LECTURE THIS WEDNESDAY @ LIBERTY HALL
Wednesday, April 28 -- Union County
Come for a pint or two at Liberty Hall and enjoy
Melissa Ziobro's lecture, American Women and Titled Marriages: NJ’s
"Dollar Princesses"
The 2018 wedding between British Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle captured the hearts and minds of people around the world, garnering both admiration and criticism; but did you know marriages between American women and European nobles have been a popular, and controversial, trend since the Gilded Age?
During the tail end of the 19th century, wealthy American heiresses married impoverished European nobles by the score. The marriages secured social status for “new money” American families often slighted by the established elites in their own country; while the infusion of American dollars allowed the impoverished nobility across the Atlantic to continue to maintain the lifestyles to which their families had been accustomed for generations. There were literally hundreds of these marriages, some more famous than others—including several featuring brides with roots in NJ.
Join us as we discuss the so-called “dollar princesses” of the Gilded Age, including Lady Monson (nee Romaine Stone, daughter of General Roy Stone of Morristown NJ), Lady Roberts (nee Elizabeth Marie LaRoche, daughter of William Tell LaRoche of Harrington Park, NJ), Princess Miguel de Braganza (nee Anita Stewart, born in Elberon, NJ), and more with Professor Melissa Ziobro of Monmouth University!
To learn more about Professor Ziobro's work and research, visit her profile page! https://www.monmouth.edu/directory/profiles/melissa-ziobro Or check out "American Heiresses of the Gilded Age" on audible.com!
