Grace Wilson Vanderbilt | |
---|---|
Born | Grace Graham Wilson September 3, 1870 512 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY |
Died | January 7, 1953 1048 Fifth Avenue |
(aged 82)
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.[1] 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.
She was born Grace Graham Wilson on September 3, 1870, she was the youngest child of New York banker Richard T. Wilson.[2]
She eloped with Cornelius Vanderbilt III in 1896. This led to a violent disagreement between Neily and his father, which lasted many years.[2] 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, Grace Vanderbilt II (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.[2]
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.[3] They are buried together in the Vanderbilt family mausoleum in the Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp on Staten Island, New York.