Susan Margaret St Maur, Duchess of Somerset (''née'' Richards Mackinnon

GCStJ 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 ...

, 11 January 1853 – 30 January 1936), who also published as Mrs Algernon St Maur, was a Scottish writer and philanthropist.

Early life

Susan Mackinnon was the ninth of ten daughters of Charles Mackinnon of

Corriechatachan 350px, Corriechatachan ruins, July 2003 Corriechatachan (Gaelic for “ Corrie of the wild cats”) is a farmstead (now ruined), lying at the foot of Beinn na Caillich, near Broadford, on the Isle of Skye. Until the 19th century, it was a tack f ...

and Henrietta Studd. She married Algernon St Maur, who later became 15th Duke of Somerset, on 5 September 1877, at

Forres Forres (; gd, Farrais) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There ...

. The couple had no children.

Travel literature

She shared many of her husband's outdoor interests and, under the name Mrs Algernon St Maur, wrote a book ''Impressions of a Tenderfoot during a Journey in Search of Sport in the Far West'' (London, John Murray, 1890). This is a detailed account of a journey made over several months across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, in the company of her husband. Most of the journey was undertaken by train, with numerous pauses en route, and there are vivid descriptions of Canadian life and culture of that time. The book was widely read and enjoyed considerable popularity.

Charities

A woman of great energy and enthusiasm, from 1905 onwards she became one of the leading organisers of the Invalid Kitchens charity and she was also active in a number of other charitable causes, including

Dr Barnardo’s Homes Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each year running around 900 local services, aimed at helping these same group ...

(of which her husband became president).

Demise

She died on 30 January 1936 and was buried next to her husband on Brimble Hill Clump near their residence at Bradley House,

Maiden Bradley Maiden Bradley is a village in south-west Wiltshire, England, about south-west of Warminster and bordering the county of Somerset. The B3092 road between Frome and Mere forms the village street. Bradley House, the seat of the Duke of Somerset, ...

West Wiltshire West Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, formed on 1 April 1974, further to the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the former urban districts of Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham, Trowbridge, Warminster and Westbur ...

. Their graves are in a little wood on a hilltop surrounded by agricultural land. They are surrounded by a metal fence and marked by standing rough stones with small text plaques.The grave of Algernon Seymour, 15th Duke of Somerset
19 July 2013

State recognitions

She was a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, and was also awarded the Medal of the Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra Nurses Institution, the Belgian Queen Elisabeth Medal, the French Médaille de la Reconnaissance, the Italian Medaglia Benemeriti Croce Rossa, the Serbian Red Cross Order, and the Spanish Red Cross Merit Order.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset, Susan Seymour, Duchess of English duchesses by marriage 19th-century English writers English tax resisters 1853 births 1936 deaths Burials in Wiltshire British philanthropists

Susan Seymour, Duchess of Somerset Susan Margaret St Maur, Duchess of Somerset (''née'' Richards Mackinnon GCStJ, 11 January 1853 – 30 January 1936), who also published as Mrs Algernon St Maur, was a Scottish writer and philanthropist. Early life Susan Mackinnon was the ninth o ...

19th-century English women writers