Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Hensler, Eliza

HENSLER, Eliza, singer, b. in Boston, Mass., about 1835. She was the daughter of a German shoemaker, possessed a fine voice and a graceful person, and was educated for the operatic stage. Her first appearance was at the Academy of Music, New York, at the age of fifteen. She afterward went to Paris to complete her training, and appeared at the Grand Opéra in that city, but had little success. She then went to Lisbon, and became a favorite. On 10 June, 1869, she married the ex-king of Portugal, Ferdinand, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who first caused her to be raised to the nobility with the title of Countess of Edla.