Patrick Acheson Collection 1920 - 1952

Access and use

Location of collection:
Thomas Balch Library
Thomas Balch Library
208 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Alexandra S. Gressitt
Phone: (703) 737-7195
Fax: (703) 737-7195

Summary

Extent:
Less than .33 cubic ft.
Creator:
Patrick Bernard Victor Montagu Acheson (1915-2005)
Abstract:
This collection was found in a house on Cornwall Street, Leesburg, after the Patrick Acheson family had relocated. It consists primarily of photographs, handwritten notes, a 1920 U.S. passport, plus a program for the Foreign Correspondents Dinner (1941).
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

This collection was found in a house on Cornwall Street, Leesburg, after the Patrick Acheson family had relocated. It consists primarily of photographs, handwritten notes, a 1920 U.S. passport, plus a program for the Foreign Correspondents Dinner (1941). Mr. Patrick Acheson, resident of Leesburg, was the second son of the 5th Earl of Gosford. The photographs are of his mother, an American, his maternal grandparents, a resort hotel in Switzerland (Palazzo Salis), and one photograph of Patrick Acheson and one of his brother, Archibald Acheson, in a Royal Air Force uniform. The majority of the notes are between Louise (surname unknown) and Milly, Countess of Gosford.

The guest list of the Third Foreign Correspondents Dinner-Forum is dated 19 November 1941 and is entitled "What are the Chances for a Nazi Defeat".

Biographical / historical:

The Hon. Patrick Bernard Victor Montagu Acheson (1915-2005) lived at 207 Cornwall Street, Leesburg and in Waterford, Loudoun County. Patrick was born in England, the second son of the 5th Earl of Gosford (1877-1954). The 5th Earl had married an American, Caroline Mildred Carter (1889-1965) in 1910. Her father, John Ridgely Carter (1862-1944), was the U.S. Ambassador to Romania at the time of the wedding. This marriage between the English aristocracy and a high society American family reflects the intertwining of the two social groups in this period. John Singer Sargent painted portraits of both Caroline Carter and John R. Carter.

The photographs and correspondence in this collection represent the American side of Patrick Acheson's family. The early photographs are from the late Edwardian period at the time of his parents' marriage.

Acquisition information:
Catherine Darne, Leesburg, VA
Arrangement:

Folder

Physical description:
.