Jeanette (Jerome) Porch CI RRC DSt (1854 - 1921)

Born 9 Jan 1854 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill — married 15 Apr 1874 (to 24 Jan 1895) in British Embassy, Paris, France

Wife of George Frederick Myddleton (West) Cornwallis-West — married 28 Jul 1900 (to Apr 1914) in St. George Hanover Square, London, England

Wife of Montagu Phippen Porch BA MA — married 1 Jun 1918 (to 29 Jun 1921) in Paddington, London, England

Descendants

Died 29 Jun 1921 at age 67 in London, Middlesex, England

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Lynden Rodriguez [send private message] and Andy Worrall [send private message]

Biography

Jennie (Jerome) Porch CI RRC DSt is Notable.

Jennie (Jerome) Spencer-Churchill CI RRC DStJ (9 January 1854 – 29 June 1921), known as Lady Randolph Churchill, was a New York-born British socialite, the wife of Lord Randolph Churchill, and the mother of British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill. Born at 426 Henry Street in Brooklyn, New York, Jennie was the daughter of Leonard Jerome and Clarissa Hall.^[1]

Royal Red Cross

In acknowledgement of her fundraising work for the women of India, Queen Victoria conferred the Insignia of the Order of the Crown of India (CI) on Lady Randolph Churchill on Friday, the 4th December 1885.^[2]

Queen Victoria died on 22nd January 1901. Her son, Edward, Prince of Wales succeeded her. In recognition of Lady Randolph Churchill’s services on the hospital ship Maine, caring for those wounded in the Second Boer War, the King conferred upon her the honour of “a Lady of Grace of St. John of Jerusalem” (DStJ) and the Order of the Royal Red Cross (RRC). Jennie had a seat in the King’s royal box at his coronation in August 1902, and was presented with the Coronation medal, a silver cameo.^[2]

Birth

Episcopal Diocese of New York church record: Clara Hall Jerome, Jeanie Jerome and Camille Jerome were baptized on 5 April 1857 at St. Peter’s (Chelsea).

Parents: Leonard W. Jerome and Clarissa Hall Jerome

• Clara b. 15 April 1851
• Jeanie b. 9 January 1854
• Camille b. 30 November 1855

Clara married Moreton Frewen, had three children, and died in 1935. Camille died due to fever as a young child in 1863.^[3] Another daughter, Leonie (1859 - 1943), married John Leslie, and had four sons. Mrs. Jerome (aged 35), Clara Jerome (7), Eugenie Jerome (5), Camille Jerome (3) and Leonie Jerome (1) are recorded on the passenger list of the Adriatic arriving at New York in 1860.^[4]

The three Jerome sisters were known as "the Good, the Witty and the Beautiful." Jennie was considered the "beauty" of the sisters.

Jennie was a talented amateur pianist. In 1909, when American impresario Charles Frohman became sole manager of The Globe Theatre, the first production was His Borrowed Plumes, written by Jennie. Although Mrs. Patrick Campbell produced and took the lead role in the play, it was a commercial failure. It was at this point that Campbell began an affair with Jennie’s then husband, George Cornwallis-West.

Jennie served as the chair of the hospital committee for the American Women's War Relief Fund starting in 1914. This organization helped fund and staff two hospitals during World War I.

Marriage and Children

With her family wealth, Jennie was able to travel. While in England, she met Lord Randolph Churchill at a sailing regatta on the Isle of Wight in August 1873. Three days later he proposed to Jennie and she accepted. Jennie married Lord Churchill on 15 April 1874 at the British Embassy in Paris, France.^[5]

Their first child was named Winston Leonard Churchill (30 November 1874 - 24 January 1965), born at Blenheim Castle in Oxfordshire, an ancestral home.

Their second son was named John Strange Spencer Churchill (4 February 1880 - 23 February 1947), called Jack. He married Lady Gwendoline Theresa Mary Bertie (20 November 1885 - 7 July 1941). They had three children.

Graceful, witty, and charming, Jennie (Jerome) Churchill was an immediate success in British high society. However, her marriage to Lord Churchill was not a happy one. She had many affairs and lovers. Lord Churchill died in 1895.^[6]

Following her husband’s death, Jennie began editing a short-lived literary magazine and wrote several books and plays. Jennie's famous sayings: “There is no such thing as a moral dress – it’s the people who are moral or immoral,” and “Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light.”

Jennie had a snake tattooed on her wrist. In the late 1890s, tattooing was very expensive and people paid large sums of money for personal designs placed on themselves. It was popular with aristocrats, including women.

Jennie “helped with social contacts and influence” to assist her son, Winston, in the political field.

Jennie married her second husband in 1900 at London, England, George Cornwallis-West,^[7] called “the handsomest man in England,” a Guards officer who was only two weeks older than Winston. They divorced eleven years later. In 1918, Jennie married Montagu Porch,^[8] living contentedly with him until her death three years later.

In 1921, while Montagu Porch was away in Africa, Jennie slipped while coming down a friend's staircase and broke her ankle. It did not heal correctly, gangrene set in, and the left leg had to be amputated.

Death

Jennie was at her home in London when she experienced a haemorrhage of an artery in her thigh as a result of the amputation. She died on 29 June 1921.^[9]

Burial

Jennie is buried at St. Martin's Churchyard, Bladon, Oxon, Oxfordshire, England next to her first husband in the Churchill family plot.^[10] Jennie’s sons, Winston and Jack, lined her grave with her favourite flowers, white roses and lilac orchids.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1871", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRNZ-WMH : 20 January 2022), Jenny Jerome in entry for Clara J Jerome, 1871.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} International Churchill Society : 90TH ANNIVERSARY TALK ON JENNIE, LADY RANDOLPH CHURCHILL. JUNE 27, 2011 By Celia Lee. WHITE ROSES AND LILAC ORCHIDS – A CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF JENNIE, LADY RANDOLPH CHURCHILL
3. ↑ "Rhode Island Town Births and Baptisms Index, 1639-1932", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8XZ-ZH6 : 4 November 2020), Camille Jerome, 1863.
4. ↑ "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV33-7J8Q : 11 August 2022), Leonie Jerome, 1860.
5. ↑ "Great Britain Marriages, 1797-1988", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XT85-3QC : 10 June 2020), Jennie Jerome in entry for Lord Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill, 1874.
6. ↑ "British Newspaper Archives, Obituaries," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q26M-97VT : 26 October 2019), Lady Churchill in entry for Lord Randolph Churchill, 24 Jan 1895; citing Obituary, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, page , Records extracted by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch. The British Library, London; FHL microfilm 102,001,096.
7. ↑ "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:26SF-3RQ : 13 December 2014), George Frederick M Cornwallis-West, 1900; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1900, quarter 3, vol. 1A, p. 977, St. George Hanover Square, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
8. ↑ "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:26VH-YDP : 13 December 2014), Montagu Porch and null, 1918; from “England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1918, quarter 2, vol. 1A, p. 171, Paddington, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
9. ↑ "British Newspaper Archives, Obituaries," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q269-TDFV : 26 October 2019), Lady Randolph Churchill, 01 Jul 1921; citing Obituary, Yeovil, Somerset, England, United Kingdom, page , Records extracted by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch. The British Library, London; FHL microfilm 102,001,352.
10. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20134/jennie-churchill: accessed 21 August 2023), memorial page for Jennie Jerome Churchill (9 Jan 1854–9 Jun 1921), Find a Grave Memorial ID 20134, citing St. Martin's Churchyard, Bladon, West Oxfordshire District, Oxfordshire, England; Maintained by Find a Grave.

• "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q273-FC9B : 29 April 2020), Randolph Lady Churchill in household of Randolph Lord Churchill, St James Westminster, London,Middlesex, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 38, Piece/Folio 128/75, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,342.
• "England and Wales Census, 1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WMJM-M6Z : 24 October 2017), Lady Randolph Churchill, Cheveley, Cambridgeshire, England; from "1891 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Cambridgeshire county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
• Ralph G Martin. Jennie, The Life of Lady Randolph Churchill online book, Google books (books.google.com : accessed 21August 2023)
• Wikipedia Lady Randolph Churchill : accessed 22 Aug 2023
• L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 204
• Peerage News, online
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p10620.htm#i106192
• Gary Boyd Roberts. Notable Kin, Volume One. Publication: Name: Name: Carl Boyer, 3rd; Location: Santa Clarita, California; Date: 1998; Published in cooperation with the New England Historic genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.

Acknowledgements

• This person was created through the import of MASTER2011WIKITREE.GED on 27 January 2011. The following data was included in the gedcom. You may wish to edit it for readability.
• WikiTree profile Jerome-73 created through the import of Worrall_Tree1 26122012.ged on Dec 27, 2012 by Andrew Worrall. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Andrew and others.
• This person was created through the import of fitzmaster032511.ged on 27 March 2011. The following data was included in the gedcom. You may wish to edit it for readability.
• This person was created on 18 February 2011 through the import of Bishop Family Tree.ged.
• Created through the import of MASTER2011WIKITREE.GED on 27 January 2011.