Maria Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans

Maria Janetta Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans (c. 1779 – 17 January 1822), formerly Maria Janetta Nelthorpe, was the second wife of William Beauclerk, 8th Duke of St Albans, and the mother of the 9th Duke.[1]

Maria was the only daughter of John Nelthorpe and his wife, the former Mary Cracroft, of Little Grimsby Hall. Nelthorpe had been High Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1775,[2] and was related to the Nelthorpe baronets.

Maria married the future duke on 4 March 1799, at Little Grimsby, Lincolnshire, his first wife, Charlotte Thelwell, having died in October 1797, leaving no surviving children. Beauclerk inherited the dukedom in 1816, as a result of the death, in infancy, of his nephew, Aubrey Beauclerk, 7th Duke of Saint Albans.[3] His wife then became Duchess of St Albans.

The couple had thirteen children:

  • Lady Maria Amelia Beauclerk (1800-1873), who died unmarried.
  • William Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans (1801-1849)
  • Lady Charlotte Beauclerk (1802-1842), who died unmarried.
  • Lady Caroline Janetta Beauclerk (1804-1862), who married Arthur Capell, 6th Earl of Essex and had children[4]
  • Lord John Nelthorpe Beauclerk (1805-1810), who died in infancy
  • Lady Louisa Georgiana Beauclerk (1806-1843), who married Thomas Hughan, and had children[5]
  • Captain Lord Frederick Charles Peter Beauclerk (1808-1865), who married Jemima Johnstone and had children
  • Lady Georgiana Beauclerk (1809-1880), who married Sir Montague Cholmeley, 2nd Baronet, and had children
  • Lady Mary Noel Beauclerk (1810-1850), who married Thomas Corbett (Lincolnshire MP) and had children. Their descendants include Samantha Cameron, née Sheffield, wife of former British Prime Minister David Cameron.[6]
  • Lord Henry Beauclerk (1812-1856), who died unmarried.
  • Lord Charles Beauclerk (1813-1861), who married Laura Stopford and had children.
  • Captain Lord Amelius Wentworth Beauclerk (1815-1879), who married Frances Harrison and had children.
  • Lord George Augustus Beauclerk (1818-1880), who died unmarried.

The duchess died in London, and was outlived by her husband. Her brother, John Nelthorpe, had died in 1819.[7]

References
  1. The ... Volume of the Walpole Society. 1994.
  2. "No. 11533". The London Gazette. 4 February 1775. p. 1.
  3. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Page 3461.
  4. Bard, Robert (7 November 2017). The Earls of Essex: A Tale of Noble Misfortune. Fonthill Media.
  5. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Page 3463.
  6. Christopher Howse (8 December 2005). "Can anyone explain? This week: David Cameron and Nell Gwyn". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  7. The European Magazine, and London Review. Philological Society of London. 1819. pp. 555–.
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