If you’re looking for the usual mansion style article…. Don’t be looking here. This is the Telenovela style…with scandal, divorce, money, greed and status.
I’m going to give you true life drama on 3 historic mansions in Newport Rhode Island; The Breakers, The Marble House and Rosecliff. Yes, the mansions are all beautiful, there are many articles about that… but do you know the dirt? The “Breakers” mansion in Newport Rhode Island, is the summer home of the Vanderbilts. Before we get into more about the mansion, let’s talk about where the money came from to build this amazing mansion. The patriarch of the family (the money maker), Cornelius Vanderbilt or nicknamed as “the Commodore” started the Vanderbilt’s fortune. The Commodore acquired this nickname because he was fiercely competitive and ruthless in business and really not very nice. He borrowed $100 from his mother to purchase a steamship; he took the ship and grew the business to a fleet of steamships. Later in life he sold the fleet to purchase a small railroad; that began the journey into acquiring more railroad companies. Because he was so aggressive in business, it is said that he had many enemies. The Commadore was known as a “robber baron” which was a term used for someone who uses exploitation practices to gain wealth. He amassed a huge fortune during his life and when he passed away, he left a whopping 100-million dollar estate. Cornelius married his cousin Sophia…what ??Cousin??...he sure did! Together they had 13 children in 15 years. History reports that he wasn’t very nice to his wife and children, his was consumed with work. He was not involved with his children much and very harsh and critical of his wife and children. History reports that he had little to do with his wife after her childbearing years were over. Hmmm... that’s the thanks she gets for giving birth to his 13 children? Sophia died of natural causes in 1868. In 1869, at age 73, he married another cousin, Frank Crawford (yes, female) who was 34…40 years younger than him!! She was younger than 7 of his 12 living children. He didn’t wait very long, did he? They did not have any children together. Cornelius passed away in 1877 at the age of 82. It was, Cornelelius Vanderbilt II, who built the Breakers Mansion in Newport RI as a summer home. The breakers was actually built twice as the first home caught fire and was rebuilt. Unfortunately, he only got to enjoy 4 summers at the Breakers before he had a stroke and was unable to spend summers in Newport; later he had another stroke and died in 1899 at age 56. Corneleus Vanderbilt II, had 5 children with Alice Claypoole. The children were: Cornelius Vanderbilt III, Gertrude, Alfred Gwynne and Gladys Moore and Reginald Claypoole. Apparently Corneleus II was a lot like his grandfather, and was referred to as a “joyless man who rarely smiled”. In 1896, the son, Corneleus III married Grace Wilson against his parents’ wishes. This proved to be a financially devastating move as his father was going to leave him 37 million upon his death. However, when Corneseus II died at age 56 of a cerebral hemorrhage, had changed his will to give his son, only 1.5 million instead. Thus, he was dis-Graced, ok, bad joke. The other children received approximately 7 million. The uneven distribution of inheritance between the two older sons apparently left bad feelings between the once close brothers. To try to make things better between them, Alfred offered brother Cornelius II an additional 6 million to try to reconcile. They never really reconciled. Second son, Alfred Gwenn Vanderbilt inherited 37 million instead of his older brother. In 1901 Alfred married Elsie French in Newport Rhode Island. They had a son William Henry Vanderbilt.
Dirt alert….Elsie filed for divorce in 1908 because she found out about Alfred’s adultery. He was seeing the wife of a Cuban diplomat, Agnes, aboard his private railroad car. The divorce from Elsie cost him 10 million. Agnes was divorced by her husband and ultimately committed suicide by poison in a hotel room in 1914.
Alfred married again in 1911 to Margaret Emerson Smith Hollins McKim. She was a divorcee herself. Her previous husband was abusive and a drunk. He and Margaret had 2 children. Alfred had booked his passage on the 1912 Titanic, but at the last minute he cancelled his voyage. Wow that was a smart move!
Alfred’s luck didn’t hold out though because he was on board a ship in 1915 when it was hit by a German torpedo and it sunk, taking Alfred to his grave. Accounts of this event indicate that Alfred took off his own life jacket and place it on a woman without saying a word and walked away. This was an amazing gesture since Alfred couldn’t swim. Alfred went down with the ship and his body was never found. Ok, do we forgive him for adultery?
Alfred’s oldest son, William Henry Vanderbilt III, received 5 million and his wife Margaret received 8 million. The other children Alfred Gwynne, Jr. and George Washington Vanderbilt III, received the rest.
More dirt: Brother to Alfred Gwenn, Reginald Claypoole was an interesting character. Reggie married Gloria Morgan. He was the father to Gloria Vanderbilt and the maternal grandfather to Anderson Cooper. Reggie was a gambler. It’s said that Reggie inherited 5 million; but gambled most of that away. On one occasion he went to the New York Casino and lost $70,000 in one night. Later it was found that he was in dept to the Casino for $300,000.
Oh, check this out: There was more scandal with Reggie when upon his death, his sister Gertrude sued for custody for his daughter Gloria. A bit of backstory… Gloria Morgan liked the lavish life and after Reggie’s death she lived on the interest payments of Little Gloria’s inheritance. Gloria moved back to Europe where her twin sister lived (her twin lived as a mistress to Edward, Prince of Wales). When Little Gloria got tonsillitis, she took her back to the US for care and left her with the Aunt Gertrude while she returned to Europe for months. Gertrude had Gloria’s interest payments cut in half. Gloria then returned to the US to get her daughter back and Gertrude said, no way and filed for custody based on Gloria being an unfit mother. In 1934 the court trail started. Little Gloria was only 10 during this battle. Ultimately, after weeks of testimony Gertrude was awarded custody of Little Gloria.
I could go on with the family history and genealogy of the Vanderbilts, but it would be too long for this article, but believe me, its super interesting reading.
