Marriages and Children
On 5 November 1859, Harcourt married his first wife Maria Theresa Lister, known as Therese. She was a daughter of novelist Thomas Henry Lister and Lady Maria Theresa Villiers. They had two children:
- Julian Harcourt (6 October 1860 - 2 March 1862).
- Lewis Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt (31 January 1863 - 24 February 1922). Originally christened Reginald, but rechristened at the age of two months. Lewis Harcourt served as Private Secretary to his father and later became a prominent politician in his own right, most notably as Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1910 to 1915.
His first wife died on 1 February 1863, only a day after giving birth to their second and last son. Harcourt remained a widower for thirteen years. On 2 December 1876, he married his second wife Elizabeth Cabot Motley. Elizabeth was a daughter of American historian John Lothrop Motley and his wife Mary Benjamin. Her maternal uncle Park Benjamin was a patent lawyer and writer on scientific subjects. She had been previously married to naval officer Thomas Poynton Ives. Ives was among the casualties of the American Civil War. By this second marriage, Harcourt had his third and final son:
- Robert Harcourt (born 7 May 1878). He married Marjorie Laura Cunard. Their daughter Mary Elizabeth Harcourt married Ian Rochfort Johnston, a Commander of the Royal Navy.
Read more about this topic: William Vernon Harcourt (politician)
Famous quotes containing the words marriages and/or children:
“Some marriages depend on domestic arguments the way the courts depend on litigation.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“In the schoolyard,in the cloakrooms, the children boasted their
scars of dried snot;wrists and knees garnished with impetigo.”
—Geoffrey Hill (b. 1932)