Lewis Rutherfurd Stuyvesant Alan Rutherfurd Stuyvesant
Parent(s)
Joseph Löwenguth Rosalie Humbert Löwenguth
Mathilde, Princess Alexandre de Caraman Chimay (
néeMathilde Gisele Elizabeth Löwenguth, formerly theCountess de WassanaerandMrs. Rutherfurd Stuvyesant) (29 November 1877 – 10 July 1948) was a French heiress and society leader who is known for her three marriages to wealthy and prominent men, a Dutch Count, an American heir, and a Belgian Prince.
Early life
Mathilde Gisele Elizabeth Löwenguth was born on 29 November 1877 in
Strasbourg,
Alsace,
France.[1] She was a daughter of Joseph Löwenguth (or Loewenguth)[2] and the former Rosalie Humbert.[3]
Personal life
Mathilde was married three times. Her first marriage was in Paris to a Willem Lodewijk Worbert,
Graafvan Wassenaer (1852–1913) on 26 July 1895. He was born in
Florence, Italy and was a son of Willem Lodewijk Worbert van Wassenaer and Maria Catharina Frederika van Rechteren-Limpurg.[4][5] Although most contemporary newspapers referred to her as a widow, she was actually divorced from her first husband around the year 1900. He actually outlived her second husband and died in
Bathmen,
Netherlands on 23 August 1913.
Lewis Rutherfurd Stuyvesant (1903–1944),[10] who married Rosalie Stuyvesant Pillot in 1925, daughter of Peter Stuyvesant Pillot. The couple had one child, Peter Winthrop Rutherfurd Stuyvesant (1935–1970),[11][12] before they divorced in 1930.[13] He later married Elizabeth (née Larocque) Smith in 1934. She was the former wife of Schuyler Knowlton Smith and the daughter of
Joseph Laroque.[14]
Alan Rutherfurd Stuyvesant (1905–1954), who did not marry. He was injured in a car accident in 1934.[15] He died aboard a ship just short of arriving at their destination to France.[16]
Her second husband Rutherfurd died suddenly while out for his customary morning walk in the
Champs-Élysées in Paris on 4 July 1909.[17][18] His body was sent back to the United States for burial.[19]
Third marriage
After his death, she lived in Paris for several years,[20] and was active in American charities in France during
World War I.[21] On 18 August 1933, she married for the third time to Belgian Prince Alexandre de Caraman-Chimay (1873–1951). Prince Alexandre was a son of
Joseph de Caraman-Chimay, 18th Prince de Chimay and brother of
Élisabeth, Countess Greffulhe and
Joseph, Prince de Caraman-Chimay (married to American heiress
Clara Ward).[22] He his first wife was Catherine Hélène, Princess Bassaraba de Brancovan (a daughter of
Prince Grégoire),[23][24] who died in Paris in 1929, and was the mother of his only child, Prince Marc-Adolphe de Caraman-Chimay (1903–1992).[25]
The Princess Alexandre de Caraman Chimay died on 10 July 1948 at her home, 1170 Fifth Avenue in New York City.[26] She was buried in the Stuyvesant family plot at Tranquility Cemetery, New Jersey.[3] Her wealth was held in trust for her children and grandson.[27]