British (Irish) Aristocrat, Fourth Earl of Desart, Author. William Ulick O'Connor Cuffe was born in London, the eldest son of the third Earl of Desart, whose family had been granted land in County Cork by Queen Elizabeth the First. He was educated at Eton and at Bonn. From 1856 to 1862, he served as a Page of Honour to Queen Victoria, then joined the Grenadier Guards as a Lieutenant, being promoted to Captain in 1865. His father died in the same year and William became the fourth Earl, being admitted to the House of Lords in 1867 as a Representative Peer of Ireland. In 1871, he married Maria Emma Preston, the great-granddaughter of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. They had one daughter, Lady Kathleen, but they divorced in 1878 and, on the 27th. April 1881 at Christ Church in Down Street, Mayfair, he married Ellen Odette Bischoffsheim. The Earl was the author of some fifteen novels, including: "The Children of Nature"; "Kelverdale"; "Helen's Vow"; "Love and Pride on an Iceberg"; "Lord and Lady Piccadilly"; and "Beyond these Voices", the latter of which was set during the Fenian Rebellion. After a short illness, he died on his yacht, off the Cornish coast near Falmouth. As he had no sons, he was succeeded in the Earldom by his brother.
British (Irish) Aristocrat, Fourth Earl of Desart, Author. William Ulick O'Connor Cuffe was born in London, the eldest son of the third Earl of Desart, whose family had been granted land in County Cork by Queen Elizabeth the First. He was educated at Eton and at Bonn. From 1856 to 1862, he served as a Page of Honour to Queen Victoria, then joined the Grenadier Guards as a Lieutenant, being promoted to Captain in 1865. His father died in the same year and William became the fourth Earl, being admitted to the House of Lords in 1867 as a Representative Peer of Ireland. In 1871, he married Maria Emma Preston, the great-granddaughter of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. They had one daughter, Lady Kathleen, but they divorced in 1878 and, on the 27th. April 1881 at Christ Church in Down Street, Mayfair, he married Ellen Odette Bischoffsheim. The Earl was the author of some fifteen novels, including: "The Children of Nature"; "Kelverdale"; "Helen's Vow"; "Love and Pride on an Iceberg"; "Lord and Lady Piccadilly"; and "Beyond these Voices", the latter of which was set during the Fenian Rebellion. After a short illness, he died on his yacht, off the Cornish coast near Falmouth. As he had no sons, he was succeeded in the Earldom by his brother.
Bio by: Iain MacFarlaine
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