The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-08-21
THE BARONESS LOVE.
The Richest Woman in All England

est, the reported engagement of the Baron.
ess Burdett-Couts and Mr.. William Ash,
mead Bartlett, a Philadelphia gentleman, has
been made. The lady was born in 1874, and
the gentleman In 1851.
The lady, who is believed to be the rich,
est subject in England, is honored wherever
her name is known for her widespread and
iudieious benevolence, in public and in pri-
yate. 1t has been estimated that her capital
amounts to about e5,000,OO0. In additi on
she has principal in Coutts' bank, SO
Strand, London, and her yearly income from
that long established and most successful
business must be considerable. The whole
of her property has come to her
bv bequest from Harriet Mellon, who inher-
tied it from the late Mr.. Thomas Coutts,
whose wife she became in March, 1915. AT
that time the lady was on the sunny side of
40, and the banker bridegroom was 81. He
died in 1922, leaving his immense fortune to
his widow. In 1927 she married the ninth
duke of st. Adams, born in 1901. This
union terminated ten years later by her death.
Here are two ill-assorted but happy maria
ges, as estimated by the ages of the parties,
and there will be third with the lady 60
and the gentleman only 26), should Lacy
Burdett Ooutts be united TO Mr.. Bartlett.
THE DUCHESS WILL.
The will of the duchess of st. Adams, de-
posted and registered in the prerogative
nf (inptarhnru bA
18th of March, 1887. The testator died in
the following August. The sum of 100000
was left to Lady Burdett the late Thomas
Coutts, youngest daughter and mother of
Miss Angela Georgina Burdett, to whom the
duchess bequeathed all her watches, jewels,
trinkets and ornaments Of the person. The
rest Of her estate, personal and real,
including the banking house and business
in the Strand, was left to Angela
Georgina Burdett "unul she shall marry or
die, which shall first happen" for her sep
arate USE with her interest in the bank "to
such one son" of the said Angela sin the
event of his attaining or having attained the
sge of q years, but not otherwise" and, if
there should be no such son, then in success
sion to johanna Francis and Clara Maria
other granddaughters of Thomas Coutts and
offspring of Sir Francis and Lady Burdett
and 10 default of either of these leaving an
heir Of her body, to two godsons of Mr..
Coutts, each of whom was to take his sur
NJ me.
Next came the important proviso that, in
case any of the females and males named MS
inheri.ors "shall intermarry with any person
being by birth an alien, and whether such
person shall or shall not have obtained let
tiers of denization, or have been Gaturalized,"
then the requests, including the shares in
the banking business, should pass to the per-
son or persons for the time being next or en-
titled in remainder or expectancy.
Hence, Mr.. Bartlett comes under the des-
ignation IAN alien or naturalzed subject" it
is clear that, by her marriage with him,
Lady Burdett-Coutts must certainly forfeit
her interest in the bank and probably in the
real estate also. The personal property left
by the testator amounted to under G600 600.
To this, no doubt, large additions have been
made year after year since 1887.
Thomas Coutts, from whom all this wealth
came, was one of four sons of a merchant in
Edinburgh. His brother James, banker in
London, admitted him into partnership at SO
Strand, and soon after Thomas married
respectable and handsome young woman,
who had charge of his niece. She died early
in 1915, in lunatic condition, and soon after
Mr.. Coutts took to wife Harriet Mellon, an
actress, to whom, on his death, seven years
later, he bequeathed every thing he had in the
world. In 1927 she became duchess of st.
Adams By marriage and died in 1887.
THOMAS coUTTs' WIFE.
Miss Mellen, born in 1777, was put on the
stage at the early age OF 5. In great
measure self.educated, and gifted with intel
lgence, high spirits, great initiative power,
and memory which truly was "easy to re-
ceive and marble to retain," she so rapidly
advanced that at the age of IS she had an
engagement at Drury Lane, where Miss Far
rem and Mrs. Jordan were the leading ladies.
At last, in 1906, her performance of Vio-
lante, in Tobin's comedy of "The Honey
moon," was so good that she was placed in
the front rank. She retired from the stage
just before the long-expected death of the
first Mrs. Coutts, and after Miss Fsrren, I'M
der like circumstances, having long waited
for death vacancy, became a countess by
marriage with the twelfth earl of Derby.
The fortune to which Miss Angelica Geor-
giana Burdett succeeded, by the liberal be-
quest of the duchess of St. Adams, was esti-
mated at that time august, 1877 as
amounting to el,SO0000. The weight of
this enormous sum in gold, it was carefully
calculated. was 10 tons, 7 hundredweight,
quarters and II pounds. 1t would require
lO7 able men to carry it, surprising that the
burthen of each was 2S9 pounds, which is
equivalent to the weight of sack of -four
according TO custom of England at that
time. Some approIimating idea Of the
vastnes of this sum may be obtained by TAX
ing into account that counting at the rate
Of sixty sovcreigns in minute for
eight hours day and six days in the week
It would take ten weeks, two days and four
hours to accomplish the task In sovereigns,
Oy themost exact computation, each mess
uring In diameter seventeen-twenteths ofan
men and placed to touch each other, it would
extend to the length Of "a miles, 260 yards,
and IN silver crown pieces to 1871 miles and
260 yards. 1t is a singular fact that James
Wood, sole proprietor of the old Gloucester
bank in England, which had been established
BY his grandfather in 17l6, left precisely the
same vast sum on his death in April, 1886.
de was miser, this Jenny Wood" as
he was usually designated, which neither
Thomas Coutts nor his widow ever
was, their use of money being liberal and
even generous. Wood, being afraid OF the
expense of employing a lawyer, made his
own will, and as the old saying IL, chad a
fool for his client" He made several g Ills Of
q conlctinp character ont Of u,b;ol L.,