Sarah Sophia Villiers, Countess of Jersey (March 4, 1785 – January 26, 1867 at No. 38, Berkeley Square, Middlesex [now London]), was an English noblewoman, the daughter of John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland and Sarah Anne Child, only child of Robert Child, the principal shareholder in the banking firm Child & Co. Under the terms of his will, the Countess of Jersey was the primary legatee, and she not only inherited Osterley Park but became senior partner of the bank. She married George Child-Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey on May 23, 1804, in the drawing room of her house at No. 38, Berkeley Square, and they had seven children:
- George Child-Villiers, 6th Earl of Jersey (1808–1859)
- The Honourable Augustus John Villiers (1810–1847), married Georgiana Elphinstone, daughter of George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith.
- The Honourable Frederick William Child-Villiers (1815–1871), married Elizabeth Maria van Reede, daughter of the 7th or 8th Earl of Athlone.
- The Honourable Francis John Robert Child-Villiers (1819–1862).
- Lady Sarah Frederica Caroline Child-Villiers (1822–1853), married Nicholas Paul Carl [Miklós Pál], 9th Prince Esterhazy (1817–1894).
- Lady Clementina Augusta Wellington Child-Villiers (1824–1858).
- Lady Adela Corisande Maria Child Villiers (1828–1860), married Lt.-Col. Charles Parke Ibbetson.
She outlived not only her husband, but six of her seven children. She was one of the patronesses of Almack's, and was immortalised as Zenobia in Disraeli's Endymion.
External links
- Lady Sarah Jersey [sic] at The Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos
- The Lady Patronesses of Almack's at Georgian, Regency & Victorian Research by Kristine Hughes.
- thePeerage.com
- Descendants of John Churchill at Worldroots by Brigitte Gastel Lloyd.
- Lady Sarah Sophia Fane at Genealogics
