Wilton House Museum
One of the wedding fans of Elizabeth Catesby can be seen on
display at the Wilton
House Museum, the headquarters for the
Virginia Society of Colonial
Dames.
Elizabeth Jekyll Catesby
The Catesby family was of Welsh origin. The ancestral line of the Catesbys passes through John Catesby who married Elizabeth Jekyll. The name Jekyll was popular among the descendants of Dr. William Cocke and Elizabeth Catesby Cocke in Virginia and later in the United States. Many used Jekyll as a given name for their children. The name Catesby was also used extensively as a given name.
Elizabeth Jekyll Catesby was born in 1680 in Sudbury, Suffolk. She married William Cocke, M.D. on 4 September 1699 in St. Peters Church, Sudbury, England. It seems that she married without parental consent, being called disobedient by her father. One source says Elizabeth Catesby was, "a lady of superior attainments intellectually and socially". "She was doubtless possess of not ordinary personal attractions."
Elizabeth emigrated to the Colony of Virginia with her children, arriving on the ship, "Hanover" on 22 April 1712, having been called by her husband who had emigrated two years previously to be the personal physician of the Governor of Virginia. Apparently Mark Catesby, her brother, was with them since records show his arrival in Virginia on 23 April 1712. Reportedly they were met and taken to Williamsburg in the governor's coach.
On 22 October 1720, Elizabeth was left a widow when her husband, Dr. William Cocke died suddenly in the Capitol while serving as a Justice in the courtroom. On 5 January 1725, she married John Holloway, Col. and was widowed again in 1734. Elizabeth died on 4 March 1755, Aged 74.
At the Wilton
House Museum one may see a beautiful old fan which was one of the wedding fans of Elizabeth
Catesby. The original mount of Elizabeth Catesby's fan was of paper, with a hand
painted design on both sides. One side revealed a "dancing scene",
while there was a "musical scene" on the other, showing the principal
instruments that were popular during Queen Anne's reign. Coutiers and their
ladies appeared in the costumes of their period. As time passed the mount became
worn and badly torn. At last when it was beyond repair, a new one took its
place, which is the one seen today. The present mount is of silk with an
elaborate hand-painted scroll work design in brilliant colors, which surrounds
the Catesby coat-of-arms on one side and the Graham coat-of-arms on the other.
This excellent example of armorial painting was done in 1891. The most beautiful
feature of the fan is the sticks which are the originals, made of
Mother-of-Pearl with gold inlay. This priceless old fan was given to the
Colonial Dames in Virginia by Hartley Graham, the great granddaughter of
Elizabeth Catesby Cocke, its original owner.