Elizabeth Vesey (1715 in Ossory,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

– 1791 in Chelsea, London) was a wealthy Irish intellectual who is credited with fostering the Bluestockings, a society which hosted informal literary and political discussions of which she was an important member.

Early life

Born in Ossory, Ireland in 1715, she was daughter of Sir Thomas Vesey,

Bishop of Ossory . The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Ireland, Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but i ...

, and his wife, Mary. The Veseys were an important

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

family.

Marriages

Her first marriage, sometime before December 1731, was to William Hancock, member for the borough of Fore in the Irish Parliament, who died in 1741.Barbara Brandon Schnorrenberg, 'Vesey, Elizabeth (''c.''1715–1791)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
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CitationDate 22 May 2009. In 1746 she married again to Agmondesham Vesey of Lucan, a wealthy cousin and a Member of the Irish Parliament for Harristown, County Kildare, and

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork (city), Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a populatio ...

, County Cork, He was accountant-general of Ireland. Elizabeth had no children from either marriage. Agmondesham was continuously unfaithful to Elizabeth but she maintained the façade of a happy marriage. She nursed her husband through attacks of epilepsy, but depended for her support upon a circle of female friends. Vesey's well-known friends included

Mary Delany Mary Delany, earlier Mary Pendarves ( Granville; 14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English artist, letter-writer, and bluestocking, known for her "paper-mosaicks", botanic drawing, needlework and her lively correspondence. Early life Mary ...

, whom she met in Ireland, Margaret, Duchess of Portland,

Elizabeth Montagu Elizabeth Montagu (née Robinson; 2 October 1718 – 25 August 1800) was a British social reformer, patron of the arts, salonnière, literary critic and writer, who helped to organize and lead the Blue Stockings Society. Her parents were bot ...

Elizabeth Carter Elizabeth Carter (pen name Eliza; 16 December 1717 – 19 February 1806) was an English poet, classicist, writer, translator, and linguist. As one of the Bluestocking Circle that surrounded Elizabeth Montagu,Encyclopaedia BritannicRetrieved 1 ...

Frances Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post of "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Meckle ...

, and

Hannah More Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet, and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol, she taught at ...

. Her closest companion was the sister of her first husband, a Miss Handcock whose first name is not known. The shy Miss Handcock carried out most of the duties of domestic household management for Elizabeth. She was always noted politely by Vesey's correspondents, but she seems to have stayed in the background in the salon.

Bluestocking group

Elizabeth Montagu was a very close friend, and Elizabeth co-operated with her in establishing a

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

where repartee and intelligent discussion were more important than the usual drinking, card play, and sexual flirtation. They referred to their circle as the bluestocking philosophers. Her marriage meant Elizabeth split her time between London, England and Lucan in Ireland, but eventually settled mostly in London at houses in Clarges Street and Bolton Row,

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

. At these she hosted her intellectual salon parties., where entertainment consisted of conversations on literary subjects. Her circle included Frances Boscawen,

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English essayist, historian, and politician. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, is known for ...

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, Thomas Percy, Sir

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, writer and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 to 1812, representing the constituencies of Stafford, Westminster and I ...

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptised 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as the "father of economics"——— or ...

and

Thomas Warton Thomas Warton (9 January 172821 May 1790) was an English history of literature, literary historian, critic, and poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate in 1785, following the death of William Whitehead (poet ...

. Elizabeth did write, but she did not publish and her literary influence has been in her willingness to host the evening parties. Her girlish figure and flirtatious wit earned her the nickname of ''

Sylph A sylph (also called sylphid) is an air spirit stemming from the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air. A significant number of subsequent literary and occult works have be ...

''. Elizabeth Vesey's vivacious personality and charm as a hostess made her salon the most memorable of the bluestocking group. One Mary Hamilton recorded her experience there in 1783:

...one meets with a charming variety of society … the Learned, the witty, the old & young, the grave, gay, wise & unwise, the fine bred Man & the pert coxcomb; The elegant female, the chaste Matron, the severe prude, & the pert Miss, but be it remembered that you can run no ''risque'' in Mrs. Vesey's parties of meeting with those who have no claim to respect.Anson and Anson, p132

Demise and death

In 1782 both her own and her husband's health began to fail; she feared she was losing both her sight and hearing and Agmondesham Vesey died on 3 June 1785. Vesey and Miss Handcock were left facing relative poverty when they found that Agmondesham had left them nothing in his will, despite leaving £1000 to his mistress. At the time of their marriage Elizabeth had turned over all her own funds to her new husband. Their only income was Vesey's

jointure Jointure was a legal concept used largely in late mediaeval and early modern Britain, denoting the estate given to a married couple by the husband's family. One of its most important functions was providing a livelihood for the wife if she became ...

and Handcock's

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals based on a contract with a lump sum of money. Insurance companies are common annuity providers and are used by clients for things like retirement or death benefits. Examples ...

which together brought in about £800 a year. Some help was given to the pair by various relatives and in 1788 they were able to move to the house of Vesey's cousin, Lord Cremorne in Chelsea. In Chelsea, Elizabeth became consumed by a tearful depression. Despite brief appearances, she never again assumed the place she had previously held in society. Friends blamed her depression on her lack of religious conviction. Miss Handcock died in January 1789 and Elizabeth followed early in 1791.

References

Bibliography