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Louisa Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Duchess of Abercorn
Painting of Louisa Hamilton, by Edwin Henry Landseer
Born
Lady Louisa Jane Russell

(1812-07-08)8 July 1812
London, England
Died31 March 1905(1905-03-31) (aged 92)
Coates Castle, Coates, West Sussex, England
Burial placeChenies, Buckinghamshire
Spouse
(m. 1832; died 1885)
Children
Parents

Louisa Jane Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn VA (née Lady Louisa Jane Russell; 8 July 1812 – 31 March 1905) was a member of the British aristocracy. She and her husband, James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, had 13 children, and were "long remembered as the most handsome and most distinguished young couple of their generation."[1]

Early life, marriage, and family

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Lady Louisa Jane Russell was born on Wednesday, 8 July 1812, at 2 Hamilton Place, Mayfair,[2][3] She was the sixth child of eight, and a second daughter for John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford and Lady Georgiana Gordon.[3][4] She was the sister of Rev. Lord Wriothesley Russell, Gen. Lord Alexander Russell, Admiral Lord Edward Russell, and Lord Charles Russell and half-sister of Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford, Prime Minister John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, and Lord George Russell.[5] She made her debut in society aged 12 and met her future husband at a children's ball.[6]

On Thursday, 25 October 1832, at Gordon Castle, in Morayshire, Scotland, Louisa married James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn, the son of James Hamilton, Viscount Hamilton, and Harriet Douglas.

Louisa and James had fourteen children, and she was known for her skills as a matchmaker for her children, with her choices based primarily on rank.[7] Among her issue were seven daughters, all of whom were ordered to marry into the peerage and no one beneath the rank of an earl. Their children were:

In 1881, Louisa was invested as a Lady of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert (3rd class).

She was still living at the time of the birth of her great-great-grandson, the future Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home, on 2 July 1903. Her other great-great-grandchildren that she lived to see were Lady Patricia Herbert, Mildred Egerton, daughter of Lady Bertha Anson, Louisa's great-granddaughter through her grandson Thomas Anson, 3rd Earl of Lichfield and Guendolen Wilkinson, daughter of Lady Beatrix Herbert, Louisa's great-granddaughter through her granddaughter Lady Beatrix Lambton.

Death

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The Duchess of Abercorn died at Coates Castle, Coates, West Sussex, England on 31 March 1905, aged 92. She survived her husband by almost twenty years.

She was interred on 5 April 1905, in Chenies, Buckinghamshire; she left an estate worth over £24,000 (equivalent to £3,255,000 in 2023).

Titles, honours, and awards

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  • 8 July 1812 – 25 October 1832: The Lady Louisa Jane Russell
  • 25 October 1832 – 10 August 1868: The Most Honourable The Marchioness of Abercorn
  • 10 August 1868 – 1881: Her Grace The Duchess of Abercorn
  • 1881 – 31 October 1885: Her Grace The Duchess of Abercorn, VA
  • 31 October 1885 – 31 March 1905: Her Grace The Dowager Duchess of Abercorn

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ "Obituary: Lord Frederick Hamilton – Diplomacy and Travel". The Times. 13 August 1928. p. 17.
  2. ^ "Births". The Times. 9 July 1812. p. 3.
  3. ^ a b G. E. Cokayne, et al., eds, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 1910-1959, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000, volume I, p. 9
  4. ^ Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, p. 321.
  5. ^ Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1914. p. 215. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  6. ^ Truth. Truth. 1905. p. 850. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  7. ^ Schutte, K. (15 May 2014). Women, Rank, and Marriage in the British Aristocracy, 1485-2000: An Open Elite?. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-32780-2.
  8. ^ Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999, volume 1, p. 5.
  9. ^ G. E. Cokayne, et al., eds, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 1910-1959, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000, volume VIII, p. 503.
  10. ^ Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999, volume 1, p. 661.
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