Biography
Lilian Warren Price Spencer-Churchill was born 10 June 1854 in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, United States to Cicero Price (1805-1888) and Elizabeth Homer Paine (1828-1910) and died 11 January 1909 Dorking, Surrey, England, United Kingdom of unspecified causes. She married Louis Carre Hamersley (1841-1883) 1880 in New York. She married George Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough (1844-1892) 28 June 1888 in New York City, New York. She married William Leslie de la Poer Beresford (1847-1900) 30 April 1895 in St George Hanover Square, London, England.
Lily Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (née Lilian Warren Price) (June 10, 1854 – January 11, 1909) was an American heiress and socialite during the Gilded Age.
Dukedom of Marlborough
Duke of Marlborough is a title of English Peerage created by Queen Anne in 1702 for John Churchill the noted military leader. The name of the dukedom refers to Marlborough in Wiltshire. A good number of their descendants have married into many of the other noble hours of England.
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace, built between 1705 and 1722 for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722), is the principal residence for the family of the Duke of Marlborough. It is one of England's largest homes, and the only non-royal, non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and is the final resting place of several members of the family.
Early life
Lilian Warren Price was born on June 10, 1854 in Troy, New York.[1] Her father was Commodore Cicero Price (1805–1888), an officer in the United States Navy who served in the American Civil War and was Commander of the East India Squadron, and her mother, Elizabeth Homer Paine (1828–1910).[1][2][3][4] She attended Emma Willard School in Troy, New York.
Marriages
Her first marriage was to Louis Carré Hamersley, a millionaire heir to a real estate fortune in New York City, who died in 1883 and was buried in the Trinity Church Cemetery.[1][2][3][4][5] As stipulated in his will, the bulk of his estate went to the first male child of his cousin, J. Hooker Hamersley, whose estate in turn went to his son, Louis Gordon Hamersley.[4] However, she was guaranteed to receive an annual income of US$150,000 from the estate.[4]
Second marriage
Her second husband was George Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough (1844–1892), son of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough and Frances Anne Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; they were married in New York City in New York City Hall by Mayor Abram Hewitt in May 1888.[1][2][3][4] As a result of this marriage, she became the Duchess of Marlborough on June 29, 1888.[2] The inheritance she received from her first husband was used to restore Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.[2][4]
After she remarried, she sued her stepson, Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, then married to Consuelo Vanderbilt, to retrieve the money spent on its restoration.[6]
Third marriage
Her third husband was Lord William de la Poer Beresford (1847–1900), son of John Beresford, 4th Marquess of Waterford (1814-1866) and Christiana Leslie.[1][3][4][5] As a result of this marriage, which took place on April 30, 1895, she became known as Lady William Beresford.[2] Before his death on 30 December 1900, they were the parents of one child:
- William Warren de la Poer Beresford (1897–1919).
Later, she resided at 35 Adelaide Crescent in Hove, East Sussex, where she was convalescent.[7] She died on January 11, 1909 in Dorking, Surrey, England.[3] She was buried in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.
Siblings
Vital Records
English Gravestone
- Location : Clonagam Churchyard, Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland
- Lilian Warren Beresford at Find A Grave
See also
- Lilian Price
- Price in Rensselaer County, New York
- Spencer-Churchill in Oxfordshire
- wikipedia:en:Lily Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
- Lily Spencer-Churchill at thePeerage
- Lily Spencer-Churchill at Genealogics
- British nobility
- This profile prepared courtesy of World of Scouting Members, helping to preserve our shared heritage.
Notes
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Further reading
- Sally E. Svenson, Lily, Duchess of Marlborough, Dog Ear Publishing, 2011.
Footnotes (including sources)
- ^ a b c d e Henry Hall, America's successful men of affairs, New York: New York Tribune, 1895-1896, p. 291 [1]
- ^ a b c d e f 'An American Duchess', Boston Evening Transcript, January 11, 1909 [2]
- ^ a b c d e 'Lady William Beresford Dies in Dorking, England', Los Angeles Herald, Volume 36, Number 103, January 12, 1909 [3]
- ^ a b c d e f g Dexter Marshall, 'Lily Price's Visit', The Day, March 20, 1899 [4]
- ^ a b 'Leaves Nearly $1,000,000', Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Volume 36, Number 225, May 14, 1909 [5]
- ^ STEPMOTHER SUES DUKE.; Lady William Beresford Wants Marlborough to Repay Money She Spent in Improving Blenheim.
- ^ Judy Middleton, The Encyclopaedia of Hove & Portslade, Brighton & Hove Libraries, 2002, Vol. 1, pp. 18-19