Georgiana Poyntz, Countess Spencer

Margaret Georgiana Spencer, Countess Spencer (née Poyntz) 8 May 1737 – 18 March 1814), was an English philanthropist. Lady Spencer died on 18 March 1814 at St. Albans, and was buried twelve days later at Brington, Northamptonshire.[1]

She was born at St James's Palace as the daughter of a diplomat and a maid of honour to Caroline of Ansbach. In 1754, she married John Spencer, one of the wealthiest men of the era. A love match, the marriage resulted in the births of three surviving children, who included Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. The Spencers became earl and countess in 1765, a reward granted by the Duke of Newcastle for John's political loyalty to the Whig party.

Lady Spencer was a noted philanthropist, and was in communication with a large network of charitable organisations. Her correspondence with a friend represents the largest private collection of letters in the British Library. Lord and Lady Spencer were generous patrons, and frequently hosted plays and concerts at their London estate, Spencer House, which they built in 1764.

Family

In 1754, seventeen-year-old Georgiana Poyntz met twenty-year-old John Spencer,[4][5] who had inherited enormous wealth from his great-grandmother, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough.[1] She considered him "handsomer than an angel," and they felt an instant attraction for each other.[4][6] She wrote to a friend, "I will own it, and never deny it that I do love Spencer above all men on Earth."[4] Spencer was uncertain if he would have his family's approval for the match and opted to spend several months travelling until his twenty-first birthday, when their approval would no longer be necessary. On his return they recognised their love had persisted, and shortly after his birthday they married in a secret ceremony on 20 December 1755 at Althorp, the Spencer family seat in Northamptonshire.[1][7] The ceremony, held in an upper bedroom, occurred during a ball held in Spencer's honour with five hundred guests in attendance.[8][7]

His marriage to Margaret "was performed privately in his mother's dressing-room at Althorp and 'nobody in the house, though near 500 people, knew anything of the matter' until the Saturday following."7

They had five children, three of whom survived infancy:[7]

Children of John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer and Margaret Georgiana Poyntz:

1. Lady Georgiana Spencer+5 b. 7 Jun 1757, d. 30 Mar 1806
2. George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer+3 b. 1 Sep 1758, d. 10 Nov 1834
3. Lady Henrietta Frances Spencer+8 b. 16 Jun 1761, d. 11 Nov 1821
4. Lady Charlotte Spencer b. 1765, d. 1766
5. Lady Louisa Spencer b. 1769, d. 1769

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgiana_Spencer,_Countess_Spencer
2. https://thepeerage.com/p10510.htm#i105091 cites
   1. [S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume XII/1, page 153. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
   2. [S3409] Caroline Maubois, "re: Penancoet Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 2 December 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Penancoet Family."
   3. [S35] BLG1965 volume 1, page 583, says 27 Dec 1755. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S35]
   4. [S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume XII/1, page 154.
   5. [S37] BP2003 volume 3, page 3695. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S37]
   6. [S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume II, page 171.