f lemf {p Bf LltMArf QAYKfVS <=» How Two Ocean Tragedies Gave Back in Each Case to the First Wives All They Had Lost Divorce— Little John Jacob Astor, Whom 6y^ the Titanic's Forced In- Baby Alfred Vanderbilt Whose Hopes of Social _ Sinking Wrecked With the Lusitania. to the Same Relatively Insignifi- Leadership Were CLTl U jO OR cant Position as That in Which the Lusitania’s Loss Placed Away from the Second All They Baby Alfred Vanderbilt- to Gain / (And Below) Had Hoped by Marriage William H. Vanderbilt, Who Oc- and token Exactly the Same Place the most extraordinary par- Newport, and every heirloom cupies that denoted headship of the family- This in the Vanderbilt Case as Vin- allel that has ever occurred in the first place was particularly dear to the PERHAPS of New York is found that cent Astor Does in the social history Mrs. Vanderbilt, because It was there in the deaths of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt she had passed her honeymoon, wheh Astor Case. were unclouded. and Colonel John Jacob Astor. expectations of happiness It was there that he had his finest horses, Each man belonged to a small group of that he accumulated his mosi valuable men. Each in the world’s richest perished personal belongings and that he made his a surprising, shocking ana colossal ocean real home. attached tragedy. Each left a divorced wife with His second wife was equally she had to an only son. Each left a recently wedded to Oakland Farm, for planned widow who had secured her position as make it the principal scene of her social husband's will was head of a great multi-millionaire’s house- triumphs. After her visit to the hold after some rather surprising social read she paid a Bad farewell to the adventures. beautiful place. She said goodby And here comes the most surprising old employes, looked over the gardens all her parallel of all. in each case the divorced and stables and packed up belong- who has wife, who had been thrown into more or ings. Mrs. French Vanderbilt, is less obscurity by the divorce, regained her been living at Harbour View, Newport, move Oakland Farm with original position through the tragic death ready to into of her former husband and became once her son- much Alfred Vanderbilt more practically the head of one of the How importance Is shown world’s colossal fortunes. attached to Oakland Farm partly of his in which he There are evidently some striking moral by the wording will, • lessons to be drawn from these events, says: executors of this, which it would not be polite to define too "I hereby give to the of the trusts and of closely. mv will, as trustees created this, will, The divorced wife who gains so much by each of the trusts by my discre- Alfred Vanderbilt’s death is known as Mrs. full power and authority, in their French-Vanderbilt. She was formerly Miss tion. to sell at public auction or private times or in such man- Elsie French, a member of a family long sale, at such places, and conditions socially prominent in New York and New- ner, and upn such terms or to lease or port. The widow who passes into obscur- as they shall deem expedient, of, in such ity is Mrs. Margaret Emerson Vanderbilt, to rent or to otherwise dispose and such daughter of Captain Isaac Emerson, of manner, for such periods upon Baltimore, and for a time the wife of Dr. terms as they shall deem expedient, any wheresoever the Smith Hollins McKim. and all my real estate, The divorced wife who became a great same may be situated, excepting only my known as Oakland Farm, social figure by Colonel John Jacob Astor’s said real estate all death is Mrs. John Astor, formerly Ava as well as any and personal property, a of such trust, and Willing, of Philadelphia, and celebrated on constituting part any to execute and deliver any and all deeds, two continents as a queenly representative leases or other instruments necessary or of American beauty. The widow who by for the accomplishment of such the same tragedy passes into relative ob- proper scurity is Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor, a purposes.” his son very handsome young woman, who before Alfred Vanderbilt left to oldest her marriage to the late millionaire was the coach Venture, which first made the not a prominent social figure in New York. reputation of its owner as the leading Young Mrs. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt amateur coachman of the world. The Mrs. Margaret tmerson Vanderbilt, the Sec* social to this son the family had been planning an extensive teBtator also left ond Wife of Alfred Vanderbilt Who Passes by campaign in London and New York, vyhen portraits and the busts of his father, Cor- to him a German submarine sank the Lusitania nelius Vanderbilt, bequeathed by the Lusitania’s Sinking Into the Same Social and the cherished on May 7, plunged her into mourning his father's will, and finally That the Sinking of the Titanic ended all her plans and hopes. Young gold medal voted.by Congress to the little Obscurity Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor similarly was fellow’s great-great-grandfather. Commo- Brought to the Second Mrs. John Jacob Astor. thinking, three years ago, how, after a dore Vanderbilt, at the close of the Civil brief period of travel and rest, she would War. This medal is regarded as a great the maintenance of this place and her son. I I embark on a great campaign for the con- honor in the Vanderbilt family. Alfred Alfred Vanderbilt left no New York I with her hus- further desired that in the but it is understood In fl i , quest of New York society Vanderbilt house, generally band’s millions. But an iceberg, not less event of his oldest son’s death without society that his father’s great town house, ■ ruthless than the German submarine, came sons, the medal should go to the testator’s at Fifth avenue and Fifty-seventh to Fifty- ■ In the night and sank the mighty Titanic oldest brother, Cornelius Vanderbilt, who eighth streets, and Beaulieu, the Newport M maiden Miss oldest V on April 14, 1812, during her voy- was partly disinherited for marrying villa, will eventually pass to his son, and with it father’s wishes. age, drowned Colonel Astor Grace Wilson against his William H. Vanderbilt. ^ wife's hopes. The provisions of the will on these points The second Mrs. Alfred Vanderbilt is left \hisBy her former husband's death Mrs. say: in a position with regard to European French Vanderbilt was restored to the full “I give and bequeath to my son, William society curiously similar to that of the enjoyment of the highest position she H. Vanderbilt, my coach known as the second Mrs. John Jacob Astor. The first could have had while married to him. As Venture. Mrs. Vanderbilt has a sister married to and a divorced wife she was under no oblige ”1 give and bequeath to my son, William General Lord Cheylesmore in England, $> Co- S tion to waste time in mourning and to re- H. Vanderbilt, the portraits and busts be- 07' consequently her own position in English that S main in social retirement during queathed to me by the first article of the The First Mrs. Alfred Vanderbilt, society is of the best. Alfred Vanderbilt'* period. She becomes the dominant per- will of my father, Cornelius Vanderbilt, recent associations in England had been of the First Mrs. his sonage in the house of Vanderbilt and the gold medal voted by the Congress Who Like the Astor, largely with sporting characters, and from younger generation. of the United States to my great-grand- Regains by Death Practically All widow can expect no warm reception In the same way Mrs. Ava Willing Astor father, Cornelius Vanderbilt, at the close high society. was made by death once more the dominant of the war of the rebellion, in 1865, and She Lost by Divorce. Similarly Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor Will- figure in the Astor family. Her son, which medal was bequeathed to me by the must find herself embarrassed in England, was left fully nine- entrenched lan Vincent Astor, sixteenth article of the will of my father. the old Astor family place, at Rhinebeck- for her predecessor had already the Astor fortune, with the then there. tenths of If my said son shall not survive me, on-the-Hudson, and the secondary country herself very securely seat- His mother, to and of the situation is family country I give and bequeath said portraits said seat, Beechwood, at Newport, to his son One of thfe oddities was devoted, became his princi- his own whom he bust and said gold medal to my brother, by his first wife. To his young widow that each millionaire gave mentor. It was even re- son hiB second pal guide and Cornelius Vanderbilt.” Colonel Astor left for life his town house Christian name to a by an acute social observer that a name and marked by With all these heirlooms and tokens of In New York, but she has been complain- wife, while he gave family Mrs. Astor back her own son. to a son the death gave distinction as head of the family, Alfred with some show of reason that the the bulk’of the property by he had been com- ing for before the tragedy Vanderbilt left a proportionate share of his fortune he left was hardly adequate for first deal of hl» time wife.___ pelled to spend a great estate to his oldest son.