2011-06-27

Grace Graham Wilson

Grace Vanderbilt

Grace Wilson Vanderbilt

Born Grace Graham Wilson
October 20, 1911
Died December 23, 1940 aoremovetag(aged 29)
1048 Fifth Avenue
Resting place Moravian Cemetery
Spouse Cornelius Vanderbilt III
Children Cornelius Vanderbilt IV
Parents Richard T. Wilson

Grace Wilson Vanderbilt (September 3, 1870 - January 7, 1953) was an American socialite. She was the wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt III. She was one of the last Vanderbilts to live the luxurious life of the "head of society" that her predecessors such as Alice and Alva Vanderbilt enjoyed.

Biography

She eloped with Cornelius Vanderbilt III in 1896. This led to a violent disagreement between Neily and his father, which lasted many years. Neily and Grace Vanderbilt remained married for the rest of their lives and had two children, Cornelius Vanderbilt IV, who would marry seven times, and a daughter, (September 25, 1899 - January 28, 1964).

Following the War, she and her husband frequently returned to Europe, becoming friends and guests of numerous members of European royalty including Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and his brother, Prince Henry of Prussia, King Albert I of Belgium, Crown Prince Olav of Norway, Queen Marie of Romania, Reza Pahlavi of Iran, and every British monarch since Queen Victoria.

In 1940, Neily sold his Fifth Avenue mansion in New York City to members of the Astor family but remained living there until his passing from a cerebral hemorrhage while vacationing in Miami Beach, Florida aboard his yacht in 1942. Following Neily's death Grace Vanderbilt was forced to move out of their massive Fifth Avenue mansion, and moved into a mansion at 1048 Fifth Avenue.

Grace lived another eleven years, and she died on January 7, 1953. They are buried together in the Vanderbilt family mausoleum in the Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp on Staten Island, New York.

References






Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Vanderbilt