Catherine Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon ( Anne Catherine Tredick Wendell, also known as Mrs Geoffrey Grenfell and Mrs Stuart Mommand; November 25, 1900 – 1977) was an American heiress who married into the British aristocracy.

Early life

Catherine was born on November 25, 1900. She was the eldest daughter of Marian ( Fendall) Wendell (d. 1949) and Jacob Wendell III (d. 1911), of New York and Sandridgebury,

Sandridge Sandridge is a village and civil parish between St Albans and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, England. History The original name was "Saundruage" meaning a place of sandy soil serviced by bond tenants. The earliest recorded mention of Sandri ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. Her younger sister, Philippa Fendall Wendell, was the wife of

Randolph Stewart, 12th Earl of Galloway Randolph Algernon Ronald Stewart, 12th Earl of Galloway (21 November 1892 – 13 June 1978) was the son of Randolph Stewart, 11th Earl of Galloway, styled Viscount Garlies from 1901 to 1920. Early life His father, the second son of the 9th Earl ...

. Her brothers were Jacob Wendell (who married Eileen V. Carr) and Reginald L. Wendell. Her father, a

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

graduate and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

actor, died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

shortly before he was to appear in the leading role in ''What the Doctor Ordered'' at the Astor Theatre. Her maternal grandfather was Union soldier, Philip Richard Fendall III, and her great-grandparents were Elizabeth Mary ( Young) Fendall and

Philip Richard Fendall II Philip Richard Fendall II (December 18, 1794 – February 16, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the District Attorney of Washington, D.C. Early life He was born December 18, 1794, at the Lee-Fendall House, located at 6 ...

, the District Attorney of the District of Columbia. Her paternal grandfather was Jacob Wendell of Jacob Wendell Co.

Personal life

On 17 July 1922, Catherine was married to

Lord Porchester Earl of Carnarvon is a title that has been created three times in British history. The current holder is George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon. The town and county in Wales to which the title refers are historically spelled ''Caernarfon,'' havi ...

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster a ...

. He was the son and heir of

George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, (26 June 1866 – 5 April 1923), styled Lord Porchester until 1890, was an English peer and aristocrat best known as the financial backer of the search for and excavation of ...

and Almina Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon and upon his father's death on 5 April 1923, Henry became the 6th Earl of Carnarvon and Catherine became Countess of Carnarvon. Before their divorce in 1936, they were the parents of two children: *

Henry George Reginald Molyneux Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

(1924–2001), who married Jean Margaret Wallop, daughter of Hon. Oliver Malcolm

Wallop Wallop is an American software company that was spun off from Microsoft in 2006 to provide a social networking service, and from 2008 made Adobe Flash-based applications for other social networks. History Wallop was originally designed around ...

, in 1956. * Lady Anne ''Penelope'' Marian Herbert (1925–1990), who married her second cousin, Capt. Reinier Gerrit Anton van der Woude, son of R.A.G van der Woude and Mary Wendell (daughter of Harvard professor

Barrett Wendell Barrett Wendell (August 23, 1855 – February 8, 1921) was an American academic known for a series of textbooks including ''English Composition,'' studies of ''Cotton Mather'' and ''William Shakespeare,'' ''A Literary History of America,'' ''The F ...

) in 1945. After their divorce, Lady Carnarvon married, as his second wife, Lt.-Cdr. Geoffrey Seymour Grenfell (1898–1940) in 1938. Geoffrey was a son of Riversdale Francis John Grenfell (son of Charles Seymour Grenfell) and Cecil Blanche ( Lubbock) Grenfell. Grenfell died in action during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

just two years after their marriage. Ten years after his death, she married Don Stuart Momand (d. 1977) in 1950, who had previously been married to Virginia Ten Eyck Rice (a daughter of William Lowe Rice). Catherine Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon, died in 1977.

Descendants

Through her son Henry, she was a grandmother of

George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon George Reginald Oliver Molyneux Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon (born 10 November 1956), styled Lord Porchester from 1987 to 2001, is a British peer and arable farmer. His family seat, Highclere Castle, has achieved notability as the primary f ...

, Henry "Harry" Herbert, and Lady Carolyn Herbert. Through her daughter Penelope, she was a grandmother of Michael Gerrit van der Woude, David Anthony van der Woude, and Penelope Catherine Mary van der Woude.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carnarvon, Catherine, Countess Of 1900 births 1977 deaths

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

British countesses People from Highclere American emigrants to the United Kingdom