Elliott Zborowski (1858-1903)
"Count" (William) Elliott Morris Zborowski; Racing Driver Killed at La Turbie
His surname at birth was "Zabriskie" but in 1873 when his father attended the wedding in Paris of Elliott's sister to Charles-François de Montsaulnin, the aristocratic world with which he was confronted made such an impression on him that he adopted the surname "Zborowski," the name of a noble Polish family, on account of his known descent from an almost certainly not noble immigrant, Albert Zaborowsky (1638-1711), progenitor of the Zabriskie family in America. Elliott and his son, Louis, then went one step further, styling themselves - without any evidence at all - as the "Counts Zborowski." No-one else in the extended Zabriskie family followed suit.
Elliott inherited valuable real estate in Manhattan allowing him to live a life of leisure. He was an excellent horseman and polo player, and in 1885 he went to England to ride with the Quorn Hunt. He enjoyed it so much that in the following year (1886) he paid £2,500 for Coventry House (see images) at Melton Mowbray. In 1890, he came second in the famous Melton Mowbray Midnight Steeplechase when his horse stumbled on the final jump allowing Algy Burnaby (Master of the Quorn Hunt) to win. He still crossed the Atlantic regularly and at Newport in 1888 he rekindled a youthful romance with the unhappily married Maggie de Stuers, a granddaughter of William Backhouse Astor. A sensational affair and divorce followed (see the notes on Maggie) and they married in 1892.
Shunned by society in New York, they moved into Coventry House and kept a home in London, also occasionally renting homes in Paris and Genoa. Elliott became a naturalised British citizen and they had two sons, the elder of whom was born and died 1893. By 1898, his passion for racing horses was replaced by racing motor cars, but he was killed when his Mercedes crashed during the La Turbie Hill Climb near Nice in the Côte d'Azur. His son Louis Zborowski was also killed in a motoring accident at the Italian Grand Prix.
Elliott inherited valuable real estate in Manhattan allowing him to live a life of leisure. He was an excellent horseman and polo player, and in 1885 he went to England to ride with the Quorn Hunt. He enjoyed it so much that in the following year (1886) he paid £2,500 for Coventry House (see images) at Melton Mowbray. In 1890, he came second in the famous Melton Mowbray Midnight Steeplechase when his horse stumbled on the final jump allowing Algy Burnaby (Master of the Quorn Hunt) to win. He still crossed the Atlantic regularly and at Newport in 1888 he rekindled a youthful romance with the unhappily married Maggie de Stuers, a granddaughter of William Backhouse Astor. A sensational affair and divorce followed (see the notes on Maggie) and they married in 1892.
Shunned by society in New York, they moved into Coventry House and kept a home in London, also occasionally renting homes in Paris and Genoa. Elliott became a naturalised British citizen and they had two sons, the elder of whom was born and died 1893. By 1898, his passion for racing horses was replaced by racing motor cars, but he was killed when his Mercedes crashed during the La Turbie Hill Climb near Nice in the Côte d'Azur. His son Louis Zborowski was also killed in a motoring accident at the Italian Grand Prix.
