Marie Isobel Cathcart, Countess Cathcart, DStJ (née Marie Isobel French, formerly Marie, Lady Weldon) (18 June 1923 – 25 February 2015) was a British peeress.

Early life

She was born Marie Isobel French, eldest daughter of the Hon. William Joseph French, a son of the 4th Baron de Freyne, and Victoria Louise (née Bellasis). She had three siblings. She was educated at Les Oiseaux,

Westgate on Sea Westgate-on-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of Kent, England. It is within the Thanet local government district and borders the larger seaside resort of Margate. Its two sandy beaches have remained a popular touri ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and at

Ware, Hertfordshire Ware is a town in Hertfordshire, England close to the county town of Hertford. It is also a civil parish in East Hertfordshire district. Location The town lies on the north–south A10 road which is partly shared with the east–west A414 (fo ...

, by the sisters of the FCJ.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

U.S.A. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 719.

Career

She joined the

Wrens Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is comm ...

as soon as she was old enough to do so in 1941 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 opposing ...

. She did voluntary work for various charities throughout her lifetime. She belonged to the

Dames of Malta Dames of Malta are female members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The male counterparts of these Dames are the Knights of Malta. Prominent living Dames of Malta include: * Anne M. Burke *Bernadette Castro * Janne Haaland Matláry *Fred ...

and was also a Dame of the

Venerable Order of St John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British British monarchy ...

.Countess Cathcart appointed Dame of the Venerable Order of St John
london-gazette.co.uk; accessed 4 March 2015.

Personal life

On 21 July 1942, Marie married Thomas Weldon (1905–1979) in 1942. He was a son of

Sir Anthony Weldon, 6th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

and the former Winifred Varty-Rogers. In 1971, upon the death of Thomas' elder brother Anthony, Thomas succeeded as the 8th Weldon baronet. Before his death in 1979, they were the parents of two children: * Tara Louise Winifred Weldon (1943–2021), who married Alan Christopher Elliot in 1967. * Sir Anthony William Weldon, 9th Baronet (b. 1947), who married Amanda Ford North, daughter of

High Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative ...

Maj.

Geoffrey Edward Ford North Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the m ...

and Hon. Margaret Isolda de Grey (a daughter of

George de Grey, 8th Baron Walsingham Lieutenant Colonel George de Grey, 8th Baron Walsingham (9 May 1884 – 29 November 1965) was a British soldier and Peerage of Great Britain, peer. Early life Walsingham was born on 9 May 1884 at Westminster, London. He was the son of John de G ...

), in 1980. On 25 May 1984, she married widower

Alan Cathcart, 6th Earl Cathcart Major General Alan Cathcart, 6th Earl Cathcart (22 August 1919 – 15 June 1999), styled Lord Greenock until 1927, was a British Army officer who served as Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin from 1970 until his retirement in 1973. Milit ...

(1919–1999), the only child of

George Cathcart, 5th Earl Cathcart George Cathcart, 5th Earl Cathcart (26 June 1862 – 19 November 1927), styled Lord Greenock until 1911, was a British Army officer and peer. Early life Cathcart was born on 26 June 1862. He was third of five sons, and six daughters, born to Alan ...

and

Vera Cathcart, Countess Cathcart Vera Estelle Cathcart, Countess Cathcat (14 May 1892 – April 1993) was a South African writer and actress. Early life Vera Estelle Fraser was born 14 May 1892 at Cape Town, Cape Colony. She was a daughter of John Fraser of Cape Town. Career Foll ...

. Through her second marriage, she was the stepmother to the 7th Earl Cathcart. The Countess Cathcart died on 25 February 2015, aged 91.

Titles

*Miss Marie French *Mrs Thomas Weldon *Lady Weldon *Dowager Lady Weldon *The Rt Hon. The Countess Cathcart (25 May 1984 – 15 June 1999) *The Rt Hon. The Dowager Countess Cathcart (from 15 June 1999)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cathcart, Marie Cathcart, Countess 1923 births 2015 deaths British countesses British humanitarians British Roman Catholics Dames of Malta Dames of Grace of the Order of St John People from Wiltshire Place of birth missing Place of death missing