by Shannon Butler
Ever wonder how we got the name Dutchess County? It would seem like it has something to do with all of those Dutch settlers based on the way it’s spelled. However, as history would have it, the county, along with all of the original counties of New York, was named for the House of Stuart in the 17th century. All the way back in 1683, the legislative assembly of the Province of New York passed an act to divide the land into counties with names like Ulster, Albany, Orange, and of course the county that we are now located in “The Dutchess’s County,” now simply known as Dutchess County.
Though they added a ‘T’ to Duchess in the original spelling (which we haven’t changed) the county was named in the honor of Mary Beatrice d’Este (aka, the Duchess of York, and later Queen Consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland). But why is this area named for someone who never even set foot here? Well, if you look closely at American History, it’s quite common to see this. Many of the names of the colonies, like Virginia, named for the Virgin Queen Elizabeth (never visited), or Maryland named for Queen Hentrietta Maria (neglected to stop by) and Georgia, named for King George the II (again, a no show). So who exactly was this Mary Beatrice d’Este?
Mary was the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Modena, in Italy. She was born on October 5th, 1658 and received a thorough education as a child. She could speak several different languages and was destined to marry a member of royalty. Her mother, the Duchess of Modena was on the hunt for a high ranking match for her daughter. She really wanted the King of Spain, Charles the II, who was about the same age as Mary, but instead, James, the Duke of York, expressed interest. It was certainly not love at first sight for Mary. When she met James (essentially at their wedding day) she saw someone who was 25 years older than her, covered with smallpox scars, and had a terrible stutter. However, he had just converted to Catholicism which put Mary at ease, as she was a devout Catholic whom the English (for the most part) did not trust.
Mary’s life as a Duchess and later as the Queen, would be marked with trouble and pain. Of course, it was not easy to live in a mostly Protestant country where the majority of the residents believed she was a spy for the Pope. She and James also had a hard time bearing children. After three failed attempts, a daughter named Isabel finally arrived, but she died in infancy which sent Mary into a period of dark depression. Six more miscarriages and stillborns when finally a boy, they named James arrived and lastly a daughter Louisa Maria. But she and her husband were forced out of England right about the time of her son’s birth as Protestant leaders invited Jame’s daughter from his first marriage, Mary, and her husband William of Orange, to invade England and remove the Catholics from the throne.
Mary and her family ended up spending time in exile in France with King Louis XIV as their host. Unfortunately, her husband, King James the II suffered a stroke and died in 1701 while they were in France, he was the last catholic to ever sit on the English throne. In 1712, her only surviving daughter died from smallpox and it was very clear that her son would never be king. Mary lived out the rest of her life in a convent just outside of Paris, with no money to her name. She died in 1718 at the age of 59. Sadly, she never did make it to the county that was named in her honour. Hanging in the local history offices is a small copy of the painting of Mary which was presented to the Dutchess County Historical Society by Mr. Innis Young.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Modena
“The Queen over the Water” by Mary Hopkirk – 1953 – LH B Mary
Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook – 1922 – An article by Helen Wilkinson Reynolds
Images:
01 – Mary of Modena, in the year of her husband’s accession, 1685 – Painting by Willem Wissing
02 – Mary of Modena, 1680 – Painting by Simon Verelst
