Edward Parker Deacon (1844-1901)

He was born at the Deacon House in Boston and it appeared as though he'd remain a lifelong bachelor. In 1879, he married Florence, daughter of Admiral Charles Baldwin ("the richest officer in the U.S. Navy") and they lived between Paris and Newport. A contemporary article recalled: "She was considered the most beautiful woman in Europe. Men and women raved about her with equal fervor. It should have pleased Mr Deacon that his beautiful young wife was the idol of a critical world. On the contrary it irritated him very much. He became gloomy, suspicious, and, as his wife testified, cruel to the point of violence". In 1892, Deacon made headlines when he shot and killed Monsieur Emille Abeille at his wife's apartments in the Hotel Splendide, Cannes, France. He was charged with manslaughter and sent to prison for a year but was pardoned by President Carnot after serving only a few months.

He returned to America in 1893 and set about divorcing his wife who he now called, "a woman destitute of moral sense" before moving in with her stepmother, Mrs Baldwin (who was the same age as himself) at her home "Snug Harbor" in Newport. He was declared insane in 1897 - by which time he had become reconciled with his ex-wife - and died in an asylum. Only two people came to his funeral: a brother and a caretaker. He and his wife had five children. His eldest daughter, Gladys, became the 9th Duchess of Marlborough and his youngest daughter, Dorothy, was the Princess Radziwill.