Anne FitzPatrick, Countess of Upper Ossory
Anne FitzPatrick, Countess of Upper Ossory (née Liddell, formerly Anne FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton; c. 1737–1804) was an English noblewoman and the first wife of Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton. Grafton divorced her while serving as prime minister. She was a noted correspondent of Horace Walpole.
The Countess of Upper Ossory | |
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 Engraving by David Lucas | |
| Full name | Anne FitzPatrick |
| Born | Anne Liddell c. 1737 Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 1804 (aged 66–67) London, England |
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| Parents | Henry Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth Anne Delme |
Life
Anne Liddell was born in 1737 or 1738 in Derby to Anne and Henry Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth.[1]
She firstly married Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton on 29 January 1756, at her father's house in St James's Square, by special licence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The marriage was witnessed by Lord Ravensworth and Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Earl of Hertford.[2] Together they had three children:
- Lady Georgiana FitzRoy (8 May 1757 – 18 January 1799), who married John Smyth on 4 June 1778, and had issue
- George Henry FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton (14 January 1760 – 28 September 1844), who married married Lady Charlotte Maria Waldegrave,, on 16 November 1784, and had issue
- General Lord Charles FitzRoy (14 July 1764 – 20 December 1829),[3] who married, firstly, Frances Mundy on 20 June 1795, and had one son; he married, secondly, Lady Frances Stewart on 10 March 1799 and had three children. His sons Sir Charles FitzRoy (1796–1858), Governor of New South Wales, and Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy, a hydrographer, were notable for their achievements.
In 1761 she sent a silhouette that Jean Huber had created of her and her daughter to Horace Walpole. This letter was to be the start of a correspondence of 455 letters between herself and Walpole.[1]
After the Duchess had become pregnant by her lover, John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory, she and the Duke were divorced by Act of Parliament, passed 23 March 1769.[4] Three months later, on 24 June 1769, the Duke married Elizabeth Wrottesley (1 November 1745 – 25 May 1822), daughter of the Sir Richard Wrottesley, 7th Baronet, the Dean of Worcester.[5] Anne married FitzPatrick that same year and they had two daughters:
- Lady Anne Fitzpatrick
- Lady Gertrude Fitzpatrick
Anne died at her house in Grosvenor Square in 1804.
References
- "Anne Fitzpatrick". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/88658. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- The Register of Marriages solemnized in the Parish Church of St James within the Liberty of Westminster & County of Middlesex. 1754-1765. No. 406. 29 January 1756.
- Chisholm 1911.
- "Augustus FitzRoy". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9628. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Hellicar 1978, p. 28
Sources
- One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Grafton, Dukes of s.v. Augustus Henry Fitzroy". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 317.
- Hellicar, Eileen (1978), Prime Ministers of Britain, David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-7486-9
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