Antoinette Van Leer Polk, Baroness de Charette (October 27, 1847 – February 3, 1919) was an American

Southern belle Southern belle () is a colloquialism for a debutante in the planter class of the Antebellum South. Characteristics The image of a Southern belle is often characterized by fashion elements such as a hoop skirt, a corset, pantalettes, a wi ...

in the Antebellum South and (by marriage) French aristocrat in the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Wes ...

. She was born into the planter elite, the great-niece of the 11th President of the United States

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

and a member of the influential Van Leer family through her mother. She was an heiress to plantations in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and a "Southern heroine" who warned

Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

of advancing Union troops during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. After the war, she moved to Europe, where she took to

foxhunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...

in the

Roman Campagna The Roman Campagna () is a low-lying area surrounding Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, with an area of approximately . It is bordered by the Tolfa and Sabatini mountains to the north, the Alban Hills to the southeast, and the Tyrrhe ...

of Italy and the English countryside, and later became a baroness and socialite in Paris and

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

Antoinette Polk, Baroness de Charette circa 1890-1900

Early life and family background

Polk was born on October 27, 1847, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

.Baroness de Charette
New York Historical Society Her father, Colonel Andrew Jackson Polk, was a planter who served in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

.''Tennessee: A Guide to the State''
US History Publishers: Federal Writers' Project, 1949, p. 389 Her mother, Rebecca Van Leer, was an heiress to an iron fortune from the Cumberland Furnace and the Van Leer family. Polk grew up at Ashwood Hall, a mansion in Ashwood near Columbia in Maury County, Tennessee with her parents and brother, Vanleer Polk. Her paternal great-uncle,

served as the 11th President of the United States from 1845 to 1849. Bishop

Leonidas Polk Lieutenant-General Leonidas Polk (April 10, 1806 – June 14, 1864) was a bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and founder of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America, which separated from the Episcopal Ch ...

, who served as a General in the

, was her uncle. She was also a descendant of General

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

and

Samuel Van Leer Captain Samuel Van Leer (January 7, 1747 – October 15, 1825) was a military officer from Pennsylvania who served as a captain in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and as lieutenant in the Chester County Light Horse Volu ...

, both officers in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

American Civil War and fox-hunting

During the

, while visiting Mary Polk Branch she saw Northern forces on their way to Ashwood. Polk got on a horse and rode there before the Northerners to warn the Confederate soldiers of their arrival. As a result, she is credited as a "Southern heroine" for saving Confederate personnel. Unlike the Polks, her relatives on her mother's side fought for the Union. After the war, Polk moved to Italy with her mother and her siblings. Her family later became friends with King Humbert I. She took to fox-hunting in the

of Italy, where she won a fox-hunt among forty female riders. She also participated in fox hunting in the English countryside.

Personal life

In Italy, Polk met her future husband, General Baron Athanase-Charles-Marie Charette de la Contrie, then a Commander of the

Papal Zouaves The Papal Zouaves ( it, Zuavi Pontifici) were an infantry battalion, later regiment, dedicated to defending the Papal States. Named after the French zouave regiments, the ' were mainly young men, unmarried and Catholic, who volunteered to assist P ...

. Charette de la Contrie was a great-grandson of

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

, the last king of France, a grandson of

Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duke of Berry (24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820) was the third child and younger son of Charles X, King of France, (whom he predeceased) by his wife Maria Theresa of Savoy. In June 1832, two years after the overthro ...

and descendant of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

. They wed in Rome, Italy, on December 1, 1877. An aristocrat from the

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

, he had served as a general in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Chauncey M. Depew
''Titled Americans: A list of American ladies who have married foreigners of rank''
, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2013 They resided at the

Avenue Hoche The Avenue Hoche is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Location The avenue runs the intersection at 67, Rue de Courcelles and the Place du Général-Brocard all the way to the Place Charles de Gaulle and its Arc de Triomphe, ...

in the 8th arrondissement of Paris and at the Château de la Basse-Mothe in Bouguenais near Nantes. Her wounded father lived with them, until he died in Switzerland. Polk inherited plantations in Tennessee from him. The couple had two children, Louise Marie, born in or near Genoa, Italy in 1866, raised by a series of governesses and later quietly married to Angelo Schinoni, possibly a relative of the midwife and governess who had delivered her, and Charles Antoine, later known as Antoine de Charette, born in or near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1869, who was first engaged to

Gladys Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Gladys Marie Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (''née'' Deacon; 7 February 1881 – 13 October 1977) was a French American aristocrat and socialite. She was the mistress and later the second wife of Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th ...

, and later married Susan Henning of

Shelby County, Kentucky Shelby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,065. Its county seat is Shelbyville. The county was founded in 1792 and named for Isaac Shelby, the first Governor of Kentucky. Shelb ...

,Marquis Related to American Families: French Nobleman Will Wed Kentucky Belle and Heiress: James K. Polk's Niece
''The St. John Sun'', August 3, 1909Henning-Charette Family Papers – Van Stockum Collection, 1893-1950

The Filson Historical Society The Filson Historical Society, founded in 1884, is a privately supported historical society located at 1310 South 3rd Street in Louisville, Kentucky. The Filson is an organization dedicated to providing continuing adult education in the form of qua ...

, August 21, 2013 the daughter of James W. Henning, a stockbroker on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

, in a lavish society wedding at the St. Patrick's Cathedral. Her miniature portrait was done by Katherine Arthur Behenna for New York art collector and socialite Peter Marié. It was acquired by the New York Historical Society in 1905.Emma Mustich
Hot chicks of the Gilded Age?
'' Salon'', November 5, 2011

Death and legacy

She died on February 3, 1919, at her Château de la Basse-Mothe in Brittany, France. Her son Antoine inherited her Southern plantations. Her miniature portrait was exhibited alongside others as part of a special exhibition of the Peter Marié Collection showing socialites of the

from November 11, 2011, to September 9, 2012, at the New York Historical Society in New York City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, Antoinette 1847 births 1919 deaths 19th-century American landowners American female equestrians American emigrants to France American planters American socialites American women landowners Burials in France Fox hunters Nobility from Paris People from Loire-Atlantique People from Maury County, Tennessee People from Nashville, Tennessee Polk family Van Leer family