Frances (Cromwell) Russell (1638 - 1720)

Born 6 Dec 1638 in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Robert Rich — married 11 Nov 1657 (to 16 Feb 1658) in St Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London, England

Wife of John Russell — married 7 May 1663 (to 1669) in Hursley, Hampshire, England

Descendants

Died 27 Jan 1720 at age 81 in London, England

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Biography

Frances Cromwell was a member of the aristocracy in British Isles.

Frances Cromwell was daughter of Oliver Cromwell and his wife, Elizabeth Bourchier. She was baptised at St Mary, Ely in Cambridgeshire on 6 December 1638. ^[1] At the time of her birth her father was merely a redundant member of Parliament but in 1642 he took up arms against the King. A long civil war led to the execution of the King and the establishment of her father as Protector of England.^[2] Frances had become an important matrimonial catch.

On 11 November 1657 at St Martin in the Fields, Westminster she married Robert Rich, son of Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick and his wife, Anne Cavendish. ^[3] Robert died of consumption on 16 February the following year leaving Frances a childless widow. ^[4]Her father died on the 3rd of September. ^[2] The chaotic rule of her brother Richard followed. He resigned the Protectorship on 25 May 1659, retiring at first to his home at Hursley in Hampshire then fleeing abroad. ^[5]The next year the monarchy was restored.

Frances' second husband was John Russell, son of Sir Francis Russell Bt and his wife, Catherine Wheatley. ^[6] They were married at All Saints, Hursley on 7 May 1663. ^[7]She bore her husband 5 children before he too died, still young, in 1669.^[6] John was buried at Chippenham and Frances spent much of the rest of her long life with her sister, Mary, Lady Fauconberg.

She is said to have died in 1720 but no evidence has yet been found.

Sources

1. ↑ Baptismal record St Mary Ely (6 December 1638 Frances Cromwell daughter of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth) Viewed at Ancestry. Text only
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Wikipedia: Oliver Cromwell
3. ↑ Marriage record St Martin in the Fields (11 November 1657 Robert Rich married Frances Cromwell) Viewed at Ancestry. Text only
4. ↑ Wikipedia: Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick
5. ↑ Wikipedia: Richard Cromwell
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Wikipedia: Sir John Russell, 3rd Baronet
7. ↑ Marriage record Hursley, Hampshire (7 May 1663 John Russell married France Rich) Viewed at Ancestry. Text only

See also

• Boston News-Letter (January 23-30, 1721, Boston, MA) Issue: 881 Page: 2. available at http://www.genealogybank.com/ "Mortuary Notice: Lady Frances Russel, Daughter of Oliver Cromwell, aged 88 years"
• Waylen, James, 1810-1894. The House of Cromwell And the Story of Dunkirk: a Genealogical History of the Descendants of the Protector. Boston: J. G. Cupples, pg. 102. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009586949 (Use slide tool to go to pg 102)

Acknowledgements

• This person was created through the import of 104-B.ged on 12 September 2010.