Melusina de Schulenburg, Countess
of Walsingham (1693-1778)
Born 1 February 1693
Died 16 September 1778
Married 14 May 1733
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, son of
Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Chesterfield and Lady
Elizabeth Savile
Born 22 September 1694
Died 24 March 1773 Chesterfield House, Mayfair
On 7 September 1722 she was created Countess of Walsingham, but after
her marriage she adopted the title of her husband. In 1733 she married
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, but remained childless.
Apparently her dowry was to be œ50,000 down and œ3,000 per annum, payable
during her life out of the civil list revenue in Ireland. Her mother, the
Duchess of Kendal, died in 1743 leaving her only a small part of her immense
wealth. Then both mother and daughter were defrauded of the money left
them by King George I, as his son and successor, George II, burned the
will. However, when the Earl of Chesterfield threatened to take legal proceedings,
George II gave him œ20,000 to keep him quiet.
In 1773 she lost her husband in his seventy-ninth year. Then she followed
him on 16 September 1778, when her Peerage became extinct.
Source: Leo van de Pas
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