LEVEN & MELVILLE, Rt Hon Countess of (Susan nee STEUART-MENZIES) 1933-2022

[Richard R]

From the Telegraph & Times of 12 Oct 2022: LEVEN Susan Countess of Leven died peacefully at home on 8th October. Dearly loved wife, mother, sister, grandmother and great-grandmother. Private family funeral.

She was d of Lt-Col Ronald STEUART-MENZIES sometime head of that Scots gentry family of Culdares 1884-1961 and Sybil Mary Willoughby d of Gerald Bowman BOULTON 1863-1905 (s of William Whytehead BOULTON 1833-97 f of Sir William BOULTON 1st Bt 1873-1949) and Florence Emily NEWBALD 1862-1938. She m 1953 14th Earl of LEVEN and (13th of) MELVILLE 1924-2012 and had two sons (incl Lord Balgonie f of the present Earl) and a dau.

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Lady Amelia Ann Sophia Stanley, d.22 Feb 1703; m.5 May 1659 John Murray, Marquess of Atholl (2 May 1631-6 May 1703)
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William Murray, 2nd Lord Nairne (ca 1664-3 Feb 1726); m.Hon. Margaret Nairne (ca 1673-14 Nov 1747)
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Charlotte Murray, d.11 Aug 1787; m.John Robertson of Lude
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Margaret Robertson; m.Robert Robertson
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Charlotte Robertson; m.1781 John Steuart-Menzies, of Culdares (d.23 Sep 1799)
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Steuart Steuart-Menzies, of Culdares (1792-1827); m.1814 Ronald Stewart (d.1829)
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Ronald Steuart-Menzies, of Culdares (3 Jan 1824-Oct 1870); m.22 Apr 1849 Marjory Alexandrina Grant
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William George Steuart-Menzies, of Culdares (28 Sep 1858-1961); m.30 Jan 1883 Constance Anne Ellen Wethered
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Ronald Steuart-Menzies (8 Apr 1884-2 Oct 1961); m.1st 19 Oct 1912 (div 1931) Olivia Anne Turner-Farley; m.2nd 9 Dec 1931 Sybil Mary Willoughby Boulton
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Susan Steuart-Menzies (30 Mar 1933-8 Oct 2022); m.30 Apr 1953 Alexander Robert Leslie-Melville, 16th Earl of Leven and Melville

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Note that while Debrett's calls her husband "14th Earl", Burke's calls him the 16th. The numbering used by The Complete Peerage would agree with him being the 16th, while that in Scots Peerage would agree with him being 14th.

The difference arises from Debrett's and Scocts Peerage not choosing to count the two female holders of the earldom as "earls", since they were "countesses".

See https://www.angelfire.com/realm/gotha/gotha/leslie.html



Alexander LESLIE of Balgonie, cr 1641 Earl of Leven and Lord Balgonie (ca 1580-Balgonie 4 Apr 1661); m.ca 1610 Agnes Renton (d.Inchmartin 26 Jun 1651)
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1.Gustavus, dvpsp
2.Alexander, Lord Balgonie, d.soon after 12 Jan 1644; m.1636 Lady Margaret Leslie (d.Feb 1688)

2.1.Alexander, 2nd Earl of Leven (ca 1637-Balgonie 15 Jul 1664); m.Naworth Castle 30 Dec 1656 Margaret Howard (d.Edinburgh 30 Sep 1664), sister of Earl of Carlisle; in 1665 he resigned his titles and received a re-grant thereof, with a special remainder to 1) heirs male of his body, then 2) to heirs female of his body, then 3) to the second son of the Earl [later, Duke] of Rothes (who dspm), then 4) to the second son of his sister Catherine and the heirs male of his body, then 5) to the second son of his mother by the Earl of Wemyss and heirs male of his body, then 6) to his own heirs male whatsoever, and finally 7) to his heirs and assignees whatsoever

2.1.1.Margaret, 3rd Countess of Leven, d.6 Nov 1674; m.1674 Hon. Francis Montgomerie (d.Jan 1729)
2.1.2.Anna
2.1.3.Catherine, 4th Countess of Leven (1663/4-21 Jan 1676); on her death, with the first two remainders in the re-grant of 1665 being exhausted, the titles went into dormancy until the death of the Duke of Rothes in 1681 without male issue, when the 3rd remainder expired; whereupon David Melville succeeded as 5th Earl of Leven under the 4th remainder

2.2.Catherine, d.2 Apr 1713; m.18 Jan 1655 George Melville, Earl of Melville; the Earldom of Leven devolved on their second son, as per the terms of the re-grant
2.2.1.David MELVILLE (5 May 1660-6 Jun 1728), suc 1681 as 5th Earl of Leven [under the special remainder] and took surname LESLIE, suc 1707 as 2nd Earl of Melville; m.1691 Lady Anne Wemyss (18 Oct 1675-Edinburgh Castle 9 Jan 1702)

Debrett's and Scots Peerage call David (1660-1728) the 3rd Earl of Leven, though he was the fifth holder of the earldom. Burke's and Cokayne count him as 5th Earl.

On Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 1:47:24 AM UTC-5 Richard R wrote:

[dpth...@gmail.com]

a small typographical error  :)   .. the 2nd Earl resigned his titles and received a re-grant in 1663, not 1665. He died in 1664. 

[bx...@yahoo.com]

This is the  second death of a Countess in about 5 weeks.

The Countess of Dysart was killed in an automobile accident on Sept. 16th.

Brooke