November 3rd, 1886 - January 16th, 1963

She is a Scorpio.

Julia Florence Cavendish was born as Julia Florence Siegel in Chicago, Illinois to Henry Siegel (March 17th, 1852), a prominent businessman of German birth, and Julia Rosenbaum (born 1862) who had married in Chicago on December 8th, 1885. Her mother died when Julia was only a month old, passing away in the morning of December 3rd, 1886 at the age of 24. Her father, the son of Jewish farmers, came from modest beginnings and had arrived in the USA from his native Baden, Germany at the age of 14, later becoming a U.S citizen. Diminutive in height-his 1884 passport describe him as standing at 4'11-but passionately ambitious, he began his career as a humble store merchandiser in Washington and then worked as travelling salesman.

Later working in the manufacturer of womenswear with his brothers, after 10 years withdrew his holdings, totally $75,000 and a partner organized the firm Siegel & Cooper in Illinois where he opened his first department store in Chicago, Siegel & Cooper Store, with aspirations of becoming "The Department Store King" of the USA. Many stores followed 3 department stores in New York and the Henry Siegel Co in Boston, among others, earning him the moniker "The Merchant Prince". With his stores thriving, Siegel branched out in finance, offering his thousands of customers the opportunity to take care of their money matters in the store they shopped in; his self-named bank proved equally lucrative. Siegel's fortunes soared and one newspaper declared that he was a "Napoleon of Finance" for several years. He soon had homes at Park Lane in London, a country home at Mamaroneck, New York and a handsome residence at East 82nd Street, New York.

In April of 1898 Henry remarried Marie Wilde, née Vaughan (born 1863), a young Kentucky-born widow with 2 daughters, Georgina and Dorothy, who were of similar age to Julia. Marie had come to New York following the death of her husband where she worked by writing fashion articles for newspapers and magazines before she ended up working in one of Siegel's New York department stores where they met. Not much is known about Julia's early years but what is known that she was privately educated in Europe. She not only moved in social circles in the USA but also in Britain, alongside Dorothy and Georgina. Georgina was a well-regarded beauty and in 1906 married an Italian nobleman, becoming Countess Carlo Dentice di Frasso.

Julia was also an attractive and popular young woman and on a trip to Britain in the summer of 1906 with her stepmother and Dorothy, she proved a great social favorite within the London circles. Whilst there she caught the attention of the wealthy and aristocrat Tyrell William Cavendish of Crakemarsh Hall, Staffordshire and a cousin of the Duke of Devonshire. Tyrell was so taken with Julia that he later crossed the ocean to persuade her father to let him have Julia's hand in marriage. Her father was protective of his young daughter who was barely 20 years old and who hadn't yet formally introduced to society and at first he was averse to her marrying anyone, let alone someone who wasn't from the USA. Possibly with the persuasion of his wife Marie, who probably thought it quite the coup to have 2 titles daughters, Henry finally relented and a marriage date was set upon quite promptly for December of 1906.

On December 26th, 1906 Julia and Tyrell were married at her parents' home at East 82nd Street, New York. Julia, who had no attending bridesmaids, "wore a handsome gown of ivory white Irish point lace. Her hat a white velvet was combined with white ostrich-plumes..." (El Paso Herald, January 4th, 1907). The newlywed couple shortly sailed for England where they would make their home and arrived in Britain on January 14th, 1907 aboard the RMS Teutonic. They set up home at Crakemarsh, Uttoexter, with Julia becoming Lady Cavendish. In June of 1907, it was reported that she was among a number of brides presented to King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra at Buckingham Palace. Julia and Tyrell had 2 sons: Henry Siegel (August 29th, 1908) and Geoffrey Manners (October 3rd, 1910) and the family appeared on the 1911 census at Little Onn Hall, Church Eaton, Staffordshire.

Aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912:
Julia boarded rhe RMS Titanic at Southampton with Tyrell and her maid Ellen Mary Barber as 1st class passengers and occupied canon C-46. They were travelling to visit Julia's father at his country home, Orienta Point, in Mamaroneck, New York.

Julia and Ellen Barber were rescued in lifeboat 6 but Tyrell was lost in the sinking. His body was later recovered and forewarned to New York for cremation. She later recalled:

"I was in the second boat. My husband kissed me and bade me remain in the boat, declaring he was all right. There was no light, but the sky was clear. Bright skies illuminated the scene of the disaster. Just as the lifeboat was lowered I again kissed my husband. He assured me he would rather stay on the boat, thinking he would be safe... As the boat reached the water there were twenty-three women in the boat and two men to guide and row her. Many of us women implored men on the upper deck to come to our succour, but most of them said they could not row. One man there was about to get in the boat, but a sailor, after questioning him threw him aside. A Canadian, who stated that he could row turned to a group of men on the deck who were watching the proceedings and said: "I can row, but if there is room for one more let it be a woman."

After The Sinking/Later Life/Death:
Julia and Ellen returned to England to be reunited with her sons. The loss of Tyrell was only the first in the series of woes of Julia. Tyrell had only left her with 2 small children to raise but with a lawsuit on her hands. The lawsuit was for possession of her home, Crakemarsh Hall and the claimant was Ben Tyrell, an elderly one-legged cab driver from Burton-On-Trent who also claimed a large sum of money, estimated at $1000,000 received by Tyrell's cousin Harry Cavendish from the sale of Thornton Hall in Buckinghamshire. Ben also put forward apprehension to the Tyrell baronetcy, showing proof that his ancestors were rightful heirs to the baronetcy and its estate. Mutilated parish registers, the intentional destruction and removal of monuments and tablets to the memory of members of Tyrell family pointed to the fact that foul play may have been involved in diverting the Tyrell baronetcy away from the rightful heirs and into the hands of a lawyer who was married to the niece of Sir Charles Tyrell, who died without issue. Although it's known that Crakemarsh Hall remained in the possession of Julia, further details about this case remain obscure. 

Back in the USA Henry's empire had begun to crumble, Marie, who was popular in social circles in Europe and America, spent eye-watering amounts of money, more money than it soon emerged that the family's possessed in 1910 she and Henry were separated, him continuing to pay her $25,000 a year. In 1914, Siegel enterprises went into bankruptcy and Siegel Bank was found to be insolvent. Bank examiners found gaping shortages in the alleged assets of the bank and Henry was indicted on charges of obtaining money under false statements and receiving deposits after he knew the bank wasn't solvent. The collapse of his bank ensured the collapse of his department stores. During investigations, he disappeared and boarded, of all ships, Olympic under an assumed identity in order to reach Julia. Scotland Yard caught up with him in London and he was arrested and sent back to New York for trial. Found guilty on several counts, Henry went to prison for 9 months. Marie, who attested that her marriage to him had been uneasy for several years, initiated divorce proceedings in April of 1914.

Henry remarried in 1918 to a younger woman, Henrietta Stuble, née Malone (born 1882 in New Jersey), a young widow with 2 teenage daughters. They settled in Bergen, New Jersey where in 1920 Siegel was living and described as an exporter in the corn business. He also tried his hand at selling women's wear before opening  haberdashery in New Jersey but he lived in much more modest circumstances than those to which he had been accustomed until only a few years previously. His third marriage also ended in divorce in the 1920s when Henrietta began having an affair with one of the clerks in his haberdashery. When his health declined and he neared death, Henry and Henrietta reconciled but he died in obscurity not long after in Lakewood Hospital on August 25th, 1930. Julia was never remarried and remained the wealthy dowager of Crakemarsh Hall, Uttoxeter where he lived for the rest of her life. During World War II, US troops were billeted at her home. She continued to travel the Atlantic many times over the years but apart from that little else is known about her later life.

Julia died in January 16th, 1963 at the age of 76 and left a personal estate valued at £5266, 8s to both her sons. She was cremated and her ashes were interred in Golden Green Crematorium, London. Crakemarsh Hall came out of Cavendish hands in the late 1960s, was later abandoned altogether during the 1970s following a devastating fire, and was eventually demolished in 1980. Both her sons later married and both raised families. Henry died in 1995 and William in 2007.

Sources:
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org

Rest In Peace Julia Florence Cavendish.