Social Victorians/People/Mayo

Also Known As

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  • Family name: Bourke [pronounced burk][1]
  • See also the Bourke page
  • Earl of Mayo (in the Peerage of Ireland)
    • Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo (12 August 1867 – 8 February 1872)
    • Dermot Robert Wyndham Bourke, 7th Earl of Mayo (8 February 1872 – 31 December 1927)
  • Baron Connemara
    • Robert Bourke, 1st and last Baron Connemara (12 May 1887 – 3 September 1902)[2]
  • The Hon. Algernon Bourke
  • Lady Florence Bourke

Overview

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Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo was assassinated while inspecting a convict settlement at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands. Robert Bourke, 1st Baron Connemara and Lady Susan Georgiana Ramsay divorced in a sensational case in which she successfully sued for divorce on the grounds of adultery (with her maid Hannah Moore) and cruelty (infecting her with venereal disease).

Algernon Bourke, 3rd son of the 6th Earl, was successful in the stock market and, by and large, in business.

In 1912, when Blanche, Dowager Countess of Mayo was 86 years old, the Woodford Times summarized her like this:

The Dowager Countess of Mayo and Lady Costance Mure the only surviving daughters of the first Lord Leconfield, the inheritor of the famous house and estate of Petworth, and consequently aunts of Mr. George Wyndham. Their mother was one of the Blunts. of Crabbet Park, Sussex, which makes them kinswomen of Mr. Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, poet, Egyptophil and counsel for Arabi Pasha is his trial. The Dowager Lady Mayo is the widow — as she has been for forty years past — of the Governor-General of India, who was assassinated while on a tour of the Andamas Islands. Subsequently the Government voted her a pension, which she still enjoys. She was an extra woman of the Bedchamber for over a quarter of a century, and until the death of Queen Victoria. Beside Lord Mayo, her children are the Hon. Algernon Bourke, who was at one time on the Stock Exchange; Lady Eva Wyndham-Quin; Lady Florence Bourke; and the Hon. Terence Bourke, who is British Vice-Consul at Bizerta.[3]

Acquaintances, Friends and Enemies

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Timeline

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1863 November 21, Robert Bourke and Lady Susan Georgiana Ramsay married.[4]

1872 February 8, Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo was assassinated while inspecting a "convict settlement at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands ... by Sher Ali Afridi, a former Afghan soldier."[5]

1872 November 20, Hon. Edward Roden Bourke and Emma Mary Augusta Hatch married.[6]

1880 February 4, Wednesday, ball at Palmerstown House hosted by the Earl of Mayo:

A grand ball was given on Wedneeday night at Palmerstown House, the seat of the Earl of Mayo. The ball was given by the noble earl to the friends and admirers of his father, in acknowledgment of their munificence in erecting, by subscription, a new family mansion as a memorial to the late earl. The new house, which is to be called the Memorial House, has just been completed. It is a handsome building, picturesquely situated on an elevated site, a short distance from the old mansion. The large hall, which is to be called the Memorial Hall, was set apart as the ballroom. It was handsomely decorated with evergreens, exotics, &c., and when lit up in the most effective and tasteful style, presented a gay and brilliant appearance. A distinguished company have been staying at Palmerstown House, including the Marchioness of Blandford, Lady Georgina Spencer Churchill, the Hon. Algernon Bourke, Lady Margaret Bourke, Lord Capel, Mr. George Darner, Hon. Charles Lascelles, Hon. Henry and Mrs. Henry Bourke, the Countess of Stradbroke, Lady Sophia Rous [?], the Marchioness of Conyngham and the Ladies Conyngham, Lord Arthur Butler, the Hon. Bernard and Hon. Mrs. FitzPatrick, Mr. lon Trant Hamilton, M.P., and Mrs. Hamilton. Amongst those invited were:— The Duke and Duchess of Leinster, and the Ladies Fitzgerald, the Marquis of Kildare, the Marquis and Marchioness of Drogheda, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Skeffington Smyth, Mrs. and Miss Kavanagh, Borris House; Colonel Thackwell, 38th Regiment, and Mrs. Thackwell, the officers 38th Regt., &c.[7]

1886 July 27, Tuesday, the Bourkes attended a service honoring a memorial at St. Paul's for the Earl of Mayo, who had been assassinated

A memorial erected to the late Earl of Mayo was unveiled yesterday in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral, by Lord Cranbrook. Among those present were — The Dowager Countess of Mayo, Lord and Lady Drogheda, Lord and Lady Ashbourne, Lord Headfort, Lord John Manners, M.P.; Lord Barrington, Lord Leconfield, Lord and Lady Mayo, Right Hon. Beresford Hope, M.P.; Lord Stalbridge, Sir Peter Lumsden, Sir Owen Burne, Colonel Nigel Kingscote, Hon. Percy Wyndham, Mr. Henry Doyle, Mr. George Batten, Mr. E. Lawson, the Right Hon. Gerard Noel, General Fraser, V.C., M.P.; Canon Liddon, Mr. Algernon Bourke, Lady Florence Bourke, and the late Lord Mayo’s six brothers — General Bourke, Right Hon. Robert Bourke, M.P.; Rev. George Bourke, Mr. Charles Bourke, C.B.; Major Bourke, and Mr. Henry Bourke. The following is the inscription at foot of the monument:— "Sacred to the memory of Richard South [sic] well Bourke, Earl of Mayo, and for nearly four years Viceroy of India. He discharged the duties of his high office with conspicuous ability. Wise, kindly, just, and energetic, he won the affection of those about him, and the respect of neighbouring Princes; his work for his God and his Queen thus begun was laid aside when, struck down, alas! by the hand of assassin, he yielded up his soul to Christ on the 8th of February, 1872."[8]

1887 December 15, Hon. Algernon Bourke and Guendoline Stanley married.[9]

1889 June 8, Saturday, the Earl of Mayo contributed some art he owned to the collection of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water-Colours' exhibition of "the works of the 'English Humourists in Art.'"

1890 November 27, Robert Bourke, 1st Baron Connemara and Lady Susan Georgiana Ramsay divorced in a sensational case in which she successfully sued for divorce on the grounds of adultery (with her maid Hannah Moore) and cruelty (infecting her with venereal disease).[10] This story is repeated essentially verbatum in a number of newspapers.

1892 March 5, Saturday, two generations of men of the Bourke family are mentioned in this article reporting on "the first reverse" in Capt. the Hon. Maurice Bourke's career. Notable is that the Bourkes were "one of the first aristocratic families of which the members took to the Stock Exchange."

Capt. the Hon. Maurice Bourke, who has just been reprimanded in connection with the stranding of the Victoria, is the brother of the present Lord Mayo, and comes of an enterprising family. The Bourkes have pushed their way with remarkable energy in various professions, but are specially noticeable as one of the first aristocratic families of which the members took to the Stock Exchange. Before the Bourkes took it up the "house" was at a discount in Belgravia; it is now at a premium. Both Mr. Henry Bourke and Major Edward Bourke, uncles of Captain Bourke, and Mr. Algernon Bourke, his brother, have reaped considerable incomes as the fruits of their enterprise. Captain Bourke has been singularly lucky In the navy in the matter of promotion, being one of those fortunate mariners who have served on the Queen's yacht. This is the first reverse in his career.[11]

1894 January 31, Wednesday, Dermot, Earl of Mayo and Geraldine, Countess of Mayo hosted the Kildare Hunt Ball.

1894 October 10, Lady Susan Georgiana Ramsay Bourke and Surgn.-Lt.-Col. William Hamilton Broun married.[4]

1894 October 22, Robert Bourke, 1st Baron Connemara and Gertrude Lawrence Knight Walsh married.[12]

1895 April 27, Saturday, Norah Mary Madeline Bourke and Mr. Henry Lindsay married.[13]

1897 July 2, Algernon Bourke and Guendoline Sloane-Stanley Bourke attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House.

1908 August 5, Emma Mary Augusta Hatch Bourke and Edward Hyde Villiers, 5th Earl of Clarendon married.[6]

Demographics

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  • Nationality: Anglo-Irish[14]

Residences

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  • London: 20 Eaton Square, S.W. (in 1897)[15]
  • Ireland: Palmerstown House (built in 1872 by the 7th Earl in honor of his father after his assassination), Palmerstown, County Galway[1]
  • Ireland: 1873: Palmerston House, Straffan, Co. Kildare[16]

Family

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  • Robert Bourke, 5th Earl of Mayo (12 January 1797 – 12 August 1867)[17]
  • Anne Charlotte Jocelyn ( – 26 January 1867)[18]
    1. Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo (21 February 1822 – 8 February 1872)
    2. Lt.-Gen. John Jocelyn Bourke (5 October 1823 – 25 September 1904)
    3. Robert Bourke, 1st and last Baron Connemara (11 June 1827 – 3 September 1902)
    4. Rev. Hon. George Wingfield Bourke (16 February 1829 – 9 October 1903)
    5. Hon. Charles Fowler Bourke (5 September 1832 – 4 April 1899)
    6. Major Hon. Edward Roden Bourke (13 December 1835 – 7 June 1907)
    7. Hon. Henry Lorton Bourke (26 September 1840 – 30 January 1911)


  • Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo (21 February 1822 – 8 February 1872)[19]
  • Hon. Blanche Julia Wyndham (21 November 1826 – 31 January 1918)[20]
  1. Lady Eva Constance Aline Bourke ( – 19 January 1940)[21]
  2. unknown daughter Bourke
  3. Dermot Robert Wyndham Bourke, 7th Earl of Mayo (2 July 1851 – 31 December 1927)
  4. Captain Hon. Sir Maurice Archibald Bourke (22 December 1853 – 16 September 1900)
  5. Hon. Algernon Henry Bourke (31 December 1854 – 7 April 1922)
  6. Lady Florence Blanche Bourke (16 August 1861 – 1953)
  7. Hon. Terence Theobald Bourke (2 April 1865 – 13 May 1923)


  • Dermot Robert Wyndham Bourke, 7th Earl of Mayo (2 July 1851 – 31 December 1927)[22]
  • Geraldine Sarah Ponsonby ( – 29 November 1944)[23]


  • Robert Bourke, 1st and last Baron Connemara (11 June 1827 – 3 September 1902)[2]
  • Lady Susan Georgiana Ramsay ( – 22 January 1898)[4] [she remarried as well]
  • Gertrude Lawrence Knight Walsh (baptised 13 August 1833 – 23 November 1898)[12] [he was her 2nd husband as well]


  • Emma Mary Augusta Hatch (1855 – 9 March 1935)[6]
  • Major Hon. Edward Roden Bourke (13 December 1835 – 7 June 1907)[24]
    1. Norah Mary Madeline Bourke ( – 20 June 1948)
    2. Madeline Emmie Louisa Bourke ( – 5 August 1961)
    3. Cecil Richard Donoughmore Bourke (29 Sep 1875 – 30 November 1884)
    4. Anne Kathleen Julia Bourke (c. 1878 – 16 March 1935)
    5. Lt.-Col. Nigel Edward Jocelyn Bourke (21 August 1886 – 27 September 1970)
  • Edward Hyde Villiers, 5th Earl of Clarendon


  • Hon. Algernon Henry Bourke (31 December 1854 – 7 April 1922)[25]
  • Guendoline Irene Emily Sloane-Stanley Bourke (c. 1869 – 30 December 1967)[9]
  1. Daphne Marjory Bourke (5 April 1895 – 22 May 1962)

Biographical Materials

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Questions and Notes

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Footnotes

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  1. 1.0 1.1 "Earl of Mayo". Wikipedia. 2024-05-07. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earl_of_Mayo&oldid=1222668659.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_of_Mayo.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Robert Bourke, 1st and last Baron Connemara." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-08-25. https://www.thepeerage.com/p5752.htm#i57514.
  3. "The Dowager Countess of Mayo ...." Woodford Times 29 November 1912, Friday: 6 [of 8], Col. 6c [of 7]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004344/19121129/159/0006. Print n.p.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Lady Susan Georgiana Ramsay." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-08-25. https://www.thepeerage.com/p23213.htm#i232124.
  5. "Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo". Wikipedia. 2024-12-01. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bourke,_6th_Earl_of_Mayo.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bourke,_6th_Earl_of_Mayo.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Emma Mary Augusta Hatch." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-08-27. https://www.thepeerage.com/p5751.htm#i57507.
  7. "Ball at Palmerstown House." Kilkenny Moderator 07 February 1880, Saturday: 2 [of 4], Col. 7c [of 7]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002957/18800207/028/0002. Print title: Kilkenny Moderator and Leinster Advertiser, n.p.
  8. "Memorial to the Late Earl of Mayo." Northern Whig 28 July 1886, Wednesday: 6 [of 8], Col. 6b [of 7]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000434/18860728/143/0006. Print p. 6.
  9. 9.0 9.1 "Guendoline Irene Emily Stanley." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  10. "Another Society Scandal. Connemara Divorce Suit. Shocking Disclosures." South Wales Echo 27 November 1890 Thursday: 3 [of 4], Cols. 2a–3a [of 8]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000902/18901127/031/0003.
  11. "Captain. the Hon. Maurice Bourke." Carlow Nationalist 05 March 1892, Saturday: 9 [of 10], Col. 2b [of 5]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004580/18920305/082/0009. Print title Supplement to the Nationalist and Leinster Times; n. p.
  12. 12.0 12.1 "Gertrude Lawrence Knight Walsh." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-08-25. https://www.thepeerage.com/p23213.htm#i232125.
  13. "Mr. Henry E. A. Lindsay to Miss Norah M. M. Bourke." Gentlewoman 11 May 1895 Saturday: 97 [of 133], Col. 1c–2a [of 3]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003340/18950511/437/0097.
  14. "Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo". Wikipedia. 2020-11-14. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Bourke,_6th_Earl_of_Mayo&oldid=988654078. 
  15. Who's who (in en). A. & C. Black. 1897. https://books.google.com/books?id=Pl0oAAAAYAAJ.  712, Col. 1b.
  16. Cambridge University Alumni, 1261–1900. Via Ancestry.
  17. "Robert Bourke, 5th Earl of Mayo." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-08-25. https://www.thepeerage.com/p4710.htm#i47094.
  18. "Anne Charlotte Jocelyn." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-08-25. https://www.thepeerage.com/p4710.htm#i47095.
  19. "Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  20. "Hon. Blanche Julia Wyndham." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  21. "Lady Eva Constance Aline Bourke." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  22. "Dermot Robert Wyndham Bourke, 7th Earl of Mayo." The Peerage: A Genealogical Survey of the Peerage of Britain as well as the Royal Families of Europe. Person page 14031, Person 140310. https://www.thepeerage.com/p14031.htm#i140310.
  23. "Geraldine Sarah Ponsonby." The Peerage: A Genealogical Survey of the Peerage of Britain as well as the Royal Families of Europe. Person page, 14031, Person 140309. https://www.thepeerage.com/p14031.htm#i140309.
  24. "Major Hon. Edward Roden Bourke." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-08-27. https://www.thepeerage.com/p2096.htm#i20954.
  25. "Hon. Algernon Henry Bourke." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2020-12-10.