Mary Goelet
Mary Goelet, Duchess of Roxburghe (1878-1937) was an American-British socialite and heiress.
Biography
Early life
Mary Goelet was born in 1878. Her father was Ogden Goelet, a prominent heir and landlord in New York City and great-grandson of Peter Goelet, heir to one of the largest fortunes of the time. Her mother was Mary Wilson. She was a niece of Richard Thornton Wilson, Jr. and Grace Graham Wilson.[1]
Adult life
She married Henry Innes-Ker, 8th Duke of Roxburghe in 1903.[2]
The 8th Duke and Duchess of Roxburgh settled at Floors Castle, where Mary decorated the fortress with her own collection of art including a priceless series of 17th century Gobelins Manufactory tapestries.[3] After ten years of childlessness, Mary gave birth to a son and heir, George Innes-Ker, 9th Duke of Roxburghe, who succeeded his father in 1932.
At the time of her marriage to the Duke of Roxburghe, she was the wealthiest American heiress, with a dowry of twenty million dollars, exceeded only by Consuelo Vanderbilt in the wealth brought to the transatlantic marriages of the pre-1914 era (see Gilded Age). The Duchess of Roxburghe died in 1937.
