January 6, 2010- The Duchess of Windsor

I had planned to complete two more blogs before the end of the year, but the days got away with me. This is one I had planned to write. It will be short, but I find it interesting.

As I was Christmas shopping for old books by Mark Twain, I was focused on his work Joan of Arc. I had looked at several book sites on the internet and found the books to be about $50.00 each. Because the complete work was done in two volumes, that would mean that I would spend around $100.00. I decided to go to my favorite local used bookstore, Wonder Books and Video to see what they had. To my surprise, they had both volumes with copyright dates of 1901. They were in very good condition. I was thrilled to look at their price of $7.50 each. So, home I went with these great gifts for Don.

When at home, I began to look closer at the books. In the front of each book were identical book plates. The book plates indicated that they were given to "St. James Library, for the collection of R. Emory Warfield, by his son, Douglas Warfield". I knew these books were from some local collection, so I googled R. Emory Warfield and was pleasantly surprised to learn that he was the uncle of The Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson.

Wallis Simpson's given name was Bessie Wallis Warfield. She was born at Blue Ridge Summit, PA just a short distance from here. She grew up in Baltimore and her parents were Teackle Wallis Warfield and Alice Montague. Teackle Wallis Warfield was the brother of R. Emory Warfield, for whom the book plate and the book were dedicated. Bessie Wallis Warfield married twice before she married the Duke of Windsor. First to Mr. Spencer and secondly to Mr. Simpson. If you recall, when Wallis Simpson, the American from Baltimore, married the Duke he gave up his rights to become the King of England. It seems Wallis being a divorced woman was what prompted the abdication.

Of course, I then wanted to read more about The Duke and Duchess of Windsor and so went back to my favorite book store to see what I could find. I found two great books, The Heart Has Its Reasons by the Duchess and The Kings Story by the Duke. In the book by the Duchess, she recalls her upbringing in Baltimore and mentions spending summers at the home of her uncle, R. Emory Warfield. She also discusses playing with her cousin, Douglas Warfield. The book is full of wonderful old pictures.

I know all of this has nothing to do with my family history, except that now my family owns two books that were donated on behalf of the uncle of the Duchess of Windsor. I guess that makes history!!!!!