Nevada Stoody Marries Twice In a Decade
Nevada Stoody was born in Sandyville, Ohio on the 21st October 1870 to Jacob and Nancy Stoody. Some records show her as Sadie Nevada Stoody and 1885 has also been given as her birth year but this was probably vanity rather than fact on Nevada's part.
In 1897 she married the first of her four husbands, inventor Lee Albert Agnew. In 1903 they had their only child, Lee Albert "David" but the marriage survived for less than three years after his arrival. Nevada and Lee remained cordial and when he died in 1924 his will made provision for Nevada, attributing income from his estate that was not destined for David to her.
Nevada married her second husband, wealthy businessman William Hayes-Chapman, the day after her divorce from Agnew was finalised. He was thirty six years her senior and he died the following year. William left her a fortune of between $8-10 million. She was called the "$10 million dollar widow."
The "$10 Million Dollar Widow" Marries Again
With one divorce and a bereavement behind her, Nevada travelled to Europe to find herself another husband. Rumours circulated about potential suitors, including Prince Mohammad Ali Hassan of Egypt, Arthur, Lord Falconer and Count Aubert de Sonis. The count travelled back to the U.S.A. with her.
Legend has it that as the count stood in the reception of a New York hotel with an engagement ring and a bouquet of flowers for Nevada, she snuck out of the rear door with another of her paramours, New York lawyer Philip van Valkenburg.
He became her third husband on 23rd November 1909. They married in Connecticut. It quickly became obvious to the bride that Philip was in love with her fortune and they separated. She remained in Connecticut where the divorce laws stated that she must be a resident for three years for proceedings to commence. She awarded Philip $200,000 in 1910.
Philip ensured that divorce papers were served to her when she visited New York in 1913 and she counter-sued. She was given a divorce on the grounds of desertion the following year.
Infante Dom Afonzo of Braganza: Husband Number Four
Nevada van Valkenburgh married her fourth husband in Rome on 26th September 1917. He was exiled Portuguese royalty; Infante Dom Afonzo of Braganza, Duke of Porto was the second son of King Luis I of Portugal and Maria Pia of Savoy.
Portugal and Afonzo had experienced some tumultuous years. His older brother King Carlos I and his eldest nephew Luis Philipe were assassinated in February 1908 and Carlos' younger son Manuel ruled as Manuel II until the monarchy was abolished in October 1910.
Afonzo was five years older than Nevada; a financially embarrassed yet renowned military man and a former Viceroy of India. In his fifties he made Nevada his first and only wife.
Their two marriage ceremonies were held in Rome and Madrid. The royal Braganzas refused to recognise the twice divorced, once widowed, (shock-horror) American, as one of their dynasty. Despite this, Nevada called herself "Her Royal Highness, Nevada, Duchess of Porto".
Nevada of Braganza Demands Recognition
It was a morganatic union, meaning that Afonzo was forced to remove himself from the line of succession and that any children from the marriage wouldn't be eligible to claim the throne. They didn't have any children so this point was academic. His annuity from King Manuel II, then in exile in England, was withdrawn with the marriage.
On 21st February 1920, Afonzo passed away in Naples after suffering a stroke. Nevada was bequeathed his entire estate. He was initially laid to rest in Italy while she travelled to the U.S.A. to oversee the manufacture of an impressive silver casket that boasted a bronze base. She then transported her husband's remains to Lisbon and Afonzo was interred in the Pantheon of the House of Braganza.
Eleven years later, when Manuel II was dead, Nevada "...petitioned the republican government – to no avail – to grant her all the royal family's funds as she considered herself its senior member." (As Afonzo's sole heir).
Nevada Dies In Tampa, Florida
A legal dispute followed. Tempers flared and Nevada was arrested when she travelled to Lisbon to fight her case. Despite the Braganza and state rebukes, Nevada was correct that she was owed something financially; she was allowed to remove artwork and other valuable items from the royal palaces.
Nevada didn't marry again. She returned to the U.S.A. and she died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Florida on 11th January 1941. She was buried in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Ovid, Michigan, near to her first husband's grave.
"The Battle of Cape St. Vincent", one of the pieces of art that she'd taken from a Portuguese palace was purchased by the Foundation for the House of Braganza and today it is exhibited in the Maritime Museum in Lisbon.
Perhaps her son didn't want it as much as the Braganza dynasty.
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