Gladys Vanderbilt Széchenyi

Gladys Vanderbilt Széchenyi
Countess and Count László Széchenyi, circa 1908.
Born	Gladys Moore Vanderbilt (1886-08-27)August 27, 1886 Newport, Rhode Island
Died	January 29, 1965(1965-01-29) (aged 78) Washington, D.C.
Title	Countess Széchenyi
Spouse(s)	Count László Széchenyi (m. 1908; his death 1938)
Children	Cornelia Széchényi Roberts Countess Alice Hadik de Futak Gladys Finch-Hatton, Countess Countess Sylvia Szapáry Countess Ferdinandine zu Eltz
Parent(s)	Cornelius Vanderbilt II Alice Claypoole Gwynne
Relatives	See Vanderbilt family

Gladys Vanderbilt, Countess Széchenyi (August 27, 1886 – January 29, 1965) was an American heiress from the prominent American Vanderbilt family, and the wife of a Hungarian count, László Széchenyi.

Early life

Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, II and her daughters, Gladys and Gertrude, having tea in the libtary at the Breakers Newport, Rhode Island, William Bruce Ellis Ranken, 1932

Countess Széchenyi was born Gladys Moore Vanderbilt in 1886, the seventh and youngest child of Alice Claypoole Gwynne and Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the president and chairman of the New York Central Railroad.

Gladys grew up in the family home on Fifth Avenue in New York City, and their summer "cottage," The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island.^[1] She attended Miss Chapin's School in New York.^[2]

Her first cousin was Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, who married Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough.^[3]

Life

She inherited about $25 million from her father's estate and a further $5 million from her mother's estate.^[4] She also inherited The Breakers. In 1948, as a widow, she leased The Breakers to the Preservation Society of Newport County for $1 a year. She continued to maintain an apartment in The Breakers by agreement until her death.

In 1913, there were rumors that Vanderbilt was going to leave her husband due to his financial woes,^[5] including gambling away all of her dowry.^[6]

War aid

In 1914, during World War I, she placed her palace in Budapest at the disposal of the army. Shortly thereafter, 600 reservists were quartered there, and the Countess further intended to use the palace as a hospital.^[7][8]

Personal life

Gladys Vanderbilt, John Singer Sargent, 1906

On January 27, 1908, Vanderbilt married Hungarian Count László Széchenyi (1879–1938) in New York City.^[9][10] The couple visited Hungary^[11] almost every summer with their five daughters:

• Cornelia "Gilia" Széchényi (1908–1958),^[3] who married Eugene Bowie Roberts (1898–1983), an heir of the Roberts family of Bowie, Maryland, a Colonial families of Maryland
• Alice "Ai" Széchényi (1911–1974),^[12] who married Hungarian Count Béla Hadik (1905–1971)
• Gladys Széchényi (1913–1978),^[13] who married the English Christopher Finch-Hatton, 15th Earl of Winchilsea (1911–1950)
• Sylvia "Syvie" Széchényi (1918–1998), who married Hungarian Count Antal Szapáry (1905–1972)
• Ferdinandine "Bubby" Széchényi (b. 1923), who married the Austrian Count Alexander zu Eltz (1911–1977)

Countess Széchenyi died in 1965. In 1972, the Preservation Society purchased The Breakers for $365,000 from Gladys' heirs.^[14] Her daughter, Countess Sylvia Szapáry maintained a residence at her grandparents' summer "cottage",^[15] on the third floor until her death on March 1, 1998.

Descendants

Through her eldest daughter, Cornelia, she was the grandmother of three, Gladys Roberts (b. 1934), Cornelia Roberts (1936–1982), who married Count Hans-Heinrich von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1926–2004), and Eugene Bowie Roberts, Jr. (b. 1939). Through her daughter Alice, she was grandmother to Count László Hadik (1932–1973) and Count János Hadik (b. 1933). Through her daughter, Gladys, she was the grandmother of Christopher Denys Stormont Finch-Hatton, the 16th Earl of Winchilsea (1936–1999) and the Lord Robin Finch-Hatton (b. 1939). Through her daughter Sylvia, she was the grandmother of Count Pál László Szapáry (b. 1950) and Countess Gladys Vanderbilt Szapáry (b. 1952). Through her youngest child, Ferdinandine, she was the grandmother of Count Peter zu Eltz (b. 1948) and Count Nicholas zu Eltz (1950-2012).^[16]

References

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