Emma Portman, Viscountess Portman Explained

Emma Andalusia Frere Portman, Viscountess Portman (Kennedy, formerly Dawson-Damer, Countess of Portarlington; (20 October 1861 – 13 May 1929), styled Viscountess Carlow from 1881 until 1892, was an English aristocrat known for her marriages to two different peers.

Early life

Emma was born on 20 October 1861. She was the only daughter of Catherine Anne May and Lord Nigel Kennedy. She had two brothers, Fergus de Carrick Frere Kennedy and James Archibald Frere Kennedy, both of whom died unmarried.^[1]

Her paternal grandparents were Archibald Kennedy, Earl of Cassillis, heir apparent to Marquess of Ailsa until his death, and the former Eleanor Allardyce (daughter of Alexander Allardyce). Among her family was uncle Archibald Kennedy, 2nd Marquess of Ailsa. Her maternal grandfather was Maj. James Frere May.^[2]

Personal life

On 25 October 1881, Emma married George Dawson-Damer, Viscount Carlow, the eldest son of Lionel Dawson-Damer, 4th Earl of Portarlington and Hon. Harriet Lydia Montagu (daughter of the 6th Baron Rokeby, Major-General commanding the Brigade of Guards).^[3] After his father's death on 17 December 1892, he became the 5th Earl of Portarlington and Emma became the Countess of Portarlington. Together, they were the parents of:

• Lionel George Henry Seymour Dawson-Damer, 6th Earl of Portarlington (1883–1959), who married Winnifreda Yuill, only daughter of George Skelton Yuill, in 1907.^{[4] [5]}
• Lady Aline Mary Seymour Dawson-Damer (1884–1953), who married Lt.-Col. Valentine Vivian, son of William Vivian, in 1904.
• Lady Christian Norah Dawson-Damer (1890–1959), who married Capt. Hon. Fergus Bowes-Lyon, son of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck, in 1914. Fergus's sister was Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.^[6] After he was killed in 1915 during World War I, she married Capt. William Frederick Martin, a son of Charles William Wall Martin, in 1919.
• Hon. George Seymour Dawson-Damer (1892–1917), a Lieutenant in the 10th Hussars and Dorset Yeomanry who died from wounds received in action in World War I.
• Lady Moyra Marjorie Dawson-Damer (1897–1962), who married James Brinsley Peter FitzGerald, son of Peter David FitzGerald (son of Sir Peter FitzGerald, 19th Knight of Kerry), in 1924.

Lord Portarlington died of "congestion of the kidneys" at the Royal Palace Hotel at Ostend, on 31 August 1900 at age 42.^{[7] [8]}

After his death, Emma widow married Army officer Henry Portman, 3rd Viscount Portman (1860–1923), son of William Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman and Hon. Mary FitzWilliam (daughter of William Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam, Viscount Milton), on 25 September 1901.^[9] From her marriage to Lord Portman, she was the mother of:

• Hon. Selina Luisa Portman (1903–1945)

Lord Portman died on 18 January 1923. Lady Portman died on 13 May 1929.

Descendants

Through her daughter Lady Aline, she was a grandmother of Celia Marjorie Vivian, who married Sir John Molesworth-St Aubyn, 14th Baronet, eldest son of Sir Hugh Molesworth-St Aubyn, 13th Baronet.^[10]

Through her daughter Lady Christian, she was a grandmother of Rosemary Lusia Bowes-Lyon (1915–1989), a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II who married Edward Wilfred George Joicey-Cecil, youngest son of Col. Lord John Joicey-Cecil, MP for Stamford (a son of the 3rd Marquess of Exeter), in 1945.^[10]

External links

• Emma Andalusia (née Frere May), Viscountess Portman at the National Portrait Gallery, London

Notes and References

1. Edmund Lodge, compiler, The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, 80th edition (London: Kelly's Directories Ltd, 1911), page 148.
2. Book: Moss . Michael . The Magnificent Castle of Culzean and the Kennedy Family . 2002 . . . 0-7486-1723-X . 132–152.
3. L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 237.
4. News: THIS MORNING'S GOSSIP . 14 February 2024 . . 2 Feb 1907 . en.
5. News: PEGGY CAMBIE BRIDE OF VISCOUNT CARLOW; Daughter of Late Banker Wed in London Church to the Son of Earl of Portarlington. . 1 March 2024 . . 8 January 1937.
6. News: 19 August 2012. Final resting place of Queen's uncle discovered nearly a century after his death. Daily Record. 20 August 2012.
7. News: DEATH OF THE EARL OF PORTARLINGTON . 14 February 2024 . . 1 Sep 1900 . en.
8. News: OBITUARY. THE EARL OF PORTARLINGTON. . 1 March 2024 . . 3 Sep 1900 . 6 . en.
9. News: Peeress's Bequest of Jewels . 14 February 2024 . . 8 Jul 1929 . en.
10. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, page 3180, volume 2, page 3190.