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 In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...

Early life

Lilian Warren Price was born on June 10, 1854, in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

.Henry Hall, ''America's successful men of affairs'', New York: New York Tribune, 1895-1896, p. 29

/ref> Her father was Commodore Cicero Price (1805–1888), an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

who served in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and was Commander of the

East India Squadron The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a squadron of American ships which existed in the nineteenth century, it focused on protecting American interests in the Far East while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on the western coast ...

, and her mother, Elizabeth Homer Paine (1828–1910).'An American Duchess', ''

Boston Evening Transcript The ''Boston Evening Transcript'' was a daily afternoon newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published from July 24, 1830, to April 30, 1941. Beginnings ''The Transcript'' was founded in 1830 by Henry Dutton and James Wentworth of the firm of D ...

'', January 11, 190

/ref>'Lady William Beresford Dies in Dorking, England', ''Los Angeles Herald'', Volume 36, Number 103, January 12, 190

/ref>Dexter Marshall, 'Lily Price's Visit', '' The Day (New London), The Day'', March 20, 189

/ref> She attended

Emma Willard School The Emma Willard School, originally called Troy Female Seminary and often referred to simply as Emma, is an independent university-preparatory day and boarding school for young women, located in Troy, New York, on Mount Ida, offering grades 9–1 ...

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 The parish of Trinity Church has three separate burial grounds associated with it in New York City. The first, Trinity Churchyard, is located in Lower Manhattan at 74 Trinity Place, near Wall Street and Broadway. Alexander Hamilton, Albert Gal ...

.'Leaves Nearly $1,000,000', ''

Los Angeles Herald-Examiner The ''Los Angeles Herald Examiner'' was a major Los Angeles daily newspaper, published in the afternoon from Monday to Friday and in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. It was part of the Hearst syndicate. It was formed when the afternoon ' ...

'', Volume 36, Number 225, May 14, 190

/ref> 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. However, she was guaranteed to receive an annual income of US$150,000 from the estate. Blenheim Palace cropped

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 John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough (2 June 18224 July 1883), styled Earl of Sunderland from 1822 to 1840 and Marquess of Blandford from 1840 to 1857, was a British Conservative cabinet minister, politician, peer, and noblem ...

and

Frances Anne Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Frances Anne Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, VA (15 April 1822 – 16 April 1899) was an English noblewoman, the wife of British peer and statesman John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough. One of her sons, Lord Randolph Churc ...

; they were married in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York City Hall New York City Hall is the Government of New York City, seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, Park R ...

by Mayor

Abram Hewitt Abram Stevens Hewitt (July 31, 1822January 18, 1903) was an American politician, educator, ironmaking industrialist, and lawyer who was mayor of New York City for two years from 1887–1888. He also twice served as a U.S. Congressman from and ...

in May 1888. As a result of this marriage, she became the ''Duchess of Marlborough'' on June 29, 1888. The inheritance she received from her first husband was used to restore

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non- episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, on ...

Woodstock, Oxfordshire Woodstock is a market town and civil parish, north-west of Oxford in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 3,100. Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is next to Wo ...

. After the 1892 death of the 8th Duke and her subsequent remarriage, she sued her stepson,

Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, (13 November 1871 – 30 June 1934), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1883 and Marquess of Blandford between 1883 and 1892, was a British soldier and Conservative politician, and a ...

, then married to

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 ...

, to retrieve the money spent on its restoration.

Third marriage

Adelaide Crescent (East Side), Hove (IoE Code 365478)

Her third husband was

Lord William de la Poer Beresford Lieutenant-Colonel Lord William Leslie de la Poer Beresford (20 July 1847 – 30 December 1900) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that ...

(1847–1900), son of

John Beresford, 4th Marquess of Waterford Reverend John de la Poer Beresford, 4th Marquess of Waterford (27 April 1814 – 6 November 1866) was an Irish peer and Church of Ireland minister. Beresford was the third son of the Henry Beresford, 2nd Marquess of Waterford and his wife, ...

(1814-1866) and Christiana Leslie. As a result of this marriage, which took place on April 30, 1895, she became known as Lady William Beresford. 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 Adelaide Crescent is a mid-19th-century residential development in Hove, part of the English city and seaside resort of Brighton and Hove. Conceived as an ambitious attempt to rival the large, high-class Kemp Town estate east of Brighton, the c ...

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, where she was convalescent. She died on January 11, 1909, in

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England. She was buried in Beresford Family Crypt at Clonagam Churchyard in

Portlaw Portlaw ( or ''Port Lách'') is a town in County Waterford, Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore. It is situated approximately 19 km west-north-west of Waterford City, where the Clodiagh mee ...

(

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 ...

).''Findagrave''
/ref>

References

External links