Louisa Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn
Louisa Jane Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn was a member of the British aristocracy. She and her husband, James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, had 13 children, and were "long remembered as the most handsome and most distinguished young couple of their generation."
Early life, marriage, and family
Lady Louisa Jane Russell was born on Wednesday, 8 July 1812, at 2 Hamilton Place, Mayfair, She was the sixth child of eight, and a second daughter for John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford and Lady Georgiana Gordon. She was the sister of Rev. Lord Wriothesley Russell, Gen. Lord Alexander Russell, Admiral Lord Edward Russell, and Lord Charles Russell and half-sister of Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford, Prime Minister John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, and Lord George Russell. She made her debut in society aged 12 and met her future husband at a children's ball.On Thursday, 25 October 1832, at Gordon Castle, in Morayshire, Scotland, Louisa married James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn, the son of James Hamilton, Viscount Hamilton, and Harriet Douglas.
Louisa and James had fourteen children, and she was known for her skills as a matchmaker for her children, with her choices based primarily on rank. Among her issue were seven daughters, all of whom were ordered to marry into the peerage and no one beneath the rank of an earl. Their children were:
- Lady Harriett Georgiana Louisa Hamilton, married 10 April 1855 Thomas Anson, 2nd Earl of Lichfield, and had issue
- Lady Beatrix Frances Hamilton, married in London 23 May 1854 George Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham, and had issue
- Louisa [Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch|Lady Louisa Jane Hamilton], married in London 22 November 1859 William Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch, and had issue
- James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn, married Lady Mary Anna Curzon-Howe, daughter of Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe, and his second wife, Anne Gore, and had issue
- Lady Katherine Elizabeth Hamilton, married 26 October 1858 William Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, and had issue
- Lady Georgiana Susan Hamilton, married in London 16 March 1882 Edward Turnour, 5th Earl Winterton, and had issue
- Lord Claud John Hamilton, an aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria from 1887 to 1897. He married Carolina Chandos-Pole, and had issue
- Lord George Francis Hamilton, married Lady Maud Lascelles, and had issue
- Lady Albertha Frances Anne Hamilton, married at the Palace of Westminster, London, 8 November 1869 George Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough, and had issue, divorced 20 November 1883
- Lord Ronald Douglas Hamilton
- Lady Maud Evelyn Hamilton, married at Westminster Abbey, London, 8 November 1869 Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, and had issue
- Lord Cosmo Hamilton
- Lord Frederick Spencer Hamilton, never married
- Lord Ernest William Hamilton, married Pamela Campbell, and had issue
She was still living at the time of the birth of her great-great-grandson, the future Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home, on 2 July 1903. Her other great-great-grandchildren that she lived to see were Lady Patricia Herbert, Mildred Egerton, daughter of Lady Bertha Anson, Louisa's great-granddaughter through her grandson Thomas Anson, 3rd Earl of Lichfield and Guendolen Wilkinson, daughter of Lady Beatrix Herbert, Louisa's great-granddaughter through her granddaughter Lady Beatrix Lambton.
Death
The Duchess of Abercorn died at Coates Castle, Coates, West Sussex, England on 31 March 1905, aged 92. She survived her husband by almost twenty years.She was interred on 5 April 1905, in Chenies, Buckinghamshire; she left an estate worth over £24,000.