Frances Ellen Work

Frances was born in New York City on October 27, 1857. She was a daughter of Franklin H. Work (1819–1911), a well-known stockbroker and protégé of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and his wife, Ellen Wood (1831–1877).[1] Her sister Lucy Work (1861–1934) was married to Peter Cooper Hewitt (1861–1921).[2]

In 1892, Frances was included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times.[3] Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.[4]

She was a prominent figure in the New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, social sets, and was friends with Mrs Reginald Vanderbilt.[5]

When her father died in 1911, he left an estate, for the benefit of her, her children, and her sister, of nearly $15,000,000.[2] In his will, he stipulated that no part of his estate was to go to his "erstwhile son-in-law, James Boothby Burke Roche."[6]

On September 22, 1880, at Christ Church, New York City, she married the Hon. James Boothby Burke Roche (1852–1920),[7] who would later become the 3rd Baron Fermoy in 1920 after his elder brother, Edward Roche, 2nd Baron Fermoy (1850–1920), died without any male heirs.[8] He was the son of Edmond Roche, 1st Baron Fermoy, and his wife, Elizabeth Caroline Boothby.[9]

They had four children (two daughters, then twin sons):

• Eileen Roche (1882−1882), who died young.[6]
• The Hon. Cynthia Roche (1884−1966), who married firstly Arthur Scott Burden (1879−1921) in 1906 and secondly Guy Fairfax Cary (1879−1950) in 1922. She is the matrilineal great-grandmother of American actor Oliver Platt.
• The Hon. Edmund Maurice Burke Roche (1885–1955), who later became the 4th Baron Fermoy, and was the maternal grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales.
• The Hon. Francis George Burke Roche (1885–1958), a banker who died unmarried.[10]

In 1891, she divorced Roche in Delaware for desertion, before he had succeeded to the barony.[11] Her lawyer was Thomas F. Bayard, former United States Secretary of State.[12] In 1899, her ex-husband, then a Member of Parliament,[13] sued her with a Writ of Habeas Corpus to produce their daughter in court, stating that she was depriving "the child of her liberty."[9] The case was settled out of court shortly thereafter.[14]

On August 4, 1905, she married Aurel de Batonyi, a Hungarian-born riding instructor and society horseman.[15][16] When he immigrated to the United States on the White Star liner Majestic in 1891, Batonyi had claimed he was a count.[17] It was also suggested that his real name was Arthur Cohn.[5] She sued Batonyi for divorce two years after their marriage, allegedly because her father threatened to disinherit her if she continued to live with her husband.[5]

She died in the city of her birth, at her residence at 1020 Fifth Avenue, at the age of 89 on January 26, 1947.[6] Her great-great-grandchildren include the British princes William and Harry,[18] and the American actor Oliver Platt.[19]