In 1892, Frances was included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom. She was a prominent figure in the New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, social sets, and was friends with Mrs Reginald Vanderbilt. When her father died in 1911, he left an estate, for the benefit of her, her children, and her sister, of nearly $15,000,000. In his will, he stipulated that no part of his estate was to go to his "erstwhile son-in-law, James Boothby Burke Roche."
Personal life
On September 22, 1880, at Christ Church, New York City, she married the Hon. James Boothby Burke Roche, who would later become the 3rd Baron Fermoy in 1920 after his elder brother, Edward Roche, 2nd Baron Fermoy, died without any male heirs. He was the son of Edmond Roche, 1st Baron Fermoy, and his wife, Elizabeth Caroline Boothby. They had four children :
The Hon. Francis George Burke Roche, a banker who died unmarried.
In 1891, she divorced Roche in Delaware for desertion, before he had succeeded to the barony. Her lawyer was Thomas F. Bayard, former United States Secretary of State. In 1899, her ex-husband, then a Member of Parliament, sued her with a Writ of Habeas Corpus to produce their daughter in court, stating that she was depriving "the child of her liberty." The case was settled out of court shortly thereafter. On August 4, 1905, she married Aurel de Batonyi, a Hungarian-born riding instructor and society horseman. When he immigrated to the United States on the White Star linerMajestic in 1891, Batonyi had claimed he was a count. It was also suggested that his real name was Arthur Cohn. She sued Batonyi for divorce two years after their marriage, allegedly because her father threatened to disinherit her if she continued to live with her husband. She died in the city of her birth, at her residence at 1020 Fifth Avenue, at the age of 89 on January 26, 1947. Her great-great-grandchildren include the British princes William and Harry, and the American actor Oliver Platt.
