Eleanor Mary Bowes, Countess of Strathmore (1732-1800) and her son John Bowes
Mary Eleanor's first marriage to John Lyon, 9th E of
Strathmore ended with his death in 1776.
They had 5 children. John b 1769, (the 10th Earl), George b 1771 (d 1806
osp), Thomas b 1773 (11th Earl), Maria Jane b 1768, Anna Maria b 1770 .
On the death of Lord Strathmore she married Stoney Robinson
who adopted the Bowes name on marriage and by him had children, This marriage
was a disaster as Stoney Bowes treated Mary disgracefully. She obtained a
divorce in 1789 and Stoney spent the last 20 years of his life in prison, dying
there in 1810.
John Strathmore, the 10th Earl married
Mary Milner on July 2nd 1820, but after the birth of their son John in 1811. Their son therefore was illegitimate. The 10th Earl died
3rd July 1820.
His brother Thomas
claimed to be the 11th Earl as opposed to John Bowes, the son of the 10th
Earl on the grounds of John's illegitimacy.
At the subsequent law case it was decided that John's
claim to the title was invalid and the line of the Strathmores and the Scottish
Peerage descended through Thomas.
John Bowes subsequently became an
MP, resided at Streatlam Castle, carried out an extensive coal mining business,
developed horse racing, and art. He won four Derbys. In 1852 he married a
French girl, Josephine Benoite. They built the Bowes Museum to house their vast
collection of pictures. John Bowes died childless 1885, his wife in 1874.