Washoe Valley Royalty
The story of the Wellesleys
This started out as a story of a prominent Washoe Valley resident of days gone by but it also ended up as a tale of historical research. I was rummaging the local papers of 1933–1970 and came with a variety of contradictory snippets of information. Very frustrating and I wondered if the story I was going to present would even be accurate. Then I happened to find a relevant article in the Oakland Tribune of California which wrote up the whole affair entertainingly and succinctly. What a relief. It also illustrated how different the reporting quality was between Reno and “the big city”. So, I will pretty much quote that article with some info brought in from other sources.
Oakland Tribune, Tuesday, November 14, 1933
Earl To Seek U.S. Citizenship
Nephew of Duke of Wellington, Who Wed Night Club Girl, Will Live Near Reno
By James F. Wickizer United Press Staff Correspondent
Christian Arthur Wellesley, Fourth Earl of Cowley, who married a Reno nightclub hat-check girl last June, plans to give up his seat in the House of Lords and settle down to a pastoral life on a Washoe Valley ranch, he said today. Lord Cowley, grandnephew of the original Duke of Wellington revealed he had made application for American citizenship and had purchased the Lakeview Ranch, a section of land 25 miles south of here in (southwestern) Washoe Valley. “My wife and the life of the West mean more to me than titles”, said Cowley, who wears blazing red-and-green plaid shirts and chaps after the fashion of the Hollywood cowboy at his ranch.
Cowley’s marriage to Mary Elsie Himes, beautiful brunette hat-check girl of “The Cedars” Reno nightclub, startled two continents.
He married Mrs. Himes the day following his divorce from Lady Mae Josephine Cowley, known the London stage as Mary Picard. The divorce was granted on the grounds he and Lady Cowley, whom he married in New York City in 1914, had lived apart for five years. A settlement of $18,000 per year was made on Lady Cowley and their three children. The new Lady Cowley is a native of Reno. She was born on the old May ranch. She divorced Joseph T. Himes of Oakland, Cal. here on June 8, after she testified Himes made her mow the family lawn, build the fires, and left her sitting in the family automobile while he attended baseball games. (the charge was mental cruelty -ed). Her 7-year-old son, George Hadley Himes, is living with the Earl of Cowley, who said he may adopt the boy.
Predicts Happiness on Little Ranch
“We shall be immensely happy on our little ranch.” Lord Cowley said. “We shall have sufficient pasture for my horses, raise a little hay and settle down being happy living a simple life.”
Cowley’s Lakeview ranch is one of the most picturesque places in Nevada. It is situated on a rolling hill which overlooks Washoe Valley to the north where the half-million-dollar stone mansion built in 1861 by Sandy Bowers and Eilley Orrum, first “King and Queen of the Comstock,” now is transformed into a beer garden. To the south is the sleepy town of Carson City, Nevada’s State Capital. Virginia City, the “billion dollar city” on the Comstock Lode, lies to the east. In a clapboard ranch house of eight rooms Lord and Lady Cowley expect to spend the remainder of their days, Cowley said. (end of article)
The House of Lords is the upper house of Parliament in the United Kingdom and was once only made up of the upper class who inherited their seats. These inheritances were the result of titles given as “Kingly Favors” stretching back to the Middle Ages. Lord Cowley who evidently rejected the privileged but stiff lifestyle we see in TV shows like Downton Abbey. This refusal of royalty came just three years before King Edward Vlll abdicated the British Throne after less than a year and also married an American.
Lord Wellesley was descended from Arthur Wellesley, also known as The Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon at the Waterloo in 1815. Born in 1890, he pursued an acting and directing career in theater in England and the United States between 1910–1930. After the sale of his family estate in England and divorce from his first wife, he fell in love with Nevada and especially Washoe Valley. End of article.
Even though he insisted on living as a “commoner” (but a wealthy one) he did do a couple of interviews for the local papers. In 1936, he gave his opinion of the controversy that rocked the world- King George’s decision to abdicate the throne of England and marry Wallis Simpson, a twice divorced American socialite. “The day of Kings marrying Princesses and nobility marrying nobility is gone forever-as well it should be”. In another article, this one in 1936, the Earl is asked to contribute to the Nevada State Journal’s feature, “One Sound State”. The title was, “Why I Chose Nevada”. It deserves it’s own article at a later date.
Later Life
Lord Cowley insisted on being known as Christian “Bill” Wellesley when he lived in Washoe Valley. As outlined in the above article, he came to Reno for his divorce for unlike nearly everywhere else, Nevada had just instituted “quickie” divorces by only requiring a six-week residency. This created a divorce industry in Western Nevada employing lawyers and funding many dude ranches and entertainments in the area where wealthy divorce seekers could live their western fantasies. There were several popular ranches in Washoe Valley where the rich and famous could “suffer” their humiliation out of the limelight.
Mary Elsie May, his bride, was a Reno native whose grandfather was one of Truckee Meadow’s first settlers before Reno was established in 1868.
Despite the unusual and scandalous (outside of Reno) circumstances of their union, The Wellesley’s apparently really did live happily ever after in Washoe Valley. They were married in the home of his divorce attorney and her immediate family were the only other guests. They had two sons who attended the one-room school house in Franktown on the west side of the valley. In fact, over the years, more than a few children from notable domestic and foreign families attended the school as their parents waited for their divorces to finalize.
In 1934 a New York architect designed an “exquisite” white brick New England Colonial mansion on the 1,000 acre property. The immediate grounds were designed as a working ranch with a guest house, foreman’s residence, bunk house, 6 vehicle shed, blacksmith shop, cow and horse barns and gardens. Modeled on the English style of self sufficiency, the ranch was a real working ranch for many years.
They sold the ranch in 1950 and later owned homes at Lake Tahoe and Southern California. The Crystal Bay home was rented to Frank Sinatra and eventually sold to Howard Hughes. The Bel Air home was sold to actress Maureen O’Hara.
Christian passed away here in 1962 and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Carson City. The Lakeview Ranch was purchased by the father of future governor Bob List.
One of the Lord and Lady’s sons, Garret, excelled in school, college and corporate America and later moved to England as a bank executive and to take part in his aristocratic heritage. Despite being an American and a “cowboy from Nevada” he eventually assumed the title and his seat on the House of Lords. Their mother, Elsie, the “Dowager Countess Cowley”, and his brother, Tim, continued to live in Western Nevada amongst us commoners. I had the honor of meeting Tim a couple years ago at the annual “Celebrate Washoe Valley” event.
The Wellesley’s have made a complete circle and are now firmly back in England. Now, Garret’s son will inherit the title and then his son. but now they are fortified with Nevada blood.
We can really be proud of our wonderful valley and those it inspired over the years. We have a history and heritage that most places can’t match.
Here’s a note from author Bill McGee who knew Mr. Cowley:
