Consuelo Montagu, Duchess of Manchester (1853 – 20 November 1909),
née María Francisca de la Consolación "Consuelo" Yznaga (also spelled Iznaga by some sources
), was a
Cuban American
Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...
heiress who married
George, Viscount Mandeville, in 1876. She became the
Duchess of Manchester when her husband succeeded to the dukedom in March 1890.
Family background
![Consuelo Yznaga](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Consuelo_Yznaga.jpg)
Consuelo Yznaga was born in 1853, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, the second of four children of diplomat Antonio Modesto Yznaga del Valle (
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, 28 December 1823 –
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
,
New York,
New York County
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
,
New York, 28 May 1892) and wife (1850) Ellen Maria Clement of Ravenswood Plantation,
Concordia Parish
Concordia Parish (french: Paroisse de Concordia) borders the Mississippi River in eastern central Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,822. The parish seat is Vidalia. The parish was formed in 1807.
Concordia Parish is part ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
(Upstate
New York, 1833 –
Natchez Natchez may refer to:
Places
* Natchez, Alabama, United States
* Natchez, Indiana, United States
* Natchez, Louisiana, United States
* Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States
* Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...
,
Adams County,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, 24 January 1908), paternal granddaughter of José Antonio Yznaga y Borrell and wife María Francisca del Valle y Castillo and maternal granddaughter of the
steamboat Captain and
plantation owner
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
Samuel Clement from
Dutchess County,
New York, and wife Maria Augusta Little, daughter of William
Little
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
* ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
and wife Frances
Boyd Boyd may refer to:
Places Canada
* Boyd Conservation Area, a conservation area located northwest of Toronto, Ontario
* Boyd Lake (disambiguation)
United States
* Boyd County (disambiguation)
* Boyd, Indiana
* Boyd, Iowa
* Boyd, Kansas
* B ...
. Her father was from an old
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
family that owned a large plantation (Torre Iznaga) and
sugar mills in the vicinity of
Trinidad, Cuba
Trinidad () is a town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, central Cuba. Together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, because of its historical importance as a center of the sugar trade in ...
; they had connections to several
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
aristocratic families.
She grew up at Ravenswood Plantation in
Concordia Parish
Concordia Parish (french: Paroisse de Concordia) borders the Mississippi River in eastern central Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,822. The parish seat is Vidalia. The parish was formed in 1807.
Concordia Parish is part ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, which she inherited when her parents died. Her parents acquired properties in New York and in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
, while retaining the plantations in Cuba and Louisiana.
Her sister, María de la Natividad "Natica" Yznaga, married
Sir John Lister-Kaye, 3rd Baronet (1853–1924) on 5 December 1881.
Her brother,
Fernando Yznaga
Fernando Alfonso Yznaga del Valle (October 16, 1850 – March 6, 1901) was a Cuban American banker who was one of the best-known men of New York and foreign society and club life. Described as "one of the most entertaining of men, very clever at e ...
(1850–1901),
was married to Mary Virginia "Jennie" Smith, sister of
Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, Consuelo's childhood best friend. Vanderbilt's daughter
Consuelo Vanderbilt
Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt; March 2, 1877 – December 6, 1964) was a socialite and a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage ...
was her god-daughter and named after her.
Life and activities
In her teenage years, she became known on
New York's social scene as one of the group called the
Buccaneers
Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 1688 ...
.
During her marriage, she engaged herself in charitable organizations. Poverty was a cause that concerned her, and she was also interested in education and health.
The Duchess of Manchester was a renowned beauty, as were her sisters – Emilie Yznaga and Natividad (Natica) Yznaga.
The Duchess was a celebrated society figure, belonging to the intimate circle of
Edward VII of the United Kingdom, formerly the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
.
Shortly before her death, she entertained King Edward and
Nicholas II, the
Tsar of Russia
This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mos ...
, while the Tsar was on a visit to England.
Upon her brother's death in 1901, he left her $2 million ($60 million in 2018 rate).
Marriage and issue
In the
autumn of 1875, she met
George Montagu, Viscount Mandeville (1853–1892),
at her father's country home in
Morristown,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.
On 22 May 1876, at
Grace Church,
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
,
New York,
New York County
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
,
New York, she married
Viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...
Mandeville. Her dowry was $6 million (in 2018 rate).
After their marriage, they settled on the
Duke of Manchester
Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the current senior title of the House of Montagu. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester. Manchester Parish in Jamaica was named afte ...
's estate centered on
Tandragee Castle
Tandragee Castle, Tandragee, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was built in 1837 by The 6th Duke of Manchester as the family's Irish home. The Duke of Manchester acquired the estate through his marriage to Millicent Sparrow (1798–1848).
Histo ...
in
County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...
in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
They had one son and twin daughters:
*
William Montagu, 9th Duke of Manchester
William Angus Drogo Montagu, 9th Duke of Manchester PC (Kimbolton Castle, 3 March 1877 – Seaford, 9 February 1947), styled Lord Kimbolton from 1877 to 1890 and Viscount Mandeville from 1890 to 1892, was a British peer and Liberal politician ...
(1877–1947), who married, firstly,
Helena Zimmerman, in 1900, and had issue. They divorced in 1931, and later that same year, he married Kathleen Dawes (d. 1966), on 17 December 1931.
* Lady Jacqueline Mary Alva Montagu, known as "May" (1879–1895),
who, although not diagnosed before she died, is commonly believed to have died of
consumption
Consumption may refer to:
*Resource consumption
*Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically
* Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms
* Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
.
* Lady Alice Eleanor Louise Montagu, known as "Nell" (1879–1900),
who died of consumption.
Her fortune was soon lost to her husband's habits in less than ten years. Viscount Mandeville spent such a lot of cash on gambling and mistresses that his father the 7th Duke banished the couple to the family castle in Ireland until 1883.
Death and legacy
The Duchess died of
neuritis
Neuritis () is inflammation of a nerve or the general inflammation of the peripheral nervous system. Inflammation, and frequently concomitant demyelination, cause impaired transmission of neural signals and leads to aberrant nerve function. Neuri ...
in
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
on 20 November 1909. At her bedside upon her death were her sisters,
Lady Lister-Kaye and Emily Yznaga.
Her estate, valued at $2,493,131 (an approximate value of $69 million in 2017 rates), was left to her various family members.
On her death in 1909, the Duchess bequeathed a ruby and diamond bracelet to her friend
Queen Alexandra. The Manchester Tiara, created for the Duchess by
Cartier in 1903, is now in the collection of the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
, London. In 2007 the Manchester Tiara was accepted by the British government in lieu of
inheritance tax following the death of the
12th Duke. Her diamond and emerald necklace, originally bequeathed to her grandson
Viscount Mandeville
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
, was auctioned by
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
in 2015.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montagu, Consuelo
1853 births
1909 deaths
People from Concordia Parish, Louisiana
Consuelo Montagu
British duchesses by marriage
American people of Cuban descent
British people of Cuban descent
American emigrants to England
Gilded Age