Ethel Beatty
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Ethel Newcomb Beatty, Countess Beatty (née Field; 1873 – July 17, 1932) was a
socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...
and a member of the
aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...
. The daughter of American millionaire
Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field's, Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of qua ...
, she enjoyed a lavish lifestyle.


Early life

Ethel was born in
Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...
in 1873. Her parents were
Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field's, Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of qua ...
(1834–1906), the founder of the American firm
Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (colloquially Marshall Field's) was an American department store chain founded in 1852 by Potter Palmer. It was based in Chicago, Illinois and founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, ...
, and his first wife, Nannie Douglas Scott (1840–1896). She had one full brother, Marshall Field Jr.


Personal life

On January 1, 1891, Ethel married Arthur Magie Tree in an opulent ceremony held at the home of her parents, 1905
Prairie Avenue Prairie Avenue is a north–south street on the South Side of Chicago, which historically extended from 16th Street in the Near South Side to the city's southern limits and beyond. The street has a rich history from its origins as a major tra ...
in Chicago. Arthur was the son of American diplomat
Lambert Tree Lambert Tree (November 29, 1832 – October 9, 1910) was a United States state court judge, ambassador, and patron of the arts. The Tree family of America and early life The Tree family of America were amongst the first colonists from Engla ...
and the former Anna Josephine Magie. Together, they were the parents of three children, only one of whom survived to adulthood: * Arthur Ronald Lambert Field Tree (1897–1976), who became a Member of Parliament and, during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
became a link between the British and United States governments, lending his country house,
Ditchley Park Ditchley Park is a country house near Charlbury in Oxfordshire, England. The estate was once the site of a Roman villa. Later it became a royal hunting ground, and then the property of Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley. The 2nd Earl of Lichfield built ...
near
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, to
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
for weekend visits when the official residences were considered unsafe. While married to Tree, she had an affair with British captain David Beatty. Ethel wrote to her husband, telling him that it was her firm intention never to live with him again as his wife, though not naming any particular person or reason. Arthur agreed to co-operate, and filed for divorce in America on the grounds of desertion, which was granted May 9, 1901.


Second marriage

Ten days after her divorce from Tree was made public, she was married to Captain Beatty on May 22, 1901, at the registry office, St. George's, Hanover Square in London with no family attending. The couple had two children: * David Field Beatty (1905–1972), who married four times. * Peter Randolph Louis Beatty (1910–1949), who never married and owned
Mereworth Castle Mereworth Castle is a grade I listed Palladian country house in Mereworth, Kent, England. This source attributes the plasterwork to Francesco Bagutti, but Giovanni Bagutti would appear to be more likely. History Originally the site of a fort ...
. According to
Robert K. Massie Robert Kinloch Massie III (January 5, 1929 – December 2, 2019) was an American journalist and historian. He devoted much of his career to studying and writing about the House of Romanov, Russia's imperial family from 1613 to 1917. Massie was ...
, Ethel Beatty was a poor mother, abandoning her son Ronald from her first marriage; she also left the children of her second marriage with her husband while she went on a gambling trip to
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
in 1912. Peter had birth complications that affected his eyesight and muscle control for the rest of his life, thought to originate from a venereal disease carried by Ethel. It was "generally accepted" in later years that Peter was illegitimate, the father being a "well-known member of the British aristocracy", according to a Beatty family member. In her obituary, it was noted that "her beauty and personality made her one of England's foremost hostesses. She and her husband often entertained King
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...
at shooting parties in Scotland." While David Beatty benefited by Ethel's wealth, it was not a happy marriage, "I am the most unhappy man in the world", David once said, "I have paid terribly for my millions". The result of which was his decade-long love affair with Eugénie Godfrey-Faussett, wife of Captain Bryan Godfrey-Faussett. In 1919, David was raised to the peerage when he became the first Earl Beatty, making Ethel Countess Beatty. After a one-month illness, Lady Beatty died in her sleep on July 17, 1932, at Dingley Hall in
Dingley, Northamptonshire Dingley is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England, located along the A427, about east of the nearest town, Market Harborough. It is also close to the A6 and near the border with Leicestershire. At the time of the 2001 cens ...
. Lord Beatty died in London on March 12, 1936, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son,
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
.


Descendants

Through her eldest son's two marriages (first to Nancy Perkins Field, a niece of Lady
Nancy Astor Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor was born in Danville, Virginia and rai ...
, and second to Marietta Peabody), she was a grandmother of three, Michael Lambert, racehorse trainer Arthur Jeremy Tree, and fashion model
Penelope Tree Penelope Tree (born 2 December 1949) is an English fashion model who rose to prominence during the Swinging Sixties in London. Family Penelope Tree is the only child of Marietta Peabody Tree, a U.S. socialite and political activist, and Ronald, ...
. Through her second son David, who inherited the earldom, she was a grandmother of four, David Beatty, 3rd Earl Beatty, Lady Diana Beatty (wife of Nicolas Gage, 8th Viscount Gage), Hon. Nicholas Duncan Beatty (who married writer Laura Keen, a granddaughter of
Edward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe Edward Richard Assheton Penn Curzon, 6th Earl Howe (7 August 1908 – 29 May 1984), styled Viscount Curzon from 1929 to 1964, was a Royal Navy officer and hereditary peer. Early life and background Curzon was born in St George Hanover Square, L ...
and sister of actor
Will Keen William Walter Maurice Keen (born 4 March 1970)Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 148th edition, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 2011, p. 799 is an English stage, television, and film actor. He has worked in theatre and television in both the United King ...
and poet
Alice Oswald Alice Priscilla Lyle Oswald (née Keen; born 31 August 1966) is a British poet from Reading, Berkshire. Her work won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2002 and the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2017. In September 2017, she was named as BBC Radio 4's second ...
), and Lady Miranda Katherine Beatty (wife of Alan Stewart, youngest son of Sir Dugald Stewart of Appin).


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beatty, Ethel 1873 births 1932 deaths American emigrants to England American socialites
Ethel Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, ...
British countesses Marshall Field family