Eleanor Oglethorpe
Encyclopedia
Eleanor Oglethorpe was an employee of the royal household during the reigns of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 and James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

. She followed James II to France, where he was exiled after the Glorious Revolution. Eleanor and her husband Theophilus Oglethorpe
Theophilus Oglethorpe
Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe was an English soldier and MP.The son of Sutton Oglethorpe, he came of an old Yorkshire family from Bramham and he had loyally supported King Charles I against the Cromwellian forces, and in consequence suffered severely at the hands of the Puritans with his home and...

 returned to their estate outside London, but remained secretly and actively in the service of the House of Stuart. After Theophilus and William IV
William IV
William IV may refer to:* William IV of the United Kingdom * William IV, Duke of Aquitaine * William IV of Provence * William, Margrave of Meissen , also William IV of Weimar* William IV, Count of Toulouse William IV may refer to:* William IV of the United Kingdom (1765–1837)* William IV, Duke of...

 died in 1702 she became an advisor to Queen Anne
Queen Anne
"Queen Anne" generally refers to Anne, Queen of Great Britain , Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1702, and of Great Britain from 1707.Queen Anne may also refer to:-Uses relating to Queen Anne of Great Britain:...

, even as she continued working for the Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...

 cause. Eleanor Oglethorpe was the mother of James Edward Oglethorpe, the philanthropist, social reformer, politician, and soldier who founded Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

.

Early life

Eleanor Wall, or Du-Vall, was born in Tipperary
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....

, Ireland, where she was raised Catholic. She traced her family ancestry to Richard Seigneur de Val Dery, an associate of William the Conqueror; and she claimed kinship to nobility, including the House of Argyll, a prominent Scottish clan loyal to the House of Stuart. Her father, Richard Wall, loyally defended Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 against Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

, beginning a family affiliation with the House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...

.

Employment with the House of Stuart

Eleanor Wall was employed in the household of Charles II at a young age. In 1681, while holding the position of head laundress she met and soon married a young army officer, Theophilus Oglethorpe, who was quartered on the Thames River next to the royal palace. Through both loyalty and ability the couple rose in stature during the reign of Charles II, and both were present at his death in 1685.

Charles II was succeeded by his brother, James II, who rewarded the Oglethorpes’ continued loyalty by making Eleanor Lady Oglethorpe and knighting Theophilus. James II was Catholic as well as a believer in the theory of divine right of kings
Divine Right of Kings
The divine right of kings or divine-right theory of kingship is a political and religious doctrine of royal and political legitimacy. It asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God...

 advanced by his grandfather, James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

. In order to restore a Protestant monarchy and balanced government, Parliament engineered a coup d’état, soon known as the Glorious Revolution, that brought William and Mary
William and Mary
The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...

 to power.

Agent of the Jacobite Cause

James II went into exile in France, where he was supported by Louis XIV. Eleanor and Theophilus Oglethorpe remained loyal to James II and followed him to Paris. They soon returned to their estate, Westbrook Manor, in Surrey. From there they continued to secretly serve James II and plotted his return to the throne. After the deaths of James II and Theophilus in 1702, Eleanor remained loyal to the Catholic Stuart line by supporting and advising James Francis Edward Stuart, heir of James II, who was recognized by France as James III
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...

 and known in England as The Old Pretender.

Eleanor Oglethorpe continued her efforts on behalf of James III until her death in 1732. Westbrook Manor became a meeting place for Jacobites planning the restoration of the Catholic House of Stuart, and who were engaged in smuggling to finance the cause. The manor house had a trap door leading to a tunnel to the town of Godalming that was used by the conspirators.

Children

Eleanor Oglethorpe’s children were drawn into the Jacobite cause and actively supported James III. Sons Lewis and Theophilus Junior remained with her in London for a time and served in Parliament after their father’s death. Eventually Lewis went to Europe, where he died in combat. Theophilus Junior later worked for the East India Company then returned to Europe seeking a position with James III; he failed to secure a position but was made Baron Oglethorpe, probably as an honor to Eleanor. Daughters Anne Henrietta, baptized An Harath (1683–1756), Eleanor (1684–1775), Luisa Mary (1693-?), and Francis Charlotte (1695-?) all became active Jacobites. Anne remained at Westbrook to assist her parents, and later moved to Europe; she was made Countess of Oglethorpe by James III. Daughter Eleanor married Marquis de Mezieres, with whom she had seven children; they lived in France from 1689; descendants include members of royal families throughout Europe. Luisa (Molly) married the Marquis de Bersompierre and lived in France and then in Spain, where she held a post in the royal court. Frances (Fanny) married the Marquis des Marches of Piedmont, with whom she had at least one son; she lived in France until she became lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Savoy and Sicily about 1726.

Oglethorpe intrigues led to rumors about Eleanor’s children that developed into myths. In one instance, James III was rumored to be James Oglethorpe (not James Edward who was born in 1696), switched at birth when the actual Stuart heir died in 1689. In another, Anne or Fanny Oglethorpe were variously depicted as Queen Oglethorpe or Her Oglethorpean Majesty, and mistress to James III.

Eleanor Oglethorpe’s youngest and most famous child, James Edward Oglethorpe (1696–1785), managed to distance himself sufficiently from the Jacobite cause to become an effective Member of Parliament and notable presence in eighteenth century London society.
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