Frances Nelson
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (December 2022) |
The Viscountess Nelson | |
---|---|
Born | Frances Herbert Woolward 1758 |
Died | 4 May 1831 (aged 72 or 73) Harley Street, London, England |
Nationality | British |
Other names | Frances Nisbet |
Spouses | Josiah Nisbet
(m. 1779; died 1781)Horatio Nelson (m. 1787; died 1805) |
Children | 1 |
Frances "Fanny" Nelson, Viscountess Nelson, Duchess of Bronte[a] (née Frances Herbert Woolward, formerly Nisbet; (1758 – 4 May 1831)) was the wife of Horatio Nelson, the British naval officer who won several victories over the French during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Born of wealthy parents on Nevis, she was orphaned at a fairly young age, and married a doctor, Josiah Nisbet. The couple returned to England, but her new husband died there, and Frances returned to Nevis to live with her uncle, a prominent politician of the island. There she met Horatio Nelson, and married him in 1787. The couple moved to England, and Fanny established a household and cared for her husband's elderly father while he was at sea. She was, by all accounts, a devoted wife, but in time Horatio met Emma Hamilton while serving in the Mediterranean, and the two embarked in a highly public affair. Fanny became estranged from her husband, who refused all contact with her through to his death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Despite this, Fanny remained devoted to his memory for the rest of her life.
Family and early life
Frances was born on the Caribbean island of
Fanny's father, William Woolward, was a senior judge on Nevis, and a partner in the firm of Herbert, Morton and Woolward.
Fanny's mother died while Fanny was still a child and her father succumbed to tetanus in February 1779, at the age of 53.[1] Fanny inherited most of her father's possessions, but was forced to sell most of them to creditors. She raised a tablet to her parents' memory in the local church, and on 28 June 1779 married the 31-year-old physician Dr Josiah Nisbet.[1]
Josiah had connections with the political elite of the island, and was probably fairly wealthy. The couple moved to England and lived briefly in the
Return to Nevis
Fanny and her infant son returned to Nevis and lived with her uncle, John Richardson Herbert, at his house Montpelier. Herbert was by now himself President of the Council of Nevis, and one of the frequent guests to his house was a young naval captain who was stationed off the island, Horatio Nelson.[3]
The widowed Fanny was described as young and pretty, while her availability and position as likely to inherit a substantial portion of her uncle's estate made her an attractive match for Nelson.
Nelson made frequent visits to Nevis after meeting Fanny for the first time, and by June 1785 had decided to ask her to marry him. By August Nelson had proposed, and Fanny had accepted, but there was still the question of obtaining the blessing of the relatives, and of raising money.[5] Fanny's uncle promised them money on his death but could give them little in the short term; Nelson's relations also could not provide material support in the immediate future. By early 1786, Nelson had been moved to Barbados, where he engaged in legal struggles with the prize courts and other distractions, though he wrote often to Fanny on Nevis. He was able to return to Nevis in early 1787 while touring the islands with Prince William Henry, and there he determined to marry Fanny.[6]
Marriage ceremony
Nelson and Frances were married at the Montpelier Estate on the island of Nevis on 11 March 1787.
The day after Nelson's marriage to Frances, Nelson's friend and colleague Thomas Pringle wryly remarked that the navy had lost its 'greatest ornament', so expressing his concern that a wife got in the way of a successful naval career.[6] Prince William Henry wrote to Samuel Hood saying 'He is in for it now. I wish him well and happy, and that he may not repent the step he has taken.'[7] Nelson returned to England in July at the completion of his West Indies service, with Frances following later.[8]
Settling in England
The couple initially visited Horatio's relatives in
She saw little of her family during the long periods that kept them at sea, and became ever closer with Edmund, taking trips with him to
Displaced by Lady Hamilton
Fanny helped treat Horatio's wound, and on his recovering and returning to sea in 1798, she returned to the domestic life. The defeat of the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile brought her husband back into public attention. However, he had by now met Emma, Lady Hamilton, the wife of the British ambassador to Naples, Sir William Hamilton. Fanny and Horatio gradually became estranged as Horatio commenced an extramarital affair with Emma, who came to despise Fanny. In letters to Nelson's relatives, Lady Hamilton referred to Fanny as that 'vile Tom Tit', while Josiah Nisbet was called a 'squinting brat'.[16] Lady Hamilton also declared that Horatio's father Reverend Edmund Nelson had been taken in by 'a very wicked, artful woman', who had conspired to turn him against his son.[16] Meanwhile, Nelson grew increasingly cold and distant toward Fanny, while his trysts with Lady Hamilton became more and more the subject of gossip.[17] As time passed, Nelson began to hate even being in the same room as his wife. Events came to a head around Christmas 1800, when, according to Nelson's solicitor, Fanny issued an ultimatum to her husband. Nelson replied:
I love you sincerely but I cannot forget my obligations to Lady Hamilton or speak of her otherwise than with affection and admiration.[18]
The two never lived together again after this.[18]
Heartbroken, Fanny wrote letters begging her husband to end his relationship with Lady Hamilton and return to her. Nelson, however, returned them unopened. Fanny was taken in by Reverend Edmund Nelson, and she spent most of her time with him in Bath, while her husband's open cohabitation with Lady Hamilton scandalised polite society.[19] Edmund Nelson remained especially horrified by the breakdown of his son's marriage, and wrote to Horatio on occasion to rebuke him, both for adultery and abandonment of his wife.[citation needed]
After Trafalgar
Fanny Nelson fell ill in 1805, the year of her husband's death at Trafalgar, but recovered.[20] From then on she was in indifferent health. She moved to Paris for a time to live with her son, where her eldest grandchild, also named Fanny, recalled her good nature and her devotion to her husband's memory.[20] She would often kiss a miniature of him, once telling the younger Fanny 'When you are older little Fan, you may know what it is to have a broken heart.' Fanny Nelson returned to England and settled at Exmouth, first at The Beacon (commemorated by a blue plaque), and later at Louisa Place.[21]
In 1830, her son Josiah died, and Lady Nelson returned to live in London. She died at Harley Street, London, on 4 May 1831 and was buried beside her son in the churchyard of St Margaret and St Andrew, Littleham, Devon.[20]
Notes
- ^ Title in the nobility of Sicily.
References
- ^ a b c d e Sugden 2004, p. 309
- ^ White 2003
- ^ a b c d Sugden 2004, p. 310
- ^ a b Sugden 2004, p. 311
- ^ Sugden 2004, p. 312
- ^ a b c d e f g Sugden 2004, p. 351
- ^ Sugden 2004, p. 352
- ^ Sugden 2004, p. 366
- ^ a b Sugden 2004, p. 381
- ^ Sugden 2004, p. 390
- ^ Sugden 2004, p. 420
- ^ Sugden 2004, p. 454
- ^ Sugden 2004, p. 536
- ^ Sugden 2004, p. 716
- ^ Hibbert 1994, p. 128
- ^ a b Hibbert 1994, p. 299
- ^ Hibbert 1994, p. 230
- ^ a b Hibbert 1994, p. 235
- ^ Oman 1987, p. 350
- ^ a b c Hibbert 1994, p. 409
- ^ "Famous ladies of Exmouth: Viscountess Nelson of the Nile". Exmouth Journal. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-201-40800-3.
- Oman, Carola (1987). Nelson. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-40672-4.
- Sugden, John (2004). Nelson - A Dream of Glory. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 978-0-224-06097-4.
- S2CID 161384767.
External links
- Media related to Frances Nelson at Wikimedia Commons