Catherine Hamilton-Gordon, Countess of Aberdeen (10 January 1784 – 29 February 1812), formerly Lady Catherine Elizabeth Hamilton,[1] was the first wife of British prime minister George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen.
The Countess of Aberdeen | |
|---|---|
,_Countess_of_Aberdeen.jpg) Drawing of the Countess, c1805–1810. | |
| Born | Catherine Elizabeth Hamilton 10 January 1784 |
| Died | 29 February 1812 (aged 28) London, England |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Issue |
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| Father | John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn |
| Mother | Catherine Copley |
Catherine was the daughter of John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn,[2] and his wife, the former Catherine Copley. She married the Earl of Aberdeen in 1805, at her father's house in London.[3]
Their children were:
- Lady Jane Hamilton-Gordon (11 February 1807 – 18 August 1824)[4]
- Lady Charlotte Catherine Hamilton-Gordon (28 March 1808 – 24 July 1818)
- Lady Alice Hamilton-Gordon (12 July 1809 – April 1829)[5]
- unnamed Gordon, Lord Haddo (23 November 1810 – 23 November 1810)
Of the two daughters who survived into adulthood, neither married. The countess died in London, aged 28.[6] Coupled with the death of his mentor William Pitt the Younger, as well as the stillbirth of their only son, Catherine's death sent Aberdeen into a spiral of depression.[7] It was said that her death affected him so badly that he continued to wear mourning for the rest of his life.[8] Although he married again in 1815 and had a further five children, his second marriage was not as happy.[9] His second wife, Harriet, Viscountess Hamilton, was the widow of Catherine's brother, James.
References
edit- ^ A. P. W. Malcomson (2006). The Pursuit of the Heiress: Aristocratic Marriage in Ireland 1740-1840. Ulster Historical Foundation. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-903688-65-6.
- ^ Edmund Lodge (1833). The Peerage of the British Empire as at Present Existing: Arranged and Printed from the Personal Communications of the Nobility. Saunders and Otley. pp. 7.
- ^ The monthly magazine and British register. 1805. p. 180.
- ^ The Gentleman's Magazine. E. Cave. 1824. p. 284.
- ^ John SHARPE (Publisher.) (1834). Sharpe's present Peerage of the British Empire, 1834. p. 3.
- ^ The Edinburgh Annual Register for 1812. 1814. p. 34.
- ^ Jonathan Davidson, M.D. (10 January 2014). Downing Street Blues: A History of Depression and Other Mental Afflictions in British Prime Ministers. McFarland. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7864-5793-9.
- ^ Roy Jenkins (23 August 2012). Gladstone. Pan Macmillan. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-330-47611-9.
- ^ Dermot J. T. Englefield; Janet Seaton; Isobel White (1995). Facts about the British prime ministers: a compilation of biographical and historical information. H.W. Wilson Co. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-8242-0863-9.