Lecture: “American Women and Royal Weddings”

Monmouth University History Professor Melissa Ziobro will speak on “American Women and Royal Weddings” as the latest in the annual series of monthly guest lectures hosted by the Atlantic Highlands Historical Society. This lecture is scheduled for Wednesday, June 20, 2018, 7:30 p.m., at the Strauss Mansion Museum, located at 27 Prospect Circle in Atlantic Highlands. There is no charge to attend, and free on-street parking is available nearby for this event.

“During the late 19^th century, wealthy American heiresses married impoverished European nobles by the score,” said Professor Ziobro. “These marriages secured social status for ‘new money’ American families who felt slighted by the established elites in their own country. Meanwhile, the infusion of American dollars allowed the impoverished nobility across the Atlantic to continue to maintain the lifestyles to which their families had been accustomed for generations.”

Several of the Gilded Age royal weddings featured brides with roots in New Jersey. Professor Ziobro will discuss some of these so-called “dollar princesses” of the Gilded Age, including Lady Monson (nee Romaine Stone, daughter of General Roy Stone of Morristown), Lady Roberts (nee Elizabeth Marie LaRoche, daughter of William Tell LaRoche of Harrington Park), and Princess Miguel of Braganza (nee Anita Stewart, born in Elberon), and more.

“So often we hear of the New York City-based ‘Mrs. Astor’s 400,’ who married into royalty, but now we will hear about the Jersey Girls that did as well,” said Lynn Fylak, president, Atlantic Highlands Historical Society. “Melissa has captured an entertaining topic of local history and we look forward to having her back at the Strauss Mansion, if only to pretend for a moment that one of the local royals might have visited the Strauss Family at their summer home in Atlantic Highlands.”

The Atlantic Highlands Historical Society hosts a series of monthly guest lectures at the Strauss Mansion Museum each year, covering a wide range of topics of interest to the community. Earlier this year, guest lecturers spoke about Understanding the Bill of Rights, and about the famous Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916. Later this year, local historian and author Rick Geffken will talk about “Quakers & Slavery,” scheduled for Wednesday, September 19, and author, presenter and musician Gordon Thomas Ward will deliver a musical lecture on “The Ghosts of Central New Jersey” on Wednesday, October 17; the latter is sponsored by Mitchell Danzis.

About Melissa Ziobro:

Melissa Ziobro is currently the Specialist Professor of Public History at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J., teaching courses to include Introduction to Public History, Oral History, and Museums and Archives Management. Her service to the University includes administration of the Monmouth Memories Oral History Program and her Department’s social media and newsletter.

Melissa serves on the Executive Board of Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region and as the editor for New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, a joint venture of the NJ Historical Commission, Rutgers University Libraries, and Monmouth University. She worked as a command historian at the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, Fort Monmouth, N.J. from 2004-2011.

About the Strauss Mansion Museum:

The Strauss Mansion Museum is an elegant nineteenth century Queen Anne style home listed on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places. It is maintained in period style by the all-volunteer Atlantic Highlands Historical Society. The only Queen Anne style building open to the public in Monmouth County, It is located high on a hill at 27 Prospect Circle in Atlantic Highlands. The Atlantic Highlands Historical Society is a tax exempt 501(c)3 organization. To learn more visit www.ahhistory.org.