Alexander B. Britton

Alexander B. Britton
Born	(1867-01-01)January 1, 1867 Washington D.C.
Died	June 24, 1926(1926-06-24) (aged 59) Chevy Chase, Maryland
Alma mater	Princeton University George Washington University Law School
Occupation	Attorney
Spouse(s)	Louise Schneider Reed ​ ​ (m. 1889; died 1917)​ Marjorie Savin Pilson ​ ​ (m. 1923; died 1926)​
Children	Princess Catherine of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst Margaret Rusk
Parent(s)	Alexander Thompson Britton Mary Crandall Wilcox

Alexander B. Britton (January 1, 1867 – June 24, 1926) was an American lawyer with the firm Britton & Gray.

Early life

Engraving of his father, Alexander T. Britton

Britton was born in Washington D.C. on January 1, 1867. He was a son of Col. Alexander Thompson Britton (1835–1899) and Mary Crandall Wilcox (1833–1868). Among his siblings were Susan Britton (wife of Jesse Bright Ould), Mary Heins "Daisy" Britton, and Belle Britton (wife of Walter Allan Galt). After his mother's death in 1868, his father married Mary Ann Martin in 1869.[1] From his father's second marriage, Alexander had several half-siblings, including Martin Britton (who married Susan Felicia Kirby), William Lee Britton (who married Mayday Louise Walker), Sadie Britton (wife of Joseph Nelson Thompson),[1] and Flora Britton (wife of Arthur Dudley Carpenter).[2]

His paternal grandparents were Alexander Britton and Susan (née Towers) Britton of New York City.[1] His maternal grandparents were Isaac Wilcox Jr. and Clarissa Richmond (née Brownell) Wilcox of Providence, Rhode Island.[3]

Britton attended Princeton University before attending law school at Columbian University (today known as George Washington University).[4]

Career

Britton joined the law firm started by his father in 1864,[5] eventually becoming senior partner. Like his father before him, Britton was considered a leader of the Washington bar and was a member of the Washington Board of Trade.[4]

He was a director of the Federal-American National Bank and the Merchants' Transfer and Storage Company, and served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Capital Garage Company.[4]

Club life

A prominent club man, Britton served as president, and a member of the Board of Governors, of the Chevy Chase Club in Maryland. He was also a member of the Metropolitan Club, the Racquet Club, and the Blue Ridge Rod and Gun Club.[4]

Personal life

Photograph of his daughter, Princess Catherine of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst

On October 23, 1889, Britton married Louise Schneider Reed (1869–1917), a daughter of William Bushrod Reed and Catharine Augusta Schneider.[6] Before her death on January 23, 1917, they were the parents of:

• Catherine Britton (1892–1929),[7] who married Prince Alfred of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, son of Prince Konrad of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst and Countess Franziska von Schönborn-Buchheim, in 1916.[8][9] Prince Alfred's youngest sister, Princess Franziska, was the wife of Archduke Maximilian of Austria (brother of Archduke Karl Franz of Austria, the last Emperor of Austria).[10] After her death, Prince Alfred married Felicitas Aletta Mechthild (née von Schoeller) Southard, a daughter of Ritter Richard von Schoeller and widow of James Wendell Southard, before his death in a plane crash over South Ayrshire, Scotland in 1948.[10]
• Margaret Britton (1895–1958), who married Commander H. Welles Rusk Jr. of the U.S. Navy, son of U.S. Representative Harry Welles Rusk, in 1915.[11]

After his first wife's death, shortly after their eldest daughter's wedding to Prince Alfred, Britton married Marjorie (née Savin) Pilson (1891–1951) on December 1, 1923, at his home at Chevy Chase, Maryland. She was previously married to Edward H. Pilson. From her first marriage, she was the mother of Marjorie (née Pilson) Faust, Elaine (née Pilson) Castle, and Nancy (née Pilson) Hawkins).

Britton died on June 24, 1926, in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington.[4] After his death, his widow married Count Ippolito Salvoni of Florence, Italy on June 21, 1927.[12]

Descendants

Through his daughter Catherine, he was a grandfather of Prince Alexander Konrad of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1918–1984), who married Margaret Boyce Schulze in 1939 (a granddaughter of industrialist William Boyce Thompson and stepdaughter of Ambassador Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr., they divorced and Margaret married singer Morton Downey);[13][14] and Prince Konrad Maximilian Alfred of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (1919–1943), who married Ladislaja Mayr von Melnhof (after his death she married Count Johann Jakob Eltz).[15][16]

References

1. Cutter, William Richard (1918). American Biography: A New Cyclopedia. Pub. under the direction of the American historical society. p. 184. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
2. Andrews, Matthew Page (1925). Tercentenary History of Maryland. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 216. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
3. Crandall, John Cortland (1990). Elder John Crandall of Rhode Island and His Descendants. J.C. Crandall. pp. 334–363. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
4. "ALEXANDER BRITTON DIES END IS SUDDEN Stricken While Reading in Bed—Was a Leading Lawyer in Washington, PROMINENT IN CLUB LIFE Had Been President of the Chevy Chase Club--Funeral Arranged for This Afternoon". The New York Times. June 26, 1926. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
5. The Brunonian | '57 Alexander Thomas Britton. Brown University. 1900. p. 397. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
6. Revolution, Sons of the American (1902). A National Register of the Society, Sons of the American Revolution. Press of A. H. Kellogg. p. 273. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
7. "AMERICAN PRINCESS IS DEAD IN VIENNA; Former Catharine Britton of Washington Wed to Prince Alfred Hohenlohe in 1916". The New York Times. 25 June 1929. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
8. "MISS BRITTON WED TO AUSTRIAN PRINCE; Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alex. Britton Marries Alfred zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfurst. HE IS EMBASSY ATTACHE Mgr. Russell Officiates at Simple Ceremony Attended by Diplomats of the Central Powers". The New York Times. December 15, 1916. p. 13. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
9. "HOLDS BRITTON LOAN TO PRINCE IS TAXABLE; Appeals Court Bars $37,000 'Bad Debt' Deduction Made by Washington Lawyer in 1921". The New York Times. January 26, 1932. p. 10. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
10. Gothaischer genealogischer Hofkalender nebst diplomatisch-statistichem Jahrbuch (in German). J. Perthes. 1919. p. 151. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
11. "MISS BRITTON WEDS PAYMASTER RUSK Washington Surprised by Her Marriage While Visiting Aunt in Charleston. -.HER PARENTS AT SEASIDE Jridc's Sister Katherine Was With Miss Nona McAdoo as Nurse in War Hospital in Paris". The New York Times. June 14, 1915. p. 9. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
12. "Captain Joseph Belton Style Repeating Flintlock Pistol". www.rockislandauction.com. Rock Island Auction Company. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
13. "Miss Schulze Married; She Is Bride in Paris of Prince Alexander Hohenlohe of Poland". The New York Times. October 15, 1939. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
14. "MRS. DOWNEY, 42 WIFE OF EX-SINGER; Charity Worker Dies—Was Active in Family Business". The New York Times. May 22, 1964. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
15. von), Wilhelm Karl Isenburg (Prinz (1956). Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der europäischen Staaten: (Europäische Stammtafeln) (in German). Stargardt. p. 15. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
16. Lohse, Eckart; Wehner, Markus (2011). Guttenberg: Biographie (in German). Droemer. p. 92. ISBN 978-3-426-27554-2. Retrieved 5 September 2024.