Catherine Hamilton-Gordon, Countess of Aberdeen explained
| Honorific Prefix: | The Right Honourable |
| The Countess of Aberdeen |
| Birth Name: | Catherine Elizabeth Hamilton |
| Birth Date: | 1784 1, df=y |
| Death Place: | London, England |
| Issue: | - Lady Jane Hamilton-Gordon
- Lady Charlotte Hamilton-Gordon
- Lady Alice Hamilton-Gordon
- Stillborn son
|
| Father: | John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn |
| Mother: | Catherine Copley |
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.
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.
Notes and References
- Book: A. P. W. Malcomson. The Pursuit of the Heiress: Aristocratic Marriage in Ireland 1740-1840. 2006. Ulster Historical Foundation. 978-1-903688-65-6. 294.
- Book: Edmund Lodge. The Peerage of the British Empire as at Present Existing: Arranged and Printed from the Personal Communications of the Nobility. 1833. Saunders and Otley. 7.
- Book: The monthly magazine and British register. 1805. 180.
- Book: The Gentleman's Magazine. 1824. E. Cave. 284.
- Book: John SHARPE (Publisher.). Sharpe's present Peerage of the British Empire, 1834. 1834. 3.
- Book: The Edinburgh Annual Register for 1812. 1814. 34.
- Book: Jonathan Davidson, M.D.. Downing Street Blues: A History of Depression and Other Mental Afflictions in British Prime Ministers. 10 January 2014. McFarland. 978-0-7864-5793-9. 73.
- Book: Roy Jenkins. Gladstone. 23 August 2012. Pan Macmillan. 978-0-330-47611-9. 48.
- Book: Dermot J. T. Englefield. Janet Seaton. Isobel White. Facts about the British prime ministers: a compilation of biographical and historical information. registration. 1995. H.W. Wilson Co.. 978-0-8242-0863-9. 172.
