Margaret Eleanor Crosby

Margaret Eleanor Crosby, Baroness Huntingfield, of Heveningham Hall (New York City, April 25, 1884 – London, England, March 1, 1943) was an American heiress and philanthropist.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life

Margaret Eleanor Crosby was the first daughter of Frances (Fanny) Kendall Schieffelin and Ernest Howard Crosby. She was born in Manhattan. She was Maunsell Schieffelin Crosby's only sibling, and she was the maternal grandchild of Henry Maunsell Schieffelin and Sarah Minerva (nee Kendall) Schieffelin.[1][2]

Margaret Eleanor Crosby grew up on Grasmere estate close to Rhinebeck, NY, which her grandma Sarah Minerva Schieffelin bought in 1894.[1][2]

Personal life and family

Margaret Eleanor Crosby married William Charles Arcedeckne Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield, of Heveningham Hall in 1912.[1][6]

Margaret Eleanor met Captain Vanneck, who was stationed with his regiment in India, at the Coronation Durbar in Delhi.[1]

Margaret Eleanor and William Vanneck married in December 1912 at St George’s Church in London.[1][7]

The couple had two daughters and two sons: Sarah Carola, Gerard Charles, Anne Margaret Theodosia, and Peter.[1]

The family lived in England, and in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1934 to 1939.[1]

Committee work and social commitment

• Founding the University Women’s College at the University of Melbourne[1][8][9]
• Founding Melbourne’s oldest Kindergarten[1][6]
• Donated a scholarship for social work students at the University of Melbourne, still existing today[10][11]

Death

Margaret Eleanor Crosby died in 1943 in London, soon after her home was bombed during a German airstrike in World War II.[1]

References

1. Scheufele, Michael (2022). Jacob Scheuffelin, currently in Pennsylvania … Five Hundred Years of the Schieffelin Family. wbg Academic in Herder. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-3534450060.
2. Gillotti, Susan (2013). Women of Privilege: 100 Years of Love and Loss in a Family of the Hudson River Valley. Chicago, IL: Academy Chicago Publishers. ISBN 978-0897337243.
3. "Margaret Eleanor (née Crosby), Lady Huntingfield - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
4. "Margaret Eleanor Crosby (1884-1963) - HouseHistree". househistree.com. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
5. "Margaret Eleanor Crosby 1884-1943 - Ancestry®". www.ancestry.com.au. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
6. "Who was Lady Huntingfield?". Hotham History Project. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
7. "WEDS ENGLISH LIEUTENANT.; Miss Margaret Eleanor Crosby Married to William C.A. Vanneck. (Published 1912)". 1912-12-22. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
8. "Our History - Residential College | University College Melbourne". University College. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
9. Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "University Women's College - Organisation - The Australian Women's Register". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
10. Nguyen, Brigitte (2023-05-10). "Lady Huntingfield Memorial Scholarship". Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
11. Bartlett, Rodney (2019-03-19). "Lady Huntingfield Memorial Scholarship". Scholarships. Retrieved 2023-07-30.