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Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll

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For other people named Elizabeth Campbell, seeElizabeth Campbell (disambiguation).

Her Grace

The Duchess of Argyll

CIVA
Born(1824-05-30)30 May 1824
Died25 May 1878(1878-05-25)(aged 53)
London, England
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m.1844)​
IssueJohn Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll
Lord Archibald Campbell
Lord Walter Campbell
Edith Percy, Duchess of Northumberland
Lord George Campbell
Lady Elizabeth Clough-Taylor
Lord Colin Campbell
Lady Victoria Campbell
Lady Evelyn Baillie-Hamilton
Lady Frances Balfour
Lady Mary Glyn
Lady Constance Emmott
FatherGeorge Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland
MotherLady Harriet Howard
OccupationMistress of the RobestoQueen Victoria

Elizabeth Georgiana Campbell, Duchess of ArgyllCIVA(néeLeveson-Gower;30 May 1824 – 25 May 1878) was a British noblewoman andabolitionist.Born into the wealthy Sutherland-Leveson-Gower family, she was the eldest daughter of the2nd Duke of Sutherlandby his wife, the political hostessLady Harriet Howard.In 1844 Elizabeth marriedGeorge Campbell, Marquess of Lorne,eldest son and heir to the7th Duke of Argyll.She became theDuchess of Argyllin 1847 when her husband succeeded his father.

Like her mother, the Duchess of Argyll was a prominentopponent of slavery.The pair helped write a letter titledAn Affectionate and Christian Address of Many Thousands of Women of Great Britain and Ireland to Their Sisters, the Women of the United States of America,calling for an end of slavery; it attracted signatures from 562,848 British women. The two often hosted the American abolitionist and authorHarriet Beecher Stowewhen she visited England. The Duchess and Beecher Stowe were friends and maintained a correspondence.

In 1868, the Duchess of Argyll succeeded theDuchess of WellingtonasMistress of the RobestoQueen Victoria,holding the position until 1870, when she resigned due to ill health. Soon after being appointed a member of the newly createdOrder of the Crown of India,she died in 1878 whilst eating withWilliam Ewart Gladstonein London.

Family and early life[edit]

Lady Elizabeth Georgiana Leveson-Gower was raised amidst great wealth. Her paternal grandmother, the great heiressElizabeth Gordon,wassuo jureCountess of Sutherland, overseeing estates that spanned 800,000 to one million acres ofScottish Highlands.The Sutherland lands were further augmented with Gordon's 1785 marriage toGeorge Leveson-Gower(later 1st Duke of Sutherland).[1]In 1823, their sonGeorgemarriedLady Harriet Howard,daughter ofGeorge Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle.[2][3]Lady Elizabeth Leveson-Gower was born the following year as their eldest daughter, on 30 May 1824.[2][3]Three brothers and two sisters followed.[3]

With family estates in Scotland and England, Elizabeth's upbringing involved much travel. Their main residence was the lavishStafford House,London, which they acquired in 1827; they also resided on many country estates. The couple, especially Harriet, led vibrant social lives.[4]She was a political hostess known for her friendship and position asMistress of the Robesto the youngQueen Victoria.[2][3]In 1833, the 1st Duke died and Elizabeth's father succeeded as 2nd Duke of Sutherland, inheriting extensive property.[5]The historian Eric Richards writes that the first half of the nineteenth century saw the height of the House of Sutherland's social and economic influence, with its wealth being derived from rents, various stocks, and dividends from transportation firms.[6]

Marriage[edit]

Trentham Hall in the 1820s

While accompanying Queen Victoria toTaymouth Castlein 1842, Lady Elizabeth metGeorge Douglas Campbell, Marquess of Lorne,the eldest son of the7th Duke of Argyll.[7]They married at the Leveson-Gower estateTrentham Hallon 31 July 1844.[2][8]TheArchbishop of York,Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt,presided over the wedding.[9]The Argyll estate was in debt, so Elizabeth's wealth was much needed.[10]Their union resulted in the further joining of two of Scotland's largest landowning families.[2]

The young couple was givenRosneathby his father at the time of their marriage.[11]Deeply religious, Elizabeth had been raised in theAnglican faith[12]but converted to theChurch of Scotlandupon her marriage, taking her first communion in the faith later that year.[12]Like many of her predecessors, Elizabeth was a strong supporter of theScottish Episcopal Churchin theDiocese of Argyll and The Isles.[13]The couple possessed similar interest in liberal politics.[14]Elizabeth was dignified and cultured,[15]and Lorne found in his new wife "more than all that had been told me by her numerous friends... On some subjects, excepting philosophy and the natural sciences, she was more widely read than I was at the time."[16]

Duchess of Argyll[edit]

Carte de visite of the Duchess of Argyll

Lorne succeeded his father as 8thDuke of Argyllon 25 April 1847, whereupon Elizabeth becameDuchess of Argyll.[2]The family's primary estates included Argyll Lodge in London, the family seat ofInveraray CastleinArgyllshire,and Rosneath.[14][17]Their first child,John,was born within a year of their marriage. They would have an additional four sons and seven daughters.[2]The Argyll household was sober, proper, and driven by routine with prescribed times for prayer, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.[18]The children were not expected to show emotion such as crying, except for "real causes" like the death of a family pet.[12]The Scottish scholarJohn Stuart Blackieenjoyed the solemnity of the couple's lifestyle and visited them often; he dedicated his 1876 workLanguage and Literature of the Scottish Highlandsto Elizabeth.[18]

The historian Anne Jordan writes that the Duchess was "old before her time," having given birth to twelve children.[15]She suffered from ill health, in part due to an 1868 stroke which left her partially incapacitated;[19]this forced much of the children's upbringing to be overseen by her husband.[2][14]Her third daughterLady Victoria,who also suffered from ill health due to a contraction ofpoliomyelitis,nursed her mother.[19]Once adults, the children's marriage settlements were a drain on the family's resources, with all but one eventually marrying.[15]Their eldest son John married the Queen's fourth daughterPrincess Louisein 1871, and became theGovernor General of Canadain 1878.[20]

Like her mother the Duchess of Sutherland, the Duchess of Argyll was a prominent supporter of the abolitionist movement.[21][22]Elizabeth was one of many British women affected by the 1852 anti-slavery novelUncle Tom's Cabin.The following year at her mother's house, the Duchess helped draft a letter titledAn Affectionate and Christian Address of Many Thousands of Women of Great Britain and Ireland to Their Sisters, the Women of the United States of America.The letter, eventually signed by 562,848 women, called for an end to slavery because the institution did not recognise slave marriages, led to parent-children separations, and prevented slaves from receiving Christian educations.[23]It was sent to the author ofUncle Tom's Cabin,the American abolitionist authorHarriet Beecher Stowe;[23]she and the Duchess of Argyll became friends, and maintained a correspondence.[24]Harriet Beecher Stowe would often visit the duchesses of Sutherland and Argyll when she travelled to England and benefited from their connections to senior politicians.[25]The Duke and Duchess of Argyll were also friends with American politician and anti-slavery leaderCharles Sumner,leading historianAmanda Foremanto write that the "relationship between [the Duke of Argyll] and Sumner would prove to be one of the most important friendships of theCivil War."[26]

In December 1868, Lady Campbell was appointedMistress of the Robesto Queen Victoria, succeedingElizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellingtonas a member ofWilliam Ewart Gladstone'sfirst ministry.[14][27]She resigned the position in 1870 due to ill health,[28]and was succeeded by her sister-in-lawAnne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland.[29]In December 1877, Queen Victoria created theOrder of the Crown of Indiaand conferred it upon the Duchess of Argyll and dozens of other royal and noblewomen.[30]She was also a member of theRoyal Order of Victoria and Albert,Second Class.[31]The Duchess of Argyll died on 25 May 1878, whilst eating with Gladstone in London.[8][2]She is buried atKilmun Parish Church.

Three years later her widower married again, to Amelia Maria, daughter ofThomas Legh Claughton,Bishop of St Albans.[2][32]

Issue[edit]

The Duchess of Argyll with her eldest son,John

The Duke and Duchess of Argyll had 12 children:[20][33][34]

References[edit]

  1. ^Richards 2013,pp. 9–11.
  2. ^abcdefghijMatthew 2004.
  3. ^abcdReynolds 2004.
  4. ^Richards 2013,pp. 12–13, 16.
  5. ^Richards 2013,p. 11.
  6. ^Richards 2013,p. 13.
  7. ^Beard 1998,p. 149.
  8. ^abCampbell 2004,p. 295.
  9. ^Campbell 1906,p. 263.
  10. ^Jordan 2010,p. 18.
  11. ^Campbell 1906,pp. 265–66.
  12. ^abcKnox 2006,p. 99.
  13. ^Strong 2002,p. 273.
  14. ^abcdReynolds 1998,p. 222.
  15. ^abcJordan 2010,p. 19.
  16. ^Campbell 1906,p. 264.
  17. ^Jordan 2010,p. 21.
  18. ^abWallace 2006,p. 289.
  19. ^abcHuffman 2004.
  20. ^abWaite 2004.
  21. ^Knox 2006,p. 40.
  22. ^Reynolds 1998,p. 125.
  23. ^abHamand Venet 1991,p. 69.
  24. ^Hamand Venet 1991,pp. 75–76.
  25. ^Reynolds 1998,pp. 123–24.
  26. ^Foreman 2012,p. 35.
  27. ^Behan 1870,p. 1196.
  28. ^Somerset 2004,p. 182.
  29. ^Reynolds 1998,p. 233.
  30. ^Lawrence-Archer 1877,pp. 335–36.
  31. ^Burke 1914,p. 121.
  32. ^Jordan 2010,p. 33.
  33. ^Campbell 2004,pp. 295–96.
  34. ^Dod's Peerage,p. 635.
Works cited

External links[edit]

Court offices
Preceded by Mistress of the Robes
1868–1870 		Succeeded by

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