Jennie Jerome
|
Lady Randolph Churchill CI DStJ |
|
|---|---|
Jennie Churchill
|
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jennie Jerome 9 January 1854 Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Died | 29 June 1921 (aged 67) London, England |
| Cause of death | Haemorrhage |
| Resting place | St Martin's Church, Bladon |
| Nationality | US/UK |
| Spouse(s) |
Lord Randolph Churchill (1874–1895; his death) George Cornwallis-West (1900–1914; divorced) Montagu Phippen Porch (1918–1921; her death) |
| Children |
Sir Winston Churchill John Strange Spencer-Churchill |
| Parents |
Leonard Jerome Clarissa Hall |
Jeanette, Lady Randolph Churchill, CI, RRC, DStJ (née Jerome; 9 January 1854 – 29 June 1921) was an American-born British socialite, the wife of Lord Randolph Churchill and the mother of British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
Jennie Jerome was born in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn in 1854, the second of four daughters (one died in childhood) of financier, sportsman, and speculator Leonard Jerome and his wife Clarissa (always called Clara), daughter of Ambrose Hall, a landowner. She was raised in Brooklyn, Paris, and New York City. She had two surviving sisters, Clarita (1851-1935) and Leonie (born 1859). Another sister, Camille (1855-1863) died when Jennie was nine. Leonard Jerome was rumoured to also be the father of the American opera singer Minnie Hauk.
There is some controversy regarding the time and place of her birth. A plaque at 426 Henry St. gives her year of birth as 1850, not 1854. However, on 9 January 1854, the Jeromes lived nearby at number 8 Amity Street (since renumbered as 197). It is believed that the Jeromes were temporarily staying at the Henry Street address, which was owned by Leonard's brother Addison, and that Jennie was born there during a snowstorm.
A noted beauty (an admirer, Lord d'Abernon, said that there was "more of the panther than of the woman in her look"), Jennie Jerome worked as a magazine editor in early life. Hall family lore insists that Jennie had Iroquois ancestry, through her maternal grandmother; however, there is no research or evidence to corroborate this.
Lady Randolph was a talented amateur pianist, having been tutored as a girl by Stephen Heller, a friend of Chopin. Heller believed that his young pupil was good enough to attain 'concert standard' with the necessary 'hard work', which, according to author Mary S Lovell, he was not confident she was capable of.
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