Elizabeth Strong

Elizabeth married Capt. Joseph Strong on 12 May 1724 in Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut. Joseph (son of Justice Joseph Strong and Sarah Allen) was born on 25 Jul 1701 in Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts; died on 9 Apr 1773. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Elizabeth married Richard (Dea.) Hale on 27 May 1746 in Newburyport, Essex County, Massachusetts. Richard was born on 28 Feb 1716; died on 1 Jun 1802. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Benajah married Lucy Bishop about 1769 in Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut. Lucy was born about 1747; died about 1783. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

NATHAN HALE was born on June 6, 1755 in Coventry, Connecticut. His father was a prosperous Coventry farmer, and Nathan was the sixth of twelve children born into the family. His parents held very strong religious beliefs and were advocates of a rigid Puritan work ethic. The Hale children grew up very much influenced by their parents' beliefs in religion, hard work, and education. The days of Nathan Hale's youth were marked with mounting political controversy. The American Revolution was in its infancy, and more and more people were promoting radical ideas that pertained to individual liberties and sovereignty. Nathan Hale took the ideas of individual and political freedoms to heart, and gained a sense of purpose. In a sense, he was very fortunate. His family had the means to send him off to Yale College at the young age of 14. His older brother Enoch was also sent to Yale at the same time. In these years, Yale was primarily a school that prepared young men for the ministry, focusing on religion and the classics. The school was evolving, however, and Nathan absorbed not only ideas in religion and the classics, but also other areas of thought, such as business, astronomy, writing, mathematics, philosophy, and law. During his years at Yale, Nathan Hale became a confident young man, supported by his ethical beliefs, willing and able to speak to others about his ideas. He graduated from Yale at the age of 18, at the top of his class.

When he graduated from Yale in 1773, he accepted a teaching position in East Haddam, Connecticut, and shortly thereafter he was offered a position as the master of the New London, Connecticut Grammar School. All during this period, the political controversies between the Colonies and England were rising to a head. When war broke out, Nathan Hale put his ideals ahead of his immediate comfort, and volunteered his services to the cause of the Revolution. He served as a lieutenant, then a captain, and then as an officer in Thomas Knowlton's elite Knowlton Rangers. In 1776, George Washington needed to gain an advantage on the British. He solicited capable officers who could infiltrate the British forces; in short, Washington needed spies. Nathan Hale volunteered. The details of what happened next are not entirely clear, and never will be. But we do know that Hale was captured by the British in New York on September 21, 1776. We also know that the British General William Howe attempted to bribe Hale for information and a change in allegiance. Nathan Hale stood by his principles. He refused to betray his country, and without a hearing or a trial, he was sentenced to be hanged.

Nathan Hale died in New York on September 22, 1776 because he held to his convictions. Before he was hanged, he bravely spoke words that will never, ever, die: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Nathan Hale died very young, at the age of 21, but his dedication to his beliefs are one of the symbols of of American bravery and principles.

http://www.netstate.com/states/peop/people/ct_nh.htm

A painting depicting this scene can be found in the Aug-Sept DAR Magazine, and is copied in the November 1996 SFAA newsletter. (The Nov. 1996 Newsletter also contains a five page biography of him).

Joseph married Rebecca Young on 8 Sep 1796 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Rebecca was born about 1780; died about 1862. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Eleanor married John Wood on 13 Mar 1823 in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio. John was born on 29 Jul 1785 in West Virginia; died on 29 Jan 1848 in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ellen married Franklin H. Work about 1857 in New York. Franklin was born on 10 Feb 1819 in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio; died on 16 Mar 1911 in New York City, New York County, New York. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Wikipedia Biography Frances Ellen Work

Born in New York City, she was a daughter of Franklin H. Work "Frank" (1819? 1911), a well-known stockbroker and prot?g? of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and his wife, Ellen Wood (1831? 1877). [1]

On September 22, 1880, at Christ Church, New York City, Frances Work married the Hon. James Boothby Burke Roche, who would later become the 3rd Baron Fermoy. They had four children: two daughters Cynthia Roche and Eileen, and twin sons Francis and Edmund. Edmund later became the 4th Baron Fermoy, and was the grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales. Frances divorced Roche for desertion in 1891, before he had succeeded to the barony. Her lawyer was Thomas F. Bayard, former United States Secretary of State.[2]

On August 4, 1905, the Hon. Mrs. Burke Roche married Aurel de Batonyi, a Hungarian-born riding instructor and society horseman. When he had immigrated to the United States on the Majestic in 1891, Batonyi claimed he was a count. [3] It was also suggested that his real name was Arthur Cohn. [4] Frances sued de Batonyi for divorce two years after their marriage, allegedly because her father threatened to disinherit her if she continued to live with her husband. [4]

She was a prominent figure in the New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, social sets, and was friends with Mrs Reginald Vanderbilt. Her sister, Lucy Bond Work married Peter Cooper Hewitt, a son of New York City Mayor Abram Stevens Hewitt.
She died in the city of her birth at the age of 89. [1]

References

[1] Williamson, D. (1981) The Ancestry of Lady Diana Spencer In: Genealogist's Magazine vol. 20 (no. 6) p. 192-199 and vol. 20 (no. 8) pp. 281? 282.
[2] The Times (London) Friday, 27 March 1896, p. 7 col. F.
[3] United States Government. 1891 New York Ship's Arrivals Records Index. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. Series M237, Roll #571, July 8, 1891.
[4] Oakland Tribune, September 8 1907, pp. 17? 18.


PRI article, "Dollar Princesses"

Next week, Prince William will take Kate Middleton as his wife in what's being hailed, again, as the wedding of the century.

The pews will be filled with world leaders, other royal family and members of the British aristocracy.

Within that aristocracy will be a strong American connection. For many of their number are descendants of a generation of U.S. women. They were called the "dollar princesses."

The dollar princesses were a breed of very rich American girls who came over at the end of the 19th century to Britain and to Europe, looking for titles. And it was simple as that. It was cash in return for a title.

Daisy Goodwin has written novel, "The American Heiress," based on the lives of these women. Goodwin said newly wealthy Americans like the Vanderbilts had just about everything they wanted, except social status.

"Even though the Vanderbilts, for example, had more money than anybody, they weren't being asked to the nicest parties."

Consuelo Vanderbilt
The solution lay across the Atlantic in Britain. Dukes and earls, struggling with debt and dilapidated castles, were looking for wives with multi-million dollar dowries. The Vanderbilts 19-year-old daughter, Consuelo, married the Duke of Marlborough in 1895.
Goodwin said she was one of the first to make the journey, and the deal.

"When these American girls came over they were so much richer, so the men could hardly resist. And a quarter of the British aristocracy married American money in the period between 1890 and 1910. It's no exaggeration to say these dollar princesses saved the British aristocracy for a generation. They kept the stately homes of England going."

The phenomenon sparked a magazine called "Titled American," which Goodwin said was the "match.com" of its day.

The lives of the dollar princesses were closely followed in the U.S. press.

British men found them vivacious and independent. But for all their fame and considerable fortune, Goodwin said they failed to make fans out of one group ? the English women who suddenly lost their chance at nobility.

"They had kind of grown up from the nursery expecting to marry the Duke of This or the Earl of That, and that's what they were trained to do. And then suddenly, their career prospects were kind of jettisoned by some American girl from nowhere in their opinion who came in looking lovely but had no idea about how to dress, what to do, how to hold her fork or whatever and she would just pinch the most eligible bachelor from under these poor British girls' noses. And they hated it."

As in the much-watched case of Princesses Diana, many of the dollar princesses ended up in loveless marriages. That includes Diana's own great grandmother, Frances Work who was, in fact a dollar princess.

And so, Prince William also has stateside ancestry, thanks to the American obsession with British class and status. In some ways, said Goodwin, it marked the start of Anglo-mania.

"America had all the money but Britain had all the tradition and hey, that's something that hasn't really changed has it, you know. I would say that in America, there's probably more interest in the royal wedding than there is here even. And I'm amazed by that. But I think it's rather wonderful."

http://www.theworld.org/2011/04/a-look-back-at-the-dollar-princesse/

Frances married Rt. Hon. James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy on 22 Sep 1880 in New York City, New York County, New York. James was born on 28 Jul 1852 in Middlesex, England; died on 30 Oct 1920 in London, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Wikipedia Biography of Edmund Maurice Burke Roche

Roche was born in Chelsea, London, [1] the elder of twin sons of the Hon. James Roche (later Baron Fermoy) and his wife, Frances Ellen Work. He was educated at Harvard University, but returned to England on succeeding to his father's title in 1920. He rented Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk from the Royal Family and at the 1924 general election, he contested and won the local parliamentary constituency, King's Lynn, holding the seat until he stood down at the 1935 general election. [2][3] He was also elected the town's mayor in 1931. [4]

On 17 September 1931, Lord Fermoy married Ruth Sylvia Gill (the youngest daughter of Col. William Gill) at St. Devenick's, Bieldside, Aberdeenshire [1] and they had three children:

a) Hon. Mary Cynthia (b. 1934),
married
(1) Hon. Sir Anthony Berry (divorced 1966),
(2) Denis Geoghegan (divorced 1980),
(3) Michael Gunningham (divorced 1989)

b) Hon. Frances Ruth (b. 1936),
married
(1) Edward Spencer, Viscount Althorp (divorced 1969),
(2) Peter Shand Kydd

c) Hon. Edmund James Burke (b. 1939), later the 5th Baron Fermoy.

Lord Fermoy joined the Royal Air Force in 1939 at the start of World War II but when the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for King's Lynn was killed on active service in 1943, he resigned his commission and stood for re-election. He retired from politics when Parliament was dissolved for the 1945 general election. [2]

Lord Fermoy collapsed in a shop at King's Lynn, Norfolk in June 1955 and died three weeks later. [2] He was succeeded by his only son.

1) Williamson, D The Ancestry of Lady Diana Spencer In: Genealogist's Magazine, 1981; vol. 20 (no. 6) p. 192-199 and vol. 20 (no. 8) p. 281-282

2) The Times, Saturday, Jul 9, 1955; p. 8 col. D

3) Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd edition ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

4) The Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk

Edmund married Ruth Sylvia Gill, Baroness FermoyScotland. Ruth was born on 2 Oct 1908 in Dalhebity, Bieldside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland; died on 6 Jul 1993 in London, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Wikipedia Biography of Frances Ruth Roche

Frances Ruth Shand Kydd (n?e Roche, formerly Viscountess Althorp) (20 January 1936 ? 3 June 2004) was the first wife of John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer and the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales. After two failed marriages and the deaths of two children, she devoted her later years to Roman Catholic charity work. Frances Ruth Roche was born in Park House, on the royal estate at Sandringham, Norfolk.[1] Her father was Edmund Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy, a friend of King George VI and the elder son of the American heiress Frances Work and her first husband, the 3rd Baron Fermoy. Her mother Ruth, Lady Fermoy DCVO was a confidante and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother). On 1 June 1954, aged 18, Roche married John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (later the 8th Earl Spencer) at Westminster Abbey. She was then known as Viscountess Althorp (the name is pronounced Altrup).

The Althorps had five children:

Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia Spencer (19 March 1955), who married Neil Edmund McCorquodale, a distant cousin of Raine, Countess Spencer

Cynthia Jane Spencer later Baroness Fellowes (11 February 1957), who married Sir Robert Fellowes, later Baron Fellowes

John Spencer, who died within 10 hours of his birth on 12 January 1960

Diana Frances Spencer later Diana, Princess of Wales (1 July 1961? 31 August 1997), first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales

Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer (20 May 1964), who married Victoria Lockwood, then Caroline Freud (the latter formerly wife of Matthew Freud)

The British media made comparisons between Lady Althorp's and Diana's lives, because both were inexperienced young women who were thrust into the spotlight by marriage to much older men in higher stations to whom they were unfaithful. As with the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the marriage between Lord and Lady Althorp was not a happy one.

1) England & Wales, Birth Index, Jan Feb Mar 1936, 4b 344, Freedbridge Lynn, Norfolk

Family/Spouse: The Right Hon. Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer. Edward was born on 24 Jan 1924 in London, Middlesex, England; died on 29 Mar 1992 in London, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Wikipedia Biography of Diana Frances Spencer

Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances n?e Spencer; 1 July 1961 ? 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family and an international personality of the late 20th century as the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981. The wedding, which was held at St. Paul's Cathedral, was televised and watched by a global audience of over 750 million people. The marriage produced two sons: Princes William and Harry, currently second and third in line to the thrones of the 16 Commonwealth realms, respectively.

A public figure from the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles, Diana was born into an old, aristocratic English family with royal ancestry, and remained the focus of worldwide media scrutiny before, during and after her marriage, which ended in divorce on 28 August 1996. This media attention continued following her death in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997, and in the subsequent display of public mourning a week later. Diana also received recognition for her charity work and for her support of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. From 1989, she was the president of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.

Diana married Living [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Living married Living [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]