Dorothy (Fane) Montagu (1717 - 1797)

Born 22 Mar 1717 in London, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of John Montagu — married about 7 Mar 1740 (to 30 Apr 1792) in St James, Westminster, London, England

Descendants

Died 17 Jul 1797 at age 80 in Barnwell, Northamptonshire, England

Biography

Dorothy (Fane) Montagu is Notable.

Dorothy Fane was born on the 22nd of March, 1716/17 to parents Charles Viscount Fane, and his wife, Mary Stanhope. ^[1][2] Dorothy had four siblings who survived into adulthood: Charles Fane, who succeeded his father as the 2nd Viscount Fane^[3], Mary Fane^[4], Elizabeth Fane^[5], and Charlotte Fane. ^[6]

Around her 24th birthday, Dorothy married John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich on the 7th of March 1740/41 in St. James’ church.^{[7] [8]} Dorothy and the Earl’s first son, John, was born 1741/42 and died shortly after birth; his birth was mentioned in a letter dated the 23rd of December written by Horace Walpole to Florence Horace Mann:^[1]

"your friend Lady Sandwich has got a son; if one may believe the belly she wore it is a brave one."^[9]

Their second son was born 26 Jan 1742/43 John Montagu, who would become the 5th Earl of Sandwich.^{[2] [10]}Their third son Edward Montagu was born on the 30th of June 1745^{[11] [12]} , and their fourth son William Augustus ^[10] was born February 1752 and died unmarried June 1776.^[10] The couple had a daughter Mary Montagu born Feb 23, 1748 ^{[13] [14]}, who died in June 1761.^[10]

Dorothy’s health and mental state deteriorated in the years following the birth of her last child, and her relationship with her husband became strained. The Earl of Sandwich had begun an affair with an opera singer Martha Ray that resulted in numerous children and continued until Martha’s murder in 1779.^{[1] [15]}Dorothy separated from her husband around 1755 and was granted an apartment in Windsor Castle with her elder sister Elizabeth^[15], the separation was mentioned in the letters of her cousin by marriage Elizabeth Montagu:

"I suppose you know that Lady Sandwich has at last left her kind Lord. To complete the measure of his good usage, he keeps her daughter [Mary, then aged seven] to educate with the Courtenays. I hope her Ladyship will be happier than she has been for many years, She has nothing to harass her but the apprehensions for Lady Mary, but god knows this is a dreadful object. She has taken a home at Windsor for the summer."^[16]

Dorothy’s brother, Charles the 2nd Viscount Fane, died in 1766 with no heir and his estates in Berkshire (the family lands), Armagh and Limerick were divided between Dorothy and her other sister Mary, married name de Salis. ^[17]

Dorothy died at the age of 80 on the 17th of July, 1797. She was buried in the cemetery at All saints chancel in Barnwell, Northamptonshire alongside her estranged husband the 4th Earl of Sandwich. ^{[18] [15][1]}

Research Notes

• I was unable to locate an exact baptism/birth record, wikipedia says she was baptised on April 27 1717 at St. Giles in the Fields, I looked at the parish records available online for this date and couldn't find her. But most sources corroborate her birth to be around March 22 1717.
• Dorothy's father received a peerage in Ireland in Loughguyre, in the county of Limerick around the time of her birth, so it is possible she was born in Ireland.
• Dorothy is mentioned in this lineage scroll for her sister Mary (Fane) de Salis in the bottom right corner of the image.Prosapia & Insignia Mary Fane II
• I was also unable to locate specific death/burial records. Most sources corroborate her death date as the 17 July 1797, I found mention of her burial in a book written by her descendant and found her on FindaGrave at the same location as her husband.
• Dorothy is frequently referred to as Judith in many of the Peerage books, possibly due to being called Judith in her sons marriage record ^[19] I did try searching for a baptism record under the name Judith Fane as well, but did not have much luck with that in England or Ireland.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Wikipedia contributors, "Dorothy Montagu, Countess of Sandwich," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dorothy_Montagu,_Countess_of_Sandwich&oldid=1027923184 (accessed January 9, 2022).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} John Debrett, Debrett's Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1820, page 181 Google Books (accessed on 10 Jan 2022)
3. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J34G-3JQ : 19 September 2020), Charles Fane in entry for Charles Fane, 1708.
4. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NP2Z-N4Z : 24 October 2021), Charles Fane in entry for Mary Fane, 1710.
5. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NP93-9R3 : 19 September 2020), Charles Fane in entry for Elizabeth Fane, 1711.
6. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JM22-GQX : 24 October 2021), Fane in entry for Charlotte Fane, 1718.
7. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NV59-L98 : 12 March 2020), Dorothy Fane in entry for John, 1740.
8. ↑ Marriage Settlement between Rt. Hon. John, 4th Earl of Sandwich and Rt. Hon. Charles Lord Viscount Fane, Baron of Loughgur in the kingdom of Ireland, and Hon. Dorothy Fane, one of his daughters, spinster. Huntingdonshire, The National Archives. Ref: HINCH 1/12, Date: 13 Mar 1740, (accessed [20 Jan 2022]).
9. ↑ Horace Walpole, The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Oxford, 1 Henry G. Bohn, 1861, Volume 1, Page 220 Google Books accessed on (Jan 13 2022)
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3} J. Stockdale, Stockdale's Peerage of England, Scotland and Ireland: Containing an Account of All the Peers of the United Kingdom London, 1810, Volume 1, Page 85 Google Books accessed on (Jan 9 2022)
11. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQT5-QDS : 21 September 2020), Dorothy Fane in entry for Edward Montagu, 1745.
12. ↑ "England, Middlesex, Westminster, Parish Registers, 1538-1912", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WT8S-6Q6Z : 14 October 2019), Dorothy Montague in entry for Edward Montague, 1745.
13. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQT5-Q6B : 21 September 2020), Dorothy Fane in entry for Mary Montague, 1747.
14. ↑ "England, Middlesex, Westminster, Parish Registers, 1538-1912", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WT83-HMW2 : 14 October 2019), Dorothy Montague in entry for Mary Montague, 1748.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2} Hinchingbrooke by Edward George Henry Montagu 8th Earl of Sandwich, London 1910, page 21-22 HathiTrust (accessed [10 Jan 2022])
16. ↑ Elizabeth Montagu and Emily Climenson, The Queen of the Bluestockings: her Correspondence from 1720 to 1761, 1906, page 69, volume 2 Google Books (accessed 8 Jan 2022)
17. ↑ Charles Lord Viscount Fane in: Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury [database online], The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 917 Free Ancestry Image accessed on Ancestry on (10 Jan 2022)
18. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images Find a Grave : accessed 10 January 2022), memorial page for Dorothy Fane Montagu (1717–17 Jul 1797), Find a Grave Memorial ID 173651560, citing All Saints Chancel, Barnwell, East Northamptonshire Borough, Northamptonshire, England ; Maintained by Todd Whitesides (contributor 47553735) .
19. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N6DC-QLQ : 13 March 2020), Judith Fane or Vane in entry for John Viscount Hinchingbrook Montague, 1772.

• Cokayne, G. E., Complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant; alphabetically arranged and ed. by G. E. C. London: G. Bell & sons, 1825-1911 Volume 3, Page 316 HathiTrust (accessed on 9 Jan 2022)
• Burke, Bernard. A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire. United Kingdom: Harrison, 1866.

Acknowledgements

This profile has been improved by a member of the England Project's Orphan Trail