Earls of Aboyne

26
Gordon died December 25, 1841, and she on
December 30, 1851. Both are commemorated by
a marble mural tablet in the "catacombs" at
Kenal Green.
3. Lady Catherine Gordon (Iby the first wife) : died
young.
4. Lady Margaret Gordon (by first marriage). She
married at London on May 5, 1783 ("Scots Maga-
zine") William Beckford of Fonthill (1759-1844),
the famous author of "Vathek," and lived with
him in Switzerland, where she died (at the
Castle de la Tour, in the Pays de Vaud) on May
23, 1786, at the age of 23. The Duchess of Gor-
don made a daring attempt to get the widower
to marry her daughter, taking the girl with her
to Fonthill, where Beckford feted her sump-
tuously, but did not appear on the scene him-
self, a proceeding which greatly annoyed her
Grace. The Beckfords had two daughters —
through one of whom they are represented to-
day by the Duke of Newcastle, by the future
Prince of Monaco, and also in Hungary and
Italy — a curious cosmopolitan descent. Beck-
ford's daughters were —
(1) Margaret Maria Beckford : married on May
15, 1811, without her father's consent,
Colonel, afterwards Lieutenant-General,
James Orde, a member of a Northumberland
family. Her father never forgave her. She
died before 1829, when Orde married a
widow, by whom he had a son James, who
married a granddaughter of the 15th Earl
of Erroll, and thereby founded the family
of Orde of Hopton, near Great Yarmouth.
(2) Susan Euphemia Beckford : married on
April 26, 1810, Alexander, 10th Duke of
Hamilton (1767-1852), and died May 27, 1859.
She had —
i. William Alexander Anthonv Archibald,
11th Duke of Hamilton (1811-63), who
married Princess Mary of Baden, third
cousin of Napoleon III. This connection
is very interesting in view of the fact
tfhat the Duchess of Gordon had first
offered to Eugene Beauharnais (the
Princess's cousin once removed), the
daughter with whom she vainly tried to
secure Beckford, the 11th Duke of Ham-
ilton's grandfather. The 11th Duke had,
with other issue —
William Alexander Louis Stephen
Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton
(1845-95), who Was succeeded by hia
distant kinsman, the present Duke,
as he himself had an only daughter —
Ladv Mary Victoria Hamilton, mar-
Lady Mary Louise Hamilton, who
recently married the Marquis of
Graham, and has issue.