Sarah Fane, Countess of Westmorland
Sarah Fane, Countess of Westmorland (née Sarah Anne Child; 28 August 1764 – 9 November 1793) was the only child of Robert Child, the owner of Osterley Park and principal shareholder in the banking firm Child & Co. She married John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland, on 20 May 1782 at Gretna Green after they eloped together. Her parents were dissatisfied with the match: Sarah Anne being an only child, her father wanted her to marry a commoner who would take the Child name; but Sarah Anne told her mother, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."[1] Her father cut her out of his will,[2] leaving his house and fortune to Sarah Anne's second son or eldest daughter, instead of the Westmorland heir.[1]
Sarah Anne and the earl's surviving children were:
- John Fane, 11th Earl of Westmorland (1784–1859)
- Lady Sarah Sophia Fane (1785–1867), married George Child-Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey, in 1804.
- Lady Augusta Fane (1786–1871), m. 1. John Parker, Lord Boringdon (later 1st Earl of Morley), in 1804, divorced 1809; m. 2 also in 1809 Sir Arthur Paget (1771–1840), son of the 1st Earl of Uxbridge.
- Lady Maria Fane (1787–1834), m. 1805 John Ponsonby, Viscount Duncannon, later 4th Earl of Bessborough.
- Lady Charlotte Fane (1793–1822)
As only one son of the marriage survived, most of Child's fortune eventually went to his eldest granddaughter, Lady Sarah Sophia.[3]
Seven years after Sarah's death, the Earl of Westmorland married Jane Saunders, an heiress, and had further children.
References
- 1 2 "Osterley Park" in: Lydia Greeves, Houses of the National Trust, National Trust Books, 2008, ISBN 978-1-905400-66-9, p. 238
- ↑ John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland (1759-1841), Politician", National Portrait Gallery
- ↑ Roland Thorne, "Fane, John, tenth earl of Westmorland (1759–1841)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2008. (subscription or UK public library membership required)