Elizabeth Cavendish-Bentinck (née Livingston; August 12, 1855 – November 4, 1943) was an American born member of the
Livingston family who married a British
Member of Parliament from the
Cavendish-Bentinck family and was a prominent member of New York Society during the
Gilded Age.[1]
In 1899, her cousin, Louisa Matilda Livingston, who was married to
Elbridge T. Gerry, the grandson of
U.S. Vice PresidentElbridge Gerry, gave a reception and dance in honor of their eldest daughter, Mary, in advance of her presentation the following spring at the
Court of St. James and subsequent debut in London Society. The event was also the debut of Gerry's son,
Peter Robert Goelet Gerry (1879–1957).[6]
Elizabeth was included on
Ward McAllister's list of New York's social elite during the Gilded Age, known as "
Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times[8] She was known for being one of the many well-known transatlantic marriages between American heiresses and members of the
British Peerage.[9][10]
Mary Augusta Cavendish-Bentinck (1881–1913), who married John Gorman Ford (1866–1917), the 1st Secretary of the British Legation to Rome, son of diplomat
Clare Ford, on 3 November 1906.[13][14]
Ruth Evelyn Cavendish-Bentinck (1883–1978), who married Walter Spencer Morgan Burns (1872–1929),[15] nephew of
J. P. Morgan and grandson of
Junius Spencer Morgan, both well-known American bankers, in 1907.[16][17]
In 1909, her husband died at age 55, at Forest Farm,
Windsor, Berkshire.[1][18] In 1914, she had a family mausoleum built in the Churchyard of St Giles in
Hertfordshire, designed by
Robert Weir Schultz.[19] Elizabeth died on November 4, 1943, in London.[4]