Marchese Of St Agata
Replies: 9
Re: Marchese Of St Agata
 canyon149
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Posted: 6 Feb 2005 1:33AM GMT |
Classification: Query
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> [... snip ...] my great great grandma was the Marchese of StAgata, born in Naples in 1823, daughter of Prince Ruffano.Her name was Louisa B. Conolly (Luisa B. ??? in Italy perhaps ) after her marriage to Charles Thomas Conolly a prominent Irish businessman when they moved to England and lived at Midford Castle near Bath. Can anyone shed any light on who she was, who Prince Ruffano was, what was her family name etc. [... snip ...]
I checked my copy of the *Almanach de Gotha* (1886 edition) and found on p. 346 a family by the surname of Brancaccio, who held the title of "prince de Ruffano" ("principe di Ruffano", in Italian). The head of the house at this time was Don Gérard Brancaccio, prince de Ruffano (b. 1837), who succeeded his father prince Nicolas. (The AdeG was a French-language publication, by the way.)
I then searched two British publications. In *Burke's Landed Gentry* (1855 edition) on p. 233 under the entry "Conolly of Midford Castle", I found a Charles John Thomas Conolly, b. 1818, who m. 1840 Louisa Margaret Catherine Brancaccio, daughter of Prince Ruffano, chamberlain to Ferdinando II, King of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. (King Ferdinando reigned from 1830-1859.)
In *Burke's Peerage* (1865 edition) on p. 1237 of the section called "Foreign Titles of Nobility Conferred on British Subjects", I found the title St. Agata. According to this entry, Louisa Lucy Margaret Catherine Brancaccio Conolly was conferred the Neapolitan title of Marchesa (Marchese is the masculine form, by the way) on 5 June 1857 by King Ferdinando II (see above). Charles was the only son and heir of Charles Thomas Conolly (note the slight difference in his and in his son's Christian names) by his first wife Elizabeth Clifton. For her part, Louisa was the child of Nicola Maria Brancaccio, Marchese di Rivello, Principe de Ruffano by his wife Margarita, daughter of Gulielmo, Baron Dotto de Dauli. (Note that neither of these Burke sources show a child or children for Louisa and Charles.)
A search of *The Times* newspaper digital archive provided Louisa's brief obituary in the January 27, 1899 (p. 1, col. A) issue of *The Times*. It states: "On the 26th inst., at her residence, Midford Castle, near Bath, Louisa Brancaccio, Marchesa di Santa Agata, widow of the late Charles John Thomas Conally, Esqre [esquire]."
I hope that this information has been of some help.
> [... snip ...] my great great grandma was the Marchese of StAgata, born in Naples in 1823, daughter of Prince Ruffano.Her name was Louisa B. Conolly (Luisa B. ??? in Italy perhaps ) after her marriage to Charles Thomas Conolly a prominent Irish businessman when they moved to England and lived at Midford Castle near Bath. Can anyone shed any light on who she was, who Prince Ruffano was, what was her family name etc. [... snip ...]
I checked my copy of the *Almanach de Gotha* (1886 edition) and found on p. 346 a family by the surname of Brancaccio, who held the title of "prince de Ruffano" ("principe di Ruffano", in Italian). The head of the house at this time was Don Gérard Brancaccio, prince de Ruffano (b. 1837), who succeeded his father prince Nicolas. (The AdeG was a French-language publication, by the way.)
I then searched two British publications. In *Burke's Landed Gentry* (1855 edition) on p. 233 under the entry "Conolly of Midford Castle", I found a Charles John Thomas Conolly, b. 1818, who m. 1840 Louisa Margaret Catherine Brancaccio, daughter of Prince Ruffano, chamberlain to Ferdinando II, King of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. (King Ferdinando reigned from 1830-1859.)
In *Burke's Peerage* (1865 edition) on p. 1237 of the section called "Foreign Titles of Nobility Conferred on British Subjects", I found the title St. Agata. According to this entry, Louisa Lucy Margaret Catherine Brancaccio Conolly was conferred the Neapolitan title of Marchesa (Marchese is the masculine form, by the way) on 5 June 1857 by King Ferdinando II (see above). Charles was the only son and heir of Charles Thomas Conolly (note the slight difference in his and in his son's Christian names) by his first wife Elizabeth Clifton. For her part, Louisa was the child of Nicola Maria Brancaccio, Marchese di Rivello, Principe de Ruffano by his wife Margarita, daughter of Gulielmo, Baron Dotto de Dauli. (Note that neither of these Burke sources show a child or children for Louisa and Charles.)
A search of *The Times* newspaper digital archive provided Louisa's brief obituary in the January 27, 1899 (p. 1, col. A) issue of *The Times*. It states: "On the 26th inst., at her residence, Midford Castle, near Bath, Louisa Brancaccio, Marchesa di Santa Agata, widow of the late Charles John Thomas Conally, Esqre [esquire]."
I hope that this information has been of some help.