Churchill’s Ancestors

Another installment in my series
CHURCHILL’S WORLD
Stories of the world during the time Winston Churchill lived in it: 1873 to 1965

Previously

When the first Duchess of Marlborough read the first history of the Churchill family just before her death in 1744, she wrote,

This History takes a great deal of Pains to make the Duke of Marlborough’s Extraction very ancient. That may be true for aught I know; But it is no matter whether it be true or not in my opinion. For I value nobody for another’s merit.

That last sentence made her point. But the sentence immediately preceding it unintentionally revealed another. In just three generations the Churchills had come from nowhere to the top of society.

1st. Generation
When the first Churchill to enter our story was born sometime around 1600 the family was blacksmiths or something similar. John Churchill went to London and became a successful lawyer.

2nd. Generation
This enabled his son, Winston Churchill (the first one) to make an advantageous marriage with Elizabeth Drake. The Drake family had connections with the higher reaches of society. A century earlier, the family had included Sir Francis Drake, the buccaneer.

The Civil War broke out in 1642. The 21 year old Winston Churchill joined the king’s army. He fought for the king throughout the war. The cause was lost. Others deserted. Not Churchill. He fought on. As the king’s followers dwindled, he raised Churchill to the rank of Colonel.

By 1646 it is was all over. Defeat was total. In 1649 the king was beheaded. Oliver Cromwell ruled.

The discredited Royalist retired to the home of his mother-in-law, Lady Drake. The bad news for him was that he had to spend the next ten years living in his mother-in-law’s home. The good news was that she had supported Parliament and Cromwell in the war. Thus Winston got by and here a new generation of Churchills was born. John was born in 1650.

In 1660 came The Restoration. Charles II took back the throne and he remembered Winston Churchill, who had stayed with his father to the bitter end.

3rd. Generation
His son John was presented at court and granted a commission in the army. Over the next two decades John’s abilities at court and in the field propelled him to higher and higher levels of command. By 1674 he was Colonel. By 1682 he was a Lord; by 1685 a Baron, and Major General in the army.

In the Revolution of 1688 he supported William (the winner). In 1689 he was made a privy councilor and Earl of Marlborough.

Then came the fall.

John’s wife Sarah (the one quoted above) was Lady in Waiting to the Queen’s sister, Princess Anne. Throughout these years, John, Sarah, and Anne were close friends.

The King and Queen quarreled with the Princess and blamed the Churchills. All three were banned from the Court and from public life.

In 1702 everything changed. The King died. He left no children. The throne was vacant. Princess Anne succeeded to it. Also in 1702 the French launched their greatest bid for world domination until Napoleon a century later. When the Spanish Empire joined the French, it looked like nothing could stop them.

Marlborough was promoted from Earl to Duke and from Major-General to the head of the army and sent to the continent. Back in London, Sarah and Queen Anne, together with the Churchills’ close associate, Sidney Godolphin, ran the government.

Britain, The Netherlands, The Hapsburg Empire and lesser powers composed Marlborough’s Grand Alliance. Marlborough marched his army in daring thrusts and parries. He won every battle he fought; he captured every fort he besieged. Still, the French side was so strong that the war raged for 11 years.

At war’s end, grateful rulers throughout Europe showered gifts upon him for his deeds. He built the magnificent Blenheim Place in Woodstock.

John died in 1722 and Sarah died in 1744.

4th. and 5th. Generations
The succession passed through their daughter Anne to their grandson Charles Spencer. They had quiet, diffident personalities. It was said that the magnificence of the Churchill legend hung heavily upon them. They maintained but did not add to the family legacy.

6th., 7th., and 8th. Generations
The next three dukes were profligate spenders. Under them debt began to tarnish the family legacy.

The third and fourth Dukes beautified the Palace. The gardens were a special achievement. They were great art collectors. Under them the estate reached its pinnacle of splendor and of debt.

9th. Generation
When George took over in 1817, the king granted permission to add “Churchill” back to the family name. Later, as Winston Churchill’s official biography puts it, “In more recent times the Churchills have tended to drop the Spencer from their surname.”

The 6th Duke brought the financial situation to a crisis. His irresponsible behavior led to charges of adultery, kidnapping, other lawsuits, and four marriages. Scandal and ruin threatened the Churchill legacy. By this time the Duke had to live in just a few rooms of his palace and close up the rest.

10th.Generation
John Winston, the 7th. Duke, set out to restore the Churchill situation. He was a serious man, and a deeply religious one. Sales of some of the palace treasures stabilized the Marlborough finances. He became active in Parliament. In a religious era, he made the religious state of the realm his priority issue. He became Lord President of the Council and a cabinet member in Lord Derby’s Third Administration. In 1868 Disraeli asked him to lead the Conservatives in the House of Lords.

The Churchill family was again a solid, established member of Europe’s nobility. They were normal. They were respectable. And John Winston intended to keep it that way. The family’s future depended upon solid conservatism both financially and socially, upon not making waves.

This is the situation in August, 1873 when Randolf bursts into the palace to announce that he has just met a most wonderful girl and he intends to marry her!

The Duke is away in Scotland but the Duchess naturally asks questions. Who is she? And more importantly, does she come from a good family? Randolf supplies such answers as he can.
Extract from a letter to his Father:

Blenheim [Palace]: Wednesday, August 20, 1873
Mr. Jerome is a gentleman who is obliged to live in New York to look after his business. I do not know what it is. He is reputed to be very well off, and his daughters, I believe, have very good fortunes, but I do not know anything for certain. He generally comes over for three of four months every year. Mrs. Jerome has lived in Paris for several years and has educated her daughters there. They go out in Society there and are very well known.
I have told you all I know about them at present. . . . .
Ever your most affectionate son,
RANDOLF

The Duke and Duchess are increasingly concerned. Then Randolf supplies Jennie’s picture. Shock!

Who is this American with the dark skin and the mysterious past? They will make inquiries! They will find out!