Informal Ambassadors: American Women, Transatlantic Marriages, and Anglo-American Relations, 1865-1945

2. Amazon Attachè

chapter two Amazon Attaché Jennie Jerome Churchill A girl born, and bred in the backwoods of some Western State, will adopt the manners and customs of her husband’s country to such an extent that, after a few years, she might pass as of his nationality. —Lady Randolph Churchill The large majority of American women who married British aristocrats in this period hailed from New York City; in fact, the woman who often receives credit for serving as the pioneer in the Anglo-American marital market called Brooklyn home.1 Born on January 9, 1854, Jennie Jerome was the second daughter of Leonard and Clara Hall Jerome. The Jerome family experienced both extremes—great successes and great failures—of the post–Civil War business boom and epitomized the rise of the nouveau riche. While Mr. Jerome worked in New York, making and losing multiple fortunes, the Jerome women conquered Europe, starting in Paris and moving to London, cutting a path for hundreds of American mothers and daughters to follow. Leonard Jerome, a graduate of Princeton College, began his adult life in Rochester , New York.2 After she married Jerome in 1849, Clara Hall bore four daughters . The first was born on April 15, 1851, and Leonard and Clara named her Clarita , in honor of her mother. The family enjoyed prominence in Rochester before Leonard moved his family to Brooklyn to chase even greater affluence in New York City. Jerome built two houses in Madison Square, one as his home and one that became the Manhattan Club House; he understood the importance of social capital as well as financial capital.3 While Jerome of course loved business, he also had cultural interests. He especially enjoyed the opera, almost as much as the opera singers, with whom he often 41 42 informal ambassadors had affairs. He financed the careers of many singers, provided they were young and pretty, but his favorite was Jenny Lind. Hence, when his wife gave birth to a second daughter, in 1854, he suggested they name her Jenny. By the time Clara realized that her husband had named his daughter after one of his many talented mistresses, several months had passed. So Clara simply altered the spelling from Jenny to Jennie. Later, Clara insisted that “Jeanette” serve as the girl’s formal christening name, thus further distancing her from the singer. The births of two more daughters followed: Camille in 1855 and Leonie in 1859. Camille died suddenly in 1863 of a fever. Her death stunned the family but bonded the three remaining sisters—ages twelve, nine, and five—in a relationship they enjoyed throughout their lives. Each of the three, rarely seen apart, earned a nickname: “the Good” (Clarita), “the Beautiful” (Jennie), and “the Witty” (Leonie ).All three married British aristocrats.4 When his third, and youngest, daughter married an Englishman, Jerome protested, “Why couldn’t she have married a normal American and lived in my Country!”5 Lady Randolph Churchill. HU023790.© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS. amazon attachÉ 43 While his wife and daughters occupied themselves in their impressive house in Madison Square, Jerome kept himself busy throughout the city. He had served as the American Consul at Trieste for three years, resulting in his daughters becoming bilingual at an early age, but he expressed little interest in politics after he returned to the United States. Instead, he embarked on a number of financial adventures, from newspaper ownership to real estate to Wall Street. He worked as an art collector, an attorney, a newspaper editor, and part owner of the New York Times. His ability to make and lose millions of dollars gave him the nickname “The King of Wall Street.”6 As was the case for many other nouveau riche Americans, Jerome held sufficient wealth to belong to the New York elite, but for a number of reasons his family remained on the outside. Although the family’s new money status was likely the reason, Clara blamed her husband’s extramarital affairs for their family’s social exclusion . Many wealthy men took mistresses, and they did so with great discretion. Jerome, however, made little effort to hide his adulterous relations, behavior elite society found repugnant. After years of enjoying great wealth, living in Madison Square, spending summer vacations in Newport, Rhode Island, and working to obtain success in New York social circles, Mrs. Jerome reached her limit. Her pride did not allow her to...