Work had to pay Burke-Roche’s $50,000 gambling debts), then in England. Frances divorced him in 1891, winning custody of their twin sons. She lived stylishly in New York until her short marriage to (and scandalous divorce from) Hungarian horse trainer Aurel Batonyi; this episode caused her to be disinherited by her father and ostracized by society.
YZNAGA, CONSUELO
Daughter of Antonio Yznaga del Valle of New York and Newport
Married May 22, 1876
To: George Victor Drogo Montagu, Viscount Mandeville, later 8th Duke of Manchester
Seats: *Kimbolton Castle, Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire; Tandragee Castle, Co. Armagh, Ireland
Consuelo’s father had been a well-to-do Cuban merchant in Natchez; her mother, a planter’s daughter, brought the family to New York after the Civil War. Her brother Fernando married Alva Vanderbilt’s sister. Consuelo met Mandeville at Saratoga; legend has it that he fell in love as she nursed him through a bout of typhoid. In England she was known for her easygoing, slightly wild ways and became the Prince of Wales’ mistress. Mandeville, who left her at Tandragee while he squired a music-hall singer around London, was declared bankrupt in 1890. Always hard up for money, Consuelo reputedly accepted “gifts” for social introductions. Her son, the 9th Duke, married Helena Zimmerman [q.v.].
YZNAGA, NATICA
Daughter of Antonio Yznaga del Valle of New York and Newport
Married December 5, 1881
To: Sir John Pepys Lister-Kaye, Baronet
Natica and Consuelo were called “the Little Sisters of the Rich.” Lister-Kaye, who claimed descent from Sir Kay of Arthurian legend, was a groom-in-waiting to Edward VII.
ZIMMERMAN, HELENA
Daughter of Eugene Zimmerman of Cincinnati
Married November 14, 1900
To: William Angus Drogo Montagu, 9th Duke of Manchester
Seats: *Kimbolton Castle, Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire; Tandmgee Castle, Co. Armagh, Ireland; Kylemore Castle, Letterfrack, Co. Galway, Ireland
Helena’s father was a stockholder in Standard Oil and railroad president. Kim (nicknamed for his childhood title, Lord Kimbolton) had been unsuccessful in trolling the States for a rich wife; he worked at the New York Journal as a reporter one summer. He was declared bankrupt just before his secret marriage to Helena, which appalled his mother, Consuelo Yznaga [q.v.]. Edward VII and Alexandra were their guests in 1904 at Kylemore Castle in Ireland (bought for them by Helena’s father) on a much-publicized visit. The Manchestcrs divorced in 1931; the Duke remained improvident.
Helena Zimmerman as a young girl. Six years after her divorce from Manchester, she married an old friend, the 10th Earl of Kintore.
THE BRIDESMAID CONNECTION
BRIDES
CONSUELO YZNAGA (Duchess of Manchester)
ELLEN STAGER (Marchioness of Ormonde)
ELIZABETH FRENCH (Lady Cheylesmore)
FLORA DAVIS (Marchioness of Dufferin)
MARY LEITER (Lady Curzon)
CONSUELO VANDERBILT (Duchess of Marlborough)
MAY GOELET (Duchess of Roxburghe)
MARGARETTA DREXEL (Countess of Winchilsea)
BRIDESMAIDS
MINNIE STEVENS (Lady Paget)
ROMAINE STONE (Lady Monson)
ANTOINETTE PINCHOT (Hon. Mrs. Alan Johnstone)
FLORA DAVIS (Marchioness of Dufferin)
EDITH KIP MCCREERY (Hon. Mrs. Henry Coventry)
DAISY LEITER (Countess of Suffolk)
NANCY LEITER (Mrs. Colin Campbell)
MAY GOELET (Duchess of Roxburghe)
BEATRICE MILLS (Countess of Granard)
MILDRED CARTER (Countess of Gosford)
NELLIE POST (Countess of St. Germans)
The print edition of this book includes an image called The American Heiresses' London.
Please download a PDF of this image here: workman.com/ebookdownloads
WALKING TOUR OF THE AMERICAN HEIRESSES’ LONDON
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In some country houses, a discreet bell rang at 6 A.M. to allow guests to return to their own beds before the servants were up and about.
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ALBEMARLE STREET.
Brown’s Hotel: “a dingy structure in a narrow street,” according to Consuelo Vanderbilt, but then and always the hotel of choice for Americans in London. Tea at five. Dress appropriately and bring an appetite—the sweets are divine.
ALDFORD STREET.
No. 18: owned by Clara Frewen, eldest of the Jerome girls. Since her husband was regularly broke, Clara spent a good portion of her married life visiting relatives and kind friends.
AUDLEY SQUARE.
No. 6: at one time the town house of the Earl of Minto. By 1910 it was occupied by the 2nd Earl of Ancaster and American heiress Eloise Breese.
BELGRAVE SQUARE.
Now just a lot of embassies and zebra crossings, but once one of the prettiest and most chic of the London squares. No. 15 (Royal Agricultural Society of England): occupied by Minnie Stevens when she and Arthur came into their own; Consuelo Vanderbilt was introduced to the Duke of Marlborough here. No. 45: residence of Michael P. Grace, Anglophile and Wall Street Father of American heiresses Elena, Countess of Donoughmore, and Elisa, wife of the Hon. Hubert Beaumont. Also in Belgrave Square was Herbert House, where the happily married Belle Wilson and Michael Herbert stayed when they were in London.
BERKELEY SQUARE.
Almost unrecognizable; only a strip of houses along the west side gives any hint of its former grandeur, which had faded even by the time of the heiresses. Still, it was exclusive enough for “avidly social” Pauline Whitney and Almeric Paget, who lived at No. 38. No. 14 was the home of Mary Ethel Burns, the future Lady Harcourt. And No. 45 was home to Lady Dorothy Nevill, whose Sunday afternoon teas were among the most fashionable in London.
BRUTON STREET.
A typical Mayfair side street. No. 12 was lived in for some years by the ambitious Betty Lcggett, wife of the New York wholesale grocer, mother of Alberta, Countess of Sandwich, and best friend of the even more ambitious Maud Cunard. American heiress Louise Corbin lived up the street at No. 36.
CADOGAN PLACE.
No. 7: home for years and years to Fanny Ronalds, one-time mistress of Leonard Jerome and August Belmont
. In London, she was courted by the Duke of Edinburgh and fell in love with Sir Arthur Sullivan.
CADOGAN SQUARE.
No. 75 belonged to the former Florence Davis of New York, married to the 2nd Marquess of Dufferin and Ava. “The present marchioness is a pretty woman of many accomplishments and exquisite taste,” claimed the Tatler, “the great white staircase and magnificent blue hall of her beautiful house in Cadogan Square being of her own design.”
CARLTON HOUSE TERRACE.
The residence of choice for American heiresses. Why? Because it was practically in Marlborough House’s back garden—about as close to Bertie as a non-royal could get. No. 1: bought by Levi Leiter for George and Mary Curzon. No. 3: lived in by Lily Hammersley after her 1895 marriage to Lord William Beresford. No. 5 was once the residence of Maud Cunard. Next door, in gaudy magnificence, lived Mrs. John W. Mackay. New York wouldn’t touch her—but London ate her up. No. 7 was for a time the residence of Belle and Mungo Wilson (doubtless with Papa Wilson’s money). No. 18 belonged to W.W. Astor, one of Daisy Warwick’s best friends until she converted to socialism. No. 20 was lived in by Lady Parker, American wife of Sir Gilbert Parker, author and M.P. No. 22 belonged to Amy Phipps Guest.
CHARLES STREET.
No. 37 (English-Speaking Union) once belonged to the Baring family, of banking fame; the American heiress in residence was Maude Lorillard Baring. No. 39: home to the last Earl of Camperdown and his American wife, Laura Dove. No. 40: sometime home of the Earl of Cork and his California girl, Josephine Hale.
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In London, silver had to be polished daily because it began to yellow after twenty-four hours in the dirty air.
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CHESHAM STREET.
No. 15: home of Mr. and Mrs. John Ridgely Carter. He was American minister in England; she provided the cash. Their daughter Mildred married, inevitably, an English lord: the 5th Earl of Gosford.
CHESHAM PLACE.
No. 29: home of Margaret Hamilton. Her husband, Sir Sidney Waterlow, was a former Lord Mayor of London and about three times her age.
CHESTERFIELD GARDENS.
Down on its luck, but not without atmosphere. The Duke of Roxburghe lived here before Goelet money took him to Chesterfield House. No. 3 (now demolished) belonged to Cornelia Martin, Countess of Craven. Its walls were knocked through to connect with her mum, who had moved in next door at No. 4. No. 5: residence of Elena Grace, American Countess of Donoughmore. No. 8: home of Eloise Breese Drummond-Willoughby, the future Lady Ancaster.
CHESTERFIELD STREET.
No. 14: home of Jean Reid and the Hon. John Ward.
CONNAUGHT PLACE.
No. 2: occupied by Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill from 1888 to 1892. Randolph’s amateur scientist brother Blandford installed a dynamo in the cellar, allowing Jennie to claim that hers was the first London house to be lit by electricity.
CURZON STREET.
No. 30: home of Mrs. Adair, reputed by the Tatler to have “silk-lined walls, some good pictures and any amount of costly French furniture.” The ballroom had a minstrel gallery. Crewe House, across the street, was once leased by Henry Phipps, steel-magnate father of American heiress Amy Phipps Guest. Down the street is Sunderland House, built for Consuelo Vanderbilt Marlborough. “I can’t stand the dining room,” wrote Daisy, Princess of Pless, “it is not high enough and the windows have always to be covered with stuft’as they are right on the ground floor and the people in the dirty little back street can look in.” Consuelo lived here after she moved out of Blenheim; when she left England, Sunny sold the house.
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In the summer of 1913, the 9th Duke of Marlborough was visiting the French resort of Beaulieu-sur-Mer when to his displeasure he ran into his cousin the Hon. Reginald Fellowes, second son of the Baron de Ramsey. Reginald was supposedly Consuelo Marlborough’s lover (though eight years younger than she); his parents were said to be furious with Consuelo because they wanted him to marry and felt she was keeping him on a string.
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EATON SQUARE.
St. Peter’s Church (recently severely damaged by fire): site of Minnie Stevens’ wedding to Arthur Paget, one of the events said to have started the transatlantic marriage stampede.
GREAT CUMBERLAND PLACE.
No. 3: town house of the 11th Baronet Molesworth, married to American heiress Jane Frost. No. 10 (now the Cumberland Hotel): long-time address of the popular Leonie Leslie, youngest Jerome sister. No. 35: town residence of Jennie Jerome and second, much younger husband George Cornwallis-Wcst. 37A: another home of the wandering Clara Jerome Frewen.
GROSVENOR SQUARE.
Maud “Emerald” Cunard’s ashes were scattered here, and with good reason—she’d devoted her life to social climbing from this venue. In her early days in London, remembered a fellow heiress, Maud “never went away. Winter and summer, weekdays and Sundays she stayed on the job. In her beautiful house, always at home, concentrated on the matter at hand.” No. 15 was the long-time home of Consuelo Yznaga Manchester, who died there a year before her king; many an American heiress first met her man at a dinner or tea in this house. No. 5 belonged to Helena Zimmerman, Consuelo’s American heiress daughter-in-law. No. 8: residence of American heiress Edith Kip Coventry. No. 22: home of Anthony Drexel, Wall Street Father and Collector par excellence, and of his daughter and son-in-law, the Earl and Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham. No. 26 was bought by Man’ Smith and Englishman George Cooper from some of the £4 million she inherited from her uncle. At No. 50 Randolph Churchill succumbed to syphilis, only a month after returning to England from a trip round the world.
HANOVER SQUARE.
St. George’s Church: the church of choice for society weddings. Jeannie Chamberlain married Captain Herbert Naylor-Lcyland here. Adele Grant, Countess of Essex, lived around the corner at 16 George Street.
HAYMARKET.
No. 5-6: home then as now of American Express.
HERTFORD STREET.
No. 8, around the corner from Sunderland House: home of Helene Beckwith Leigh.
HILL STREET.
No. 20: residence of Mrs. Arthur Post, the future Lady Barrymore. No. 26: residence of Baron Revelstoke, suitor of Nancy Shaw Astor and older brother of Cecil Baring, husband of American heiress Maude Lorillard.
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In a well-run house, servants changed the blotting paper in bedrooms daily.
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HYDE PARK.
Hyde Park House, Albert Gate: famous for entertainments given by one-time H.R.H. protégée Jeannie Chamberlain, Lady Naylor-Leyland. Because the Frewens were again without a home, their daughter Clare was married from this house (now the French embassy). Rotten Bow: scene of much stately cantering and of Sir William Gordon-Cumming’s 1882 question to American heiress Leonic Jerome, “Over here husband-hunting?”
JERMYN STREET.
The proprietor of the Cavendish Hotel was Rosa Lewis, a cook who worked her way up in the world. Male patrons were particularly keen. She provided suites with private dining rooms (the King had one).
KNIGHTSBRIDGE.
St. Paul’s Church, where Jennie Churchill married George Cornwallis-West to jam-packed pews. Here also, Alberta, Betty Leggett’s daughter, married George Montagu, the future Earl of Sandwich.
MARLBOROUGH HOUSE.
The London home of the Prince of Wales until he became Edward VII.
PALL MALL.
Club row. No. 17: residence of Baron Bagot until 1903, when he married Baltimorean Lilian May. 30-35: Junior Carlton. 52: Marlborough Club, founded by Bertie. 70: Guards’. 71: Oxford and Cambridge. 94: Carlton Club, the next most frequently listed club of husbands of American heiresses after Marlborough. 104: Reform. 106: Travellers’. 107: Athenaeum.
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Rumors after Consuelo Marlborough‘s separation from Sunny had it that she was unfaithful first; one of her lovers, as early as 1907, was supposed to be Lord Castlereagh, the Londonberrvs’ eldest son.
 
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PARK LANE.
Once a residential street of distinction (now an eight-lane highway lined with hotels). Dorchester House, the most splendid house in London, became the residence of Whitelaw Reid when he was appointed ambassador in 1905. His daughter Jean married the Hon. John Ward, second son of the 1st Earl Dudley, and moved to Dudley House. Ellen Stager, future American Marchioness of Ormonde, lived in Park Lane, as did Anna Robinson, actress wife of Earl Rosslyn. Also in Park Lane was Londonderry House, ruled over by Theresa Londonderry, the dominant political hostess of the day, and Grosvenor House, the Duke of Westminster’s London home, where Mary Leiter first met George Curzon.
PICCADILLY.
A small collection of houses near the Hyde Park end of Piccadilly gives an indication of what it looked like to the American heiresses. Lord and Lady Rothschild had their London residence at No. 148; the American Flora Sharon, at No. 111. At No. 78, where now stands an office block, was once the forecourt of Devonshire House, London home of the Duke of Devonshire. Opposite is the Ritz, whose management used to send the Jerome women terrines de fois gras “in recognition of their support,” i.e., sending lots of filthy-rich American clients their way.