Volume 14 , Issue 11

100 Years Ago Today - March 12, 1912

The Democratic Banner, dated Tuesday, 12 March 1912, out of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, had an interesting headline that caught my interest because of the name of Warwick. Before we present the 1912 article and Lady Warwick, let us look at some history of the Earls of Warwick Castle.

Medieval Earldom For Warwick Castle

The medieval earldom for Warwick Castle was created in 1088, traditionally associated with the possession of Warwick Castle. It was held to be inheritable through a female line of descent, held by members of several families. The first Earl of Warwick was Henry de Beaumont, younger son of Roger de Beaumont, Count of Meulan and brother to Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester. The family name of Beaumont was Latinised to de Bello Monte ("from the beautiful mountain"). The family was also known as de Newburgh, Latinised to de Novo Burgo ("from the new borough/town"). Henry changed his named to de Newburgh, after the Castle de Neubourg, his home in Normandy. Henry became constable of Warwick Castle in 1068 and Earl in 1088 as reward for his support for the King during the Rebellion of 1088.

The title (Earl of Warwick) passed through several generations of the Beaumont family until Thomas, the 6th earl, who died in 1242 without a male heir. The earldom then went to his sister Margaret and her husbands and on her death to her cousin William Maudit. When he died also without a male heir the title passed to his daughter Isabel and her husband William Beauchamp and thence her son William, who became 9th earl. During this period the earldom and the Beauchamps were elevated to the highest levels until Henry, the 14th earl was created Duke of Warwick with precedence over all except the Duke of Norfolk. This precedence was disputed however and with Henry's death in 1445, also without male heir, the dukedom was extinguished. The earldom went to his infant daughter, and on her death a few years later passed to Henry's sister Anne and her husband Richard Neville, who became 16th earl and was known to history as "Warwick the Kingmaker". After Richard Neville's death the title was created for his son-in-law, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, husband of Neville's eldest daughter Isabella Neville, on 25 March 1472. It then passed to Richard and Anne's grandson Edward, son of George, Duke of Clarence, and with his death in 1499 the title became extinct.

March 12, 1912 & Lady Warwick

It seems in March, 1912, Lady Warwick, an English Countess-Socialist would be lecturing in America. The Countess of Warwick in an interview "Tells How To Retain Youth." Countess of Warwick says destroy all calendars. Lady Warwick, admitted to being 50 and having a grandchild the same age as youngest daughter, says fighting for ballot is fight for sex independence, does not advocate immorality.

It was in New York, 11th of March 1912, when Lady Warwick greeted reporters and sob sisters who gathered at her apartments in the nature of a query. Lady Warwick said, "Odd, isn't it, that the eldest of my four grandchildren is almost the exact age of my youngest child?" When asked how old was her oldest grandchild Lady Warwick replied, "Seven years."

The Countess of Warwick welcomed reporters one after another to her apartments by Lady Warwick's secretary, who was the well-known London Barrister, G. R. Stirling Taylor. One of the sob sisters reporters Impulsively asked, "How do you keep so young, Lady Warwick?" Lady Warwick just laughed and gave the questioner a special squeeze of the hand. Lady Warwick answered, "I keep young, even as a grandmother, because I believe in throwing the calendar away. I wish we had no calendars."

Lady Warwick Discusses Fight For Ballot

Lady Warwick in reply to questions discussed English suffragets' fight for the ballot. She said, "The fight for the ballot in England and America is a fight for sex independence. Women forever have been held down by the man-imposed rules of so-called morality and now they are revolting. I believe England, your own country, every country, is on the eve of a revolution or, I might say more properly, evolution."

Lady Warwick went on to say, "Marriage will be revolutionized through economic independence of women plus the ballot. As things are now, the most sacred of all relations often is prostituted. I, fortunately, am one woman of economic independence. I have my own income and my husband has his. I believe it is better for a woman to live in fine comradeship with a man, a congenial, sympathetic man, than to prostitute the most sacred of relationships, marriage, by living, as most married women live now, simply as the spouse of a man who pays for the bread the woman eats, a kept wife. And please don't misunderstand me. I am not advocating what the world calls immorality. Far from it. I think you understand. I am happily married and am glad I am."

Lady Warwick was asked what she considered the best time of life and she answered, "The best time of life is always after the age of 30. Better than that is after 40. The very best time of life is 50, which is my age."

Other Headlines: To Fight Suffrage

Also on that same front page was the headlines (To Fight Suffrage) that came out of Cincinnati, Ohio, March 11, 1912 -- "The national association in opposition to woman's suffrage is to become actively engaged in the fight against suffrage in Ohio and a campaign will be opened immediately. Mrs. William Forse Scott, a resident of New York but a native Ohian, national secretary, arrived in Cincinnati to make preliminary arrangements.   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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