Several years ago I was invited by Anne Fermor to go to England and meet Lord Hesketh. I had to decline because I did not have the money. If the Rice Trust had distributed earlier, then I could have gone.

Anne and I spent many hours on the phone discussing our genealogies. I put her in touch with Peter Sharon who inherited the Sharon genealogy and was considering rekindling the Sharon Family Reunion at the Palace Hotel in Shan Francisco uilt by William Ralston who lived in Ralston Hall where William Stuttmeister marred Augusta Janke. When William Windsor got engaged to Kate Middleton I talked about having this reunion coincide with the royal wedding where two houses across the water can be united. Flora Sharon lived at Ralston Hall and Easton-Neston. Flora Hesketh just married a wealthy banker, and was once considered a suitable mate for Prince Georg Frederick who just got married.

Anne Fermor and I exchanged e-mails and discussed the family tie to John Witherspoon, the Signer, who appears to descend from John Knox who married a Stuart. The Peerage had John within, but gives none of his history. Is this deliberate, and all he being a Patriot? My niece, Drew Benton, is kin to John and the Stuarts via the union of Hon. Mary Stewart and Phineas Preston.

Above is a photograph of Christine Rosamond Benton, at the Getty Mansion.

Jon Presco

Copyright 2012

Hon. Mary Stewart and Phineas Preston

She was the daughter of William Stewart, 1st Viscount Mountjoy and Hon. Mary Coote.1,2 From 1692, her married name became Preston.2 From 1709, her married name became Forbes. As a result of her marriage, Hon. Mary Stewart was styled as Countess of Granard on 24 August 1734.
Children of Hon. Mary Stewart and Phineas Preston
Jane Preston+2 b. c 1690, d. a 12 Nov 1746
Mary Preston2 b. 1696, d. 1749
Colonel John Preston+2 b. 1699, d. 1747

Florence Louise Breckinridge was born in November 1881 at California, U.S.A..2 She was the daughter of John Witherspoon Breckinridge and Florence Louise Tevis.1 She married Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh, son of Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 7th Bt. and Florence Emily Sharon, on 9 September 1909 at British Embassy Church, Paris, France.1 She died on 4 March 1956 at age 74 at Easton Neston, Towcester, Northamptonshire, England.3,4 She was buried at St. Mary's Church, Easton Neston, Northamptonshire, England.4
      From 9 September 1909, her married name became Fermor-Hesketh.1 As a result of her marriage, Florence Louise Breckinridge was styled as Baroness Hesketh on 25 January 1935.

The eccentric Englishman Lord Hesketh met up with Anthony 'Bubbles' Horsley, and the pair entered various Formula Three events around Europe in 1972, with the mission objective simply to have as much fun as possible. Unsurprisingly, given Horsley's lack of experience, results were thin on the ground.
Hesketh then met up with James Hunt, who had a reputation for being very fast, but also for writing off cars, and at the time was unemployed. Hesketh took on Hunt as one of his drivers for F3.
The Hesketh team had a growing reputation for their playboy style, arriving at races in Rolls-Royce cars, drinking champagne regardless of their results, and checking the entire team into five-star hotels.
By the middle of the season Hunt and "Bubbles" had written off both Formula Three cars. Horsley decided to leave the cockpit, switching to the team management. Hesketh rented a Formula Two March for the rest of 1972, and bought Hunt a Surtees Formula Two car for 1973. Hunt then promptly wrote the car off at the Pau Grand Prix, and in typical style, Hesketh worked out the cost involved in competing in the top flight was hardly more expensive than F2, he decided to move the team up to Formula One.

Easton Neston is a country house near Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, and is part of the Easton Neston Parish. It was designed in the Baroque style by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor.[1] Easton Neston is thought to be the only mansion which was solely the work of Hawksmoor. From circa 1700 Hawksmoor was to work on many buildings, including Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace, with Sir John Vanbrugh, often providing the technical knowledge to the less qualified Vanbrugh. Hawksmoor's work, even after their many collaborations, was always more classically severe than Vanbrugh's. However, Easton Neston predates this partnership by some six years. The house is a Listed building Grade I.[2]
[edit] Architect
Hawksmoor was commissioned to build Easton Neston by Sir William Fermor, later created Lord Leominster;[3] Hawksmoor had been recommended to Fermor by his cousin by marriage Sir Christopher Wren, [4] who had advised on the building of a new mansion on the site circa 1680. However, no details of quite what Wren envisaged survive, and work seems to have ceased following completion of the two service blocks, of which only one survives. Following Fermor's marriage to an heiress, Catherine Poulett, in 1692, he decided to resurrect the idea of a new mansion, and subsequently Wren's pupil Hawksmoor received the commission circa

http://www.edisonavenue.net/2012/04/leon-max-easton-neston-home.html

THE former owner of Easton Neston has become the most high profile member of the Conservative party to defect to UKIP.
Lord Alexander Hesketh, who still owns Towcester Racecourse, cites Prime Minister David Cameron ruling out a referendum on the EU as the reason for his defection.
In a statement, Lord Hesketh, who sold Easton Neston to fashion mogul Leon Max in 2005 for £15million, said: “I have been a Conservative all my adult life but the recent decision by the Prime Minister to rule out a referendum on EU membership has angered me greatly.
“On this, and many other matters, UKIP’s views chime with mine and I am delighted to join the party which is fast becoming a real force in British politics.”
Lord Hesketh was treasurer of the Conservative Party between 2003 and 2004 and was chairman of the Conservative Party Foundation between 2003 and 2010.
He held a number of positions within the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and in May 1991 he was appointed chief whip in the House of Lords by John Major, a position he held for nearly two-and-a-half years.
He launched Formula 1 team Hesketh Racing in the 1970s which found success with British driver James Hunt.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: “Over the last few months a number of former Conservatives have joined UKIP as they have become disillusioned with the Conservative Party”

THE former owner of Easton Neston has become the most high profile member of the Conservative party to defect to UKIP.
Lord Alexander Hesketh, who still owns Towcester Racecourse, cites Prime Minister David Cameron ruling out a referendum on the EU as the reason for his defection.
In a statement, Lord Hesketh, who sold Easton Neston to fashion mogul Leon Max in 2005 for £15million, said: “I have been a Conservative all my adult life but the recent decision by the Prime Minister to rule out a referendum on EU membership has angered me greatly.
“On this, and many other matters, UKIP’s views chime with mine and I am delighted to join the party which is fast becoming a real force in British politics.”
Lord Hesketh was treasurer of the Conservative Party between 2003 and 2004 and was chairman of the Conservative Party Foundation between 2003 and 2010.
He held a number of positions within the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and in May 1991 he was appointed chief whip in the House of Lords by John Major, a position he held for nearly two-and-a-half years.
He launched Formula 1 team Hesketh Racing in the 1970s which found success with British driver James Hunt.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: “Over the last few months a number of former Conservatives have joined UKIP as they have become disillusioned with the Conservative Party”

Georg Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia, (legal name: Georg Friedrich Ferdinand Prinz von Preußen)[1] (born 10 June 1976) is the current head of the House of Hohenzollern, the former ruling dynasty of the German Empire and of the Kingdom of Prussia. He is the great-great-grandson and historic heir of William II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, who was deposed and, initially, went into exile upon Germany's defeat in World War I in 1918.

Marriage
On 21 January 2011, Georg Friedrich announced his engagement to HSH Princess Sophie Johanna Maria of Isenburg (born 7 March 1978), who studied business administration in Freiburg and Berlin and works at a firm that offers consulting services for nonprofit business.[8] The civil wedding took place in Potsdam on 25 August 2011,[2] and the religious wedding took place at the Church of Peace in Potsdam on 27 August 2011, in commemoration of the 950th anniversary of the founding of the House of Hohenzollern.[9][10] The religious wedding was also broadcast live by local public television.[2]
Princess Sophie's parents are Franz-Alexander, Prince of Isenburg and his wife, née Countess Christine von Saurma-Jeltsch.[11] The couple share descent (being 6th cousins once-removed) from Charles II, the first reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a brother of Charlotte of Mecklenburg, queen consort of George III of the United Kingdom. Princess Sophie's father is head of the senior branch of the mediatised princely House of Isenburg, known under the Holy Roman Empire and subsequent German Empire as the Büdingen-Birstein line. In 1913 Franz Alexander's grandfather, Franz Joseph, dropped the und Büdingen zu Birstein suffix from his title as Fürst von Isenburg.
The princess has two brothers, and her elder sisters are, respectively, Archduchess Katharina (born 1971), wife since 2004 of Archduke Martin of Austria-Este, and Princess Isabelle (born 1973), wife since 1998 of Carl, Prince of Wied.

Hesketh has been making love to Miss Florence Sharon , a most charming girl , daughter of Senator Sharon and the engagement was announced in the Chronicle & Newsletter . The American girls knew what they were up to ; they had this cash , which would allow them to become objects of interest .
 
Also , it was a passport to Europe , to a certain degree of freedom and what they saw as a more sophisticated environment . So they traded money for access to what they saw as the cream of world society.
 
The new lady of the manor quickly set out to spend some of that money when she found things not entirely to her liking . She had hoped for a ‘rambling, medieval’ home and had to work to instill those qualities in Nicholas Hawksmoor's graceful Baroque masterpiece of architecture . Florence Sharon had definite ideas of what an English house should look like, and she encouraged her husband to go out and acquire works of art that she thought were right for the house , and she also had a very , very keen eye for luxury , and so the wardrobes or beds or so on tend to be of the best variety and stood the test of time . The admiral's comfort came at no expense to Easton Neston , which continued to be maintained by a steady flow of American dollars from San Francisco – interrupted , only in 1906 by the great earthquake .

Aha- So thus another connection. Now I am very curious about the German side of my family- my mother's side…..

— On Tue, 3/2/10, John Ambrose wrote:

> From: John Ambrose
> Subject: Ralston Hall
> To:
> Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 2:19 AM
> Anne;
>  
> Ralston Hall may have been one of the portable houses
> that Carl Janke brought around the Horn on a Clipper, and
> was added on to. Carl Janke's daughters are buried
> with the Stuttmeisters. This is where Florence Emily
> Sharon Baron Fermor-Hesketh.
>  
>  
>  
> Jon.
>  

Photo and History of John
1 recipients
CC: recipientsYou More
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FROM:
Anne Farmer  
TO:
John Ambrose
Message flagged
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 12:11 AM
 

   Good one, Jon- you're still awake too I see. I have been finding more Fermor/Farmer links. Earlier today I went to Office depot to photocopy the letters I wrote to you and noticed 2 pages 23 & 25 are missing. Today I also talked with my evil sisters 1st husband to see if she got to anyone in the UK. She may have but is doubtful as at that time not interested in the heritage stuff. Whew. However he cautioned me to protect myself and my mother and warm the English relatives- which I've already started to do last trip.
   I'm staying up past my usual bedtime to FAX my lease agreement back to the UK to secure my housing there. The time zone difference is a sleep deterrant,,,,
Now and always-
Anne

> 'Fermor1'
>  Index links to: Lead / Letter
> Families covered: Fermor (Fermour) of
> Easton Neston, Fermor of Leominster, Fermor of Pomfret
> (Pontefract), Fermor (Fermour) of Somerton, Fermor of
> Tusmore
>
> Anne
> Fermor
>
>
>
>
> 
Sir
> John FERMOR of Easton Neston
> Born: 1516
> Died: 1571
> Father: Richard FERMOR (See his Biography)
> Mother: Anne
> BROWNE
> Married: Maud VAUX BEF
> Nov 1544
> Children:
> 1. George FERMOR (Sir) (d. 1 Dec 1612) (m.
> Mary Curson)
> 2. Catherine FERMOR (m.1 Michael
> Pulteney of Misterton – m.2 Sir Henry
> Darcy)
> 3. Mary FERMOR (m. Thomas
> Lucas)
> 4. Son FERMOR
> 5. Son FERMOR
> 6. Dau. FERMOR

Anne FERMOR

Birth: 1500/1530

Partnership with: William LUCY
Child: Thomas LUCY of Charlecote Birth: 1527/1534
Descendants of Anne FERMOR
1 Anne FERMOR
=William LUCY
2 Thomas LUCY of Charlecote
=Joyce ACTON
3 Thomas LUCY of Charlecote, Warwick
=Constance KINGSMILL

“He was a great great grandson of John Knox (1505 -1572) and his second wife,
Margaret Stuart (1548 -1612).

Baron Hesketh, of Hesketh in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1935 for Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 8th Baronet, who had previously briefly represented Enfield in the House of Commons as a Conservative. As of 2010[update] the titles are held by his grandson, the third Baron, who succeeded his father in 1955. Lord Hesketh held junior ministerial positions in the Conservative administrations of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. However, he lost his seat in the House of Lords after the House of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the upper chamber of Parliament.
The Hesketh Baronetcy, of Rufford in the County Palatine of Lancaster, was created in the Baronetage of Great Britain in 1761 for Thomas Hesketh, with special remainder to his brother Robert, who succeeded him as second Baronet. The latter's great-great-grandson, the fifth Baronet, sat as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Preston. His grandson, the eighth Baronet, was elevated to the peerage as Baron Hesketh in 1935.
The former seat of the Barons Hesketh was Easton Neston in Northamptonshire. The house was previously the seat of the Fermor family (Earls of Pomfret since 1721), and came into the Hesketh family through the marriage in 1846 of Sir Thomas George Hesketh, 5th Baronet, to Lady Anna Maria Isabella Fermor, sister and heiress of George Richard William Fermor, 5th and last Earl of Pomfret. However, the house was sold by the current Baron in 2005.
The original seat of the Hesketh family was Rufford Old Hall in the village of Rufford in Lancashire. This house was sold to the National Trust by the first Baron Hesketh in 1936.