Emily_Thorn_Vanderbilt

Emily Thorn Vanderbilt

Emily Thorn Vanderbilt

American philanthropist

Emily Thorn Vanderbilt (January 31, 1852 – July 28, 1946) was an American philanthropist and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. She financed the creation of New York's Sloane Hospital for Women in 1888 with an endowment of more than $1,000,000.[1][2]

Quick Facts Born, Died ...
Elm Court, Lenox, Massachusetts, 1903

Early life

She was born in 1852 as the fifth child, and second daughter, of William Henry Vanderbilt (1821–1885) and Maria Louisa Kissam (1821–1896). Her paternal grandparents were Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877) and his wife, Sophia Johnson (1795–1868).[3]

Philanthropy and work

She financed the creation of New York's Sloane Hospital for Women with an endowment of more than $1,000,000.[1][2] The hospital is now part of NewYork-Presbyterian / Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and still in use today.[2]

In 1885, she and her husband commissioned Peabody and Stearns to build Elm Court, the mammoth shingle-style 'cottage' in Lenox, Massachusetts.[4]

Personal life

In 1872, the twenty year old Vanderbilt was married to William Douglas Sloane (1844–1915).[5] Sloane was the brother of Henry T. Sloane of the carpet firm W. & J. Sloane, and together, Emily and William became the parents of three daughters and two sons, including:[6]

The family lived at the Vanderbilt Triple Palace on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

In 1920, after Sloane's death, she married Henry White (1850–1927), American Ambassador to France and Italy, and a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles.[8][9]

She died on July 28, 1946, in Lenox, Massachusetts.[3]

Descendants

Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White's grandchildren include Adele Hammond, paternal grandmother of actor Timothy Olyphant, Alice Frances Hammond, wife of jazz musician Benny Goodman, Rachel Hammond, cattle breeder, and wife of Manley D. Breck, and John Henry Hammond II, talent scout.

Family tree

Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Family Tree
Cornelius Vanderbilt
1794–1877		Sophia Johnson
1795–1868
Maria Louisa Kissam
1821–1896		William Henry Vanderbilt
1821–1885		Emily Almira Vanderbilt
1823–1896		William Knapp Thorn
1807–1887
William Douglas Sloane
1844–1915		Emily Thorn Vanderbilt
1852–1946		Henry White
1850–1927
Florence Adele Sloane
1873–1960		Lila Sloane
1879–1934		Emily Vanderbilt Sloane
1874–1970		John Henry Hammond
1871–1949
Adele Sloane Hammond
1902-1998		John Kensett Olyphant, Jr.
1895-1973		Alice Frances Hammond
1905–1978		Benny Goodman
1909–1986		Rachel Hammond
1908–2007		John Henry Hammond II
1910–1987

References

  1. [1]
    "WILLIAM D. SLOANE DIES IN AIKEN, S. C.; New York Merchant and Financier Expires After a Short Illness, at 71. A TRUSTEE OF COLUMBIA Endowed with His Wife the Sloane Hospital for Women -- A Benefactor of Yale". The New York Times. 20 March 1915.
  2. [2]
    "Open Surgical Ward in Sloane Hospital" (PDF). The New York Times. 1911-03-02. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
  3. [3]
    Times, Special To The New York (29 July 1946). "MRS. HENRY WHITE DIES IN LENOX AT 94; Daughter of W.H. Vanderbilt, Widow of Envoy to Paris, Gave Sloane Hospital". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  4. [4]
    "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  5. [5]
    Olmsted, Frederick Law; Beveridge, Charles E. (2013). The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted: The Early Boston Years, 1882–1890. JHU Press. p. 546. ISBN 9781421409269. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  6. [6]
    "William D. Sloane Dies In Aiken, S. C.; New York Merchant and Financier Expires After a Short Illness, at 71. A Trustee Of Columbia. Endowed with His Wife the Sloane Hospital for Women. A Benefactor of Yale". The New York Times. March 20, 1915.
  7. [7]
    "LILA V. SLOANE HONORED; Mr. and Mrs. W.D. Sloane Give a Cotillion at Their Home. G. CREIGHTON WEBB LEADS The First Time Mrs. Sloane Has Bidden Guests to an Important Function Since the Death of Her Mother, Mrs. William H. Vanderbilt". The New York Times. 15 February 1898. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  8. [8]
    "HENRY WHITE WEDS MRS. WM.D. SLOANE; Ex-Ambassador to France Is 70 and Daughter of Late Wm. H. Vanderbilt Is 68. RELATIVES ONLY AT NUPTIAL Ceremony in St. Bartholomew's Chapel Follows Issuing of License --Couple at Bride's City Home". The New York Times. 4 November 1920. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  9. [9]
    "VANDERBILTS GIVE UP ANOTHER 5TH AV. SITE; Mrs. White's $3,500,000 Sale Leaves Family Only Two of Original Seven Homes. BENJAMIN WINTER BUYER Latest of Series of Big Deals by Him -- Only $700,000 Cash in One for $9,200,000. VANDERBILTS GIVE UP ANOTHER 5TH AV. SITE". The New York Times. 9 January 1926. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
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