Mildred, Countess of Gosford explained

The image used for the Palazzo Salis is the wrong one, as this shows the one at Soglio. The Countess lived at the Palazzo Salis at Bondo. I would be happy to provide you with an image of the same. You will find quite a number of views on the internet, such as this one

Honorific-Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Countess of Gosford
Birth Name:Caroline Mildred Carter
Birth Date:2 March 1888
Birth Place:Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death Place:Bondo, Switzerland
Parents:John Ridgeley Carter
Alice Morgan Carter
Children:5, including the 6th Earl of Gosford
Relations:Bernard Carter (brother)

Mildred Acheson, Countess of Gosford (born Caroline Mildred Carter) (March 2, 1888 – September 7, 1965) was an American heiress who married into the British aristocracy.

Early life

Mildred was born on March 2, 1888, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Millie, as she was also known, was the only daughter of diplomat John Ridgeley Carter (1864–1944) and Alice (née Morgan) Carter (1865–1933).[1] Her younger brother was banker Bernard Shirley Carter, a prominent banker with Morgan, Harjes & Co. who married Louise Hope Thacher.[2]

Her paternal grandparents were Mary Buckner (née Ridgely) Carter and Bernard Carter, a member of the prominent Carter and Lee families of Virginia and was a descendant of Henry Lee III, the 9th Governor of Virginia. Her maternal grandparents were David Pierce Morgan and Carolyn (née Fellowes) Morgan. Her maternal uncle was William Fellowes Morgan Sr. and among her first cousins was William Fellowes Morgan Jr.

Her father was a diplomat of the United States, serving as the First Secretary to the American Embassy in London.[3] Later, he served as the U.S. Minister at Bucharest from November 14, 1909, until October 24, 1911. He also concurrently served as the U.S. Minister to Serbia and Bulgaria.[4]

In May 1908, noted American portrait painter John Singer Sargent painted a portrait of Mildred in London that was described at the time by The New York Times as "in the painter's best manner and brings out all of the innate sweetness of nature which has endeared Miss Carter to her English as much as to her American friends, all of whom agree that she has the wonderful tact and urbanity of her father."[5] She was presented at the Court of St James's in 1909.

Personal life

The picture shown is of the Hotel Plazzo Salis in nearby Soglio. My grandmother spent summers from 1949to 1965 in the Palazzo Salis in Bondo, which she rented from the Salis family.On June 21, 1910,[6] Mildred was married to Archibald Acheson, Viscount Acheson at St George's Hanover Square Church in London followed by a reception at Dorchester House. The Viscount Acheson was the eldest son, and eventual heir, of Archibald Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford and Lady Louisa Montagu, a Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Alexandra. His paternal grandfather was Archibald Acheson, 3rd Earl of Gosford and his maternal grandparents were William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester and the former Countess Louisa von Alten. Together, Mildred and Archibald were the parents of the five children:[7]

Viscount Acheson's father died in 1922 (shortly after selling the family seat Gosford Castle) and he succeeded to the earldom of Gosford. Five years later in 1927, the couple separated and Lord Gosford went to New York City.[9] The Countess of Gosford obtained a divorce in December 1927,[10] and he remarried to Beatrice (née Claflin) Breese,[11] a granddaughter of merchant Horace Brigham Claflin, on October 1, 1928.[12]

Mildred died on September 7, 1965, at Palazzo Salis, her home in Bondo, Switzerland.[13]

Descendants

Through her youngest daughter, Lady Mary, he was a grandfather of Jaime Corcuera Acheson (born 1955),[14] who married Archduchess Myriam of Austria, a daughter of Archduke Felix of Austria and granddaughter of King Charles I of Austria, in 1983.[15]

References

Notes
Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: American Heiress Millie Carter, A Future Countess Marries Her Viscount With Pomp & Circumstance At St. George's, Hanover Square! . 2 March 2020 . The Esoteric Curiosa . 2012 . en.
  2. News: Times . Special to The New York . BERNARD CARTER, BANKER, 68, DEAD; Head of the European Policy' Unit of Morgan Guaranty . 2 March 2020 . . 9 November 1961.
  3. Book: Adams . Henry . Henry Adams, Selected Letters . 1992 . . 978-0-674-38757-7 . 423 . 2 March 2020 . en.
  4. Web site: John Ridgely Carter - People . history.state.gov . . 2 March 2020.
  5. News: NEW SARGENT PAINTING.; Portrait of Miss Mildred Carter in the Artist's Best Style. . 2 March 2020 . . 31 May 1908.
  6. News: VISCOUNT ACHESON TO WED MISS CARTER; Daughter of American Minister Carter Will Be Married in London in June. MET THREE YEARS AGO Fiance, Heir of the Earl of Gosford, Fought with Coldstream Guards In South African War. . 2 March 2020 . . 22 February 1910.
  7. Web site: Gosford, Earl of (I, 1806) . www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk . Heraldic Media Limited . 2 March 2020.
  8. News: FRANCESCA CAGIATI TO WED PEER'S HEIR; New York Girl Is Affianced to Viscount Acheson, Son of Earl of Gosford. . 2 March 2020 . . 7 June 1935.
  9. Book: Montgomery . Maureen E. . 'Gilded Prostitution': Status, Money and Transatlantic Marriages, 1870-1914 . 2013 . Routledge . 978-1-136-21494-3 . 190 . 2 March 2020 . en.
  10. News: DIVORCES EARL OF GOSFORD; Countess Obtains a Decree Nisi in London Court. . 2 March 2020 . . 6 December 1927.
  11. Book: MacColl . Gail . Wallace . Carol McD . To Marry an English Lord: Tales of Wealth and Marriage, Sex and Snobbery in the Gilded Age . 2012 . Workman Publishing . 978-0-7611-7198-0 . 307–10, 326–27, 350, 362 . 2 March 2020 . en.
  12. News: MRS. BREESE WEDS EARL OF GOSFORD; New York Woman Becomes a British Countess in South- ampton Ceremony. . 2 March 2020 . . 2 October 1928.
  13. News: Mildred, Countess of Gosford, Daughter of Diplomat, Is Dead . 2 March 2020 . . 11 September 1965.
  14. Book: Montague-Smith . Patrick W. . Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage . 1995 . Debrett's Peerage Limited . 539 . 2 March 2020 . en.
  15. Book: Almanach de Gotha: Annual Genealogical Reference . 2004 . Almanach de Gotha . 978-0-9532142-5-9 . 31 . 2 March 2020 . en.