The Tangled Tale of Two Vanderbilt Women

One of Susie's dearest childhood friends was Anne Harriman. She wrote in her journals extensively about entertaining Anne and her sister Emmeline ("Emmie") and her visit to Nonesuch, the Harriman estate in Riverdale. Anne's second husband was Lewis "Lewy" M. Rutherfurd, Jr. Lewis' brother was Winthrop "Winty" Rutherfurd, once Edith Wharton's childhood crush. What starts to make this story interesting is Winthrop's thwarted love affair with Conseulo Vanderbilt.

Consuelo, the long necked beauty, was considered one of America's richest heiresses in 1895. Her mother Alva created the palatial Marble House in Newport, RI and her ambition was equally great when it came to arranging her daughter's marriage. Although Winthrop was a direct descendant of Peter Stuyvesant and John Winthrop, he lacked suitable funds or ambition--and subsequently Alva's approval. She'd already set her sights upon the young 9th Duke of Marlborough and dragged Consuelo to Europe to arrange the match. In the meantime, she cut off all communication between her daughter and Winthrop. Alva's plans fell into place, she offered to throw the Duke a ball in his honor in Newport and he accepted by stating that he had never been to America and would pass through as part of his longer visit. Little did Alva know that Consuelo and Winthrop considered one another secretly engaged and Consuelo was not to be deterred.

Alva tried to keep the two apart when Consuelo returned from Europe, but they did have one brief encounter at a ball during which Winthrop reconfirmed his intentions. That evening, Consuelo had by all accounts a rip-roaring fight with her mother in which she declared her plans to marry her love instead of the Duke. Not to be out manipulated, Alva went so far as to threaten to shoot any man who ruined Consuelo's life and took to her bed. The next day Consuelo's aunt delivered the news that her mother had suffered a heart attack and any more shocks would likely kill her. Surprise, surprise, Consuelo backed down, sent word to Winthrop that the engagement was off and she eventually accepted the Duke's eventual proposal of marriage under reported duress.

This was not a happy marriage--after providing the Duke with two male heirs, they separated in 1906 and the divorce was finalized in 1921.

Alva's marriage to Consuelo's father, William K. Vanderbilt, didn't end well either--the two divorced in 1895. Lewis died of typhoid in 1901 and William went on to marry the recently widowed Anne Harriman Rutherford in 1902. In other words, Anne became a step-mother to Consuelo, who at one point almost married her brother-in-law! One just wonders if the two women ever spoke about Consuelo's first love and what-ifs. They did have a good relationship, in fact Consuelo became a godmother to Anne's granddaughter.