River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-02-26
MISS BURDETT. COUTTS.
How She Came into Possession OF Her
Vast Fortune.

HOW she tame into EOsScS SlOn vi Hti
Vast Fortune.
Boston Herald.
Miss Burdett- Coutts, known as the
richest single woman in England, and
as person of such liberality in the dis
tritution of her vast wealth as to COM
mend her to the admiration ofthe civil
lied world, came into possession Of her
fortune in a very interesting manner.
She Seems to prefer the simple title of
Miss Coutts to that of Baroness Coutts,
conferred upon her by Queen Victoria
in 1871. in consideration of her munifi-
cent public charities. Miss Coutts
lived in rather straitened circumstances
during ker early years, inheriting no
property from her rich grandfather,
Thomas Coutts, the eminent banker,
born in 174l. AT the death of his broth
er Peter, Mr.. Coutts assumed the entire
direction of the firm, which, under his
control, rose to its highest prosperity.
He was a gentleman in manners, hos
pitality, and benevolence, and counted
among his friends some of the first liter
arq men and actors of his day. Soon
after his settlement in London he mar
re CxlIZd DSll DNhl hCN4 SlAA va
bic origin. They lived happily together,
ana had three daughters-Susan, who
married the Earl of Guilford, Francis,
who married the marquis of Butte, and
Sophia, mother OF the subject OF this
sketch, who married Sir Francis Bur-
delte, the member Of Parliament who
proposed the celebrated inquiry into
tho state of Coldbath Fields Prison,
which resulted in the dismissal of the
keeper and the complete reformation Of
the regulations OF that prison. He
doubtless transmitted to his celebrated
daughter many ofhis benevolent virtues.
Soon after the death of Mrs. Coutts, in
1916, Mr.. Coutts fell ir love with the
beautiful and accomplished Miss Har-
riet Mellon, a very popular actress in
comedy i'll the early part Of this cen
fury. This lady was born in l775, and
was so much younger than her opulent
sutton that she declined the match,
representing that the forty-four years
difference in their ages made too great
9 barrier to be surmounted. Tie
enamored millionaire, however, sue
cessfully persisted in his suit, and Miss
Mellon became the happy wife of Mr..
Coutts. In consequence Of The violent
opposition of his three daughters to his
union with Miss Mellon. Mr.. Coutts
disinherted them, aud made his wife
SOLE MISTRESS OF HIS COLOSSAL FORTUNE
/ at his decease. About five years after
| the death of Mr.. Coutts his widow mar
ried the Duke Of St. Adams, grand
fa.coner of England, who was much
yoanger than Mrs. Coutts. At her death
she left the Duke an income of $780,
| 0Q0 year, and life interest in some
| landed estate. With this exc 4ption
| she, from a delicate sense of justice,
! beQueathed the entire fortune which
! she derived from Mr.. Coutts to his
granddaughter, Angela Burdette,
youngest daughter of Sir Francis Bur
dette
The Duchess of ST. Adams, in be.
queathing her fortune to Miss Angela
| Burdotte, desired her to take the name
of Coutts. This lady was born in 1914,
! and received the vast legacy $4,000
0OG in 1887, since which time she has
been
! CONSPICUOUS FOR HFR CHARITABLE DEEDS
and humanitarian schemes. Her
| liberalty in establishing the corps of
nurses under Florence Nightingale, in
| the Crimean war, is familiar to every
one. She is said to spend her entire
income, 81 coo, 900 or 81 200, 600 year,
in her phllanthropic projects. She is
an unfailing friend to the poor, q pro-
tectOr of dumb animals, and founder
of churches and schools. In 1847, ten
years after obtaining her fortune, she
endowed a church, with parsonage and
| schools attached, in Rochester Row,
one of the most neglected parts OF Lon
don. She also established the drinking
fountains which are such blessing TO
weary pedestrians; also the coffee sa-
looms, which are such aids to the tenn
perance movement. She is so much
reverenced and beloved by all classes
that the very populace, when exasper-
ated by poverty to extreme measures
Of violence, protested that no.. hand
should be raised against the peace of
their benefactor. The benefcent lady,
| who has spest her wealth so freely for
the Improvement of human welfare, is
by no means ayerse to the pleasures OF
life. She has just been seeking a little
healthy recreation in yacht voyage up
the Mediterranean with party of dis
tinguished guests, one Of whom, Mr..
Henry Irving, of the Lyceum, had an
opportunity thus given him of survey
ing the identical scenes which he 80
forcibly portrays in enacting the part
of Shylock in the Merchant of
Venice" After returning from the
sunny South and re-entering the
Thames, her ladyship's commodious
, steamer lay a week off Gravesend,
where she and her companions had
leisure to study the vast maritime,
coasting and river traffic ofthe port of
London, which had great interests to
Miss Coutts, as the condition OF those
employed in it had long engaged her
kindly attention.