JLUC1W WIVES OF IfOUNO MILILIONAIRES I
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HERE are no wives in the world so lucky as
I tn wives of the young American money kings.
I I While It Is fine to marry a ooronet even If
JL I one has to ay for It In m.'llions, srd while the
patriotic American can only rejoice in the
way the young American bride carries all be
fore her and walks In far countries there Is
another side to the question. That is that so
many domestic clouds have from time to time come upon her
horizon that a start of nervous apprehension can only express
the way In which news about her Is received by her average
compatriot.
But with the girl who marries Into the American money
aristocracy It Is different It Is not only that the American
young man makes the oest .husband In the world, but ac
cording to the experience of many 08 the late American
brides his father has equnl adaptability toward playing the
part of a good father-ln-law. Millions are not the password '
with which he takes his son's, wife to his heart, as these
he Is willing to supply It he approves of her In other ways.
And although, as the father of youngr Cornelius Vanderbilt
snowea, ne can De empnatic in ways of axpresnlng' disap
proval when he chooses, once his consent Is- gained he has
a way of supplying tokens of approval which it would seem
would tempt any girl who could help It from' going, abroad
for a husband. ;
Stillman's Fortunate" Daughter s-in-Lam
It is said that there are no brides . who have received a
warmer welcome Into the family of their adoption than the
wives of Charles Chauncey StUlman and James A, StUlman,
the sons of the banker,' James StUlman. When the wedding
of " Fin " Potter, otherwise Anne Urquhaxt Potter, to the
young Harvard graduate finally took place. ; after repeated
denials of the engagement, It was an open secret that the
StUlman family highly approved of the match. Even the sis
ters of young StUlman, one of whom la Mrs. W. O. Rockefel
ler, and the other, who lately beoftjne Mrs. Percy Avery
Rockefeller, both were delighted that their brother was to
marry the grandnlece of Bishop Potter and the beautiful
daughter of Cora Crquhart Potter.
She was welcomed into the family with open arms and
It cannot be denied that from the bride's point of view it Is
also a lucky jnatoh. Aa wealth goes the Potters are not rich,
although they have enough. James Brown Potter hat for
years lived quietly and by no means lavishly at Tuxedo. Aa
will be remembered, It was the lack of wealth and its acces
sories that made her mother, Cora TJrquhart Potter, discon
tented with what her husband could give her. i It was the
enforced " narrowness " of the lite which did not offer her
the means to take that wide fling in society which she de
sired. -
Her daughter, however, will have almost unlimited
wealth at her command. Few young men have such pros
pects as young StUlman. To be In partnership with his
father, who Is president of the National City bank, means
that he has behind him the Standard Oil millions.- The state
ment of the bank 'Itself reads $40,000,000 reserve fund and
1117,000,000 deposits, besides the numberless other great en
terprises in which his rather Is a stockholder.
.,
-'. ' Inherits Her Mother's Beauty.
The girl la beautiful, with a not unbecoming hauteur,
which she Inherits from the Potters, and with a strange,
almost hypnotic expression in her lovely eyes, which, with all
her beauty, as even the Potters admit, she gets from her
mother. She has been taken abroad a great deal and Is said
to have refused the offer of more than one coronet. She
has seen her mother only once since babyhood, and on that
occasion, a few years ago, they met by appointment, but
there was no affection between them, - She Is an athlete like
her husband, and, like her mother, is afraid of nothing, A
little while ago, when she was thrown out of hei victoria by
an accident cn Fifth avenue, she was the coolest of all con
cerned an walked to her home a few blocks away at Seventy-second
street. , - .
Beside her love of all outdoor sports, she also loves pic
turesque gowns for their appropriate occasions. She not only
knows how to select them, but how and when to wear them,
and bow to produce the most charming artistic effects.
the beginning, and there has been nobody prouder of his suc
cesses than she.
v There was, however, no lack of warmth in the welcome
given to the girl by the Stlllmans and the Rockefellers, who
went to the marriage of the young couple In the little Mission
chapel on the other side of the Kennebec river. There never
. has been any Indication that she was not as great a favorite
with her father-ln-law, James StUlman, or her sisters-in-law,
the two Mrs. Rockefellers, as is " Flfi " StUlman, who was a
petted New York society alrl.
Pernapa there never was a case In which family affection
was showered on a bride so lavishly as It was on Mrs. Payne
Whitney, who Is always much bemlxed with that other
young matron, Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney. When " Mrs.
Payne " came Into the family It seemed that In a certain
sense she wa handicapped. Her father-ln-law, the late
William C. Whitney, had already made that plan, carried out
later In his will, of bestowing upon his oldest son one-half
his fortune, and making him trustee of the balance. The
younger son, Payne, however, had a financial backer, who
was no less a personage than Col. Oliver Payne. The
colonel's dearly loved sister was Flora Payne, Mr. Whitney's
first wife. His best friend from boyhood up was William C.
'Whitney himself. His favorite of all their children was the
! boy Payne. Later, when a difference grew between the elder
From the pretty house In East Seventy-second street, of Whitney and himself, he still further lavished his affection on
which Mrs. StUlman Is mil trees, it la a far oall to the Queen Payne,
Anna flat In San Francisco, where lives Mrs. Chauncey StUl
man. She may be said to be the luckiest of all young mil
lionaires' wives, because she had no fortune of her own, and
because, as the daughter of a country Jeweler In Maine, she
had started out to earn her living as a trained nurse. Now
aha Is the wife of a young man who ha 12,600,000 In his own
tight. One does not expect to find young couple of such
financial belongings keeping house In Just this way, "even
though the flat la beautifully furnished and Mrs. StUlman
keeps a small retinue of servants. Still less does one expect
to And the young man himself going to work every morn
ing as a truckman on the Southern Pacific, dad In blue over
alls. Before he was promoted to the position of truckman
he was Janitor of the station, house at Oaklands, and the
young couple then lived In a little cottage near the railroad.
;
Won After a Long Wooing.
To the young wife, whose romance was so wonderful that
It would not have happenel to one girl In a million, is part
ly due the decision of her husband to follow, for the time at
least, the life of an ordinary railroad hand. After a long ill
ness, through which she nursed him back to health, the
young man not only fell In love with the girl, but began a
long and persistent wooing. He followed her through many
phases of settlement work In New York, and It was not long
before he gained a new point of view of life. Eight years
after they first met they were married and the young wife,
.though .beautiful, magnetic, and exquisitely graceful, had no
ambition to shine In New York society. She encouraged her
husband, who shared her aversion to the gayest form of
oodal life, in his ambition to learn the railroad business from
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Romance of Secretary Hay's Daughter.
Then came the time when the boy fell In love with the
beautiful and talented Helen Hay. His father, who was
said to be a little critical of daughters-in-law prospective,
observed her from afar. The result of his Inspection was
that he admired her Immediately, and told his son to go In
and win, which he did,, with promises of ample worldly
reward If he should succeed. -
This was not the only conquest, however, made by the
bride. She made equally successful work of winning the
heart of the bachelor uncle, Oliver Payne. The more he
saw of her the more he thought that he had never aeen so
fine a girl. And after he had read her poems and heard
her recite, his admiration of her became more ardent than
ever. Among the presents which he cave her were a yacht, a
furnished house on Fifth avenue, a country place at Tuxedo,
a trip around the world, a diamond tiara, a diamond neck
lace, a choice of books for the library, and an order on a
Paris dressmaker.
All of these things meant more to Mra Payne Whitney
than they would have done to ber sister-in-law, Mra Harry
Payne, who was Miss Gertrude Vanderbilt before her mar
riage, and who had $10,000,000 In her own right At the time
of ber coming Into the family, however, equally charming
things were done to delight her. It Is often, remembered
how, when the young couple went to the Berkshire expect
ing to spend their honeymoon camping out, that they came
upon a veritable Aladdin's palace which had sprung up on
the top of October mountain, and .which stood completely
furnished, with the dinner waiting ready on the table. It
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was Just a little aurprhre which the elder Whitney had
prepared for his daughter-in-law.
Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney and Mra Payne are both
gerloua In their tastes. The first has a beautiful atudio on
Fifth avenue and has done some things of real worth In art.
Mrs. Payne Whitney has not only written poems but she has
tried her hand at a play, and has written a book. Among
al'i the things that she has done, none of them without
value, that which Is perhaps most closely associated with the
particular charm of "Mrs. Payne," are the little Terses
purporting to have been written by a little boy:
" When little boys come In to lunch.
And stay till after tea.
My mother says, 'How kind they are
To come and play with me.
" They take my marbles, break my toys,
And when I want to fight.
My mother says, ' They're visitors,
And you must be polite.'
'Give George the whip,' she says, ana you
Can be the little horse.'
And ' He must have the biggeat pear,'
And ' Be the king, of course.'
" When we are hunting, lie's the cat;
I'm Just the frightened mouse;
And I think I'U be visitor
At some one else's house."
Blue Blood and Little Money.
Since the marriage of Mrs. Payne Whitney, excepting
perhaps that of young Mrs. James Btillman, there have been
no matches which have called forth such genuine delight as
that of Miss Elsie Whelen to Robert Goelit, and the wedding
last April of the beautiful southern belle, Martha Johns
ton to De Lancey Kountze. It would be hard to tell which
is considered more beautiful, the Philadelphia belle or the
.Immensely popular southern girl. The latter is a typical
southern beauty, who has playfully been christened a
" Georgia peach." This to the people of Georgia expressed
In the strongest way all that was beautiful. The charm of
her voice, the languor of her steps, and the pretty droop to
her brown eyes are things about which all her admirers rave.
The delightfully lazy ways which she has are the special
admiration of young Kountze, who asserts that " no north
ern girl can quite accomplish that feat." One of the most at
tractive things about the match was that though "Marty
Johnston," as she was affectionately called by her cousins,
the Wilsons, and by her other relatives through them, the
Astors, and the Vanderbllts was of family the oldest and
the bluest she was not r.'ch. Delancey Kountze, however,
is already a multl-mllllonalre himself, besides having the
best of expectations. The family to which he belongs has
been rich for generations, and the young man himself Is
already a financier ot distinction.
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Miss ' Elsie Whelen belongs to a Philadelphia family
where family and blood count for more than money. Jut
I where, between $25,000,000 and f 40,000,000, the exact point of
young Robert Wilson Goclet's fortune lies. Is not quite clear.
It Is a well known fact that during the days of Mr. Goelet's
i wooing he was not the only millionaire In the Held. His
'cousin, Robert Walton Goelet, who, on account of the death
of his sister. Is worth some few millions more than Robert
Wilson, waa also in love with the beautiful Miss Whelen.
" Bobby " Goelet and " Bertie " Goelet are the names by
which these young men are often called to distinguish them
from one another. For a. long time It was not clear whether
Miss Whelen preferred Bobby or Bertie. After it became
pretty generally known that It was Bertie, or the son of the
late.Ogden Goelet, that she fancied-. It was by no means cer
tain that he would win her. After many denials, however,
the wedding finally took place, with the delight of every
body that the bride had come Into such good fortune.
Most Extravagant Woman in America.
A few years ago there was the same rejoicing when Miss
Catherine Duer, who had family, position, and beauty, but
not millions, married the son of John W. Mackay. The first
thing which her father-in-law did was to present her with a
country place compriHlng a mansion and seven hundred acres
of land. Now, since the millionaire's son has succeeded to
his business and fortune, the young matron has a fortune of
$40,000,000 at her command, and probably of all the society
girls who have married money she has more frankly taken
sheer delight in Its acquisition than any of them. She la often
credited with being the most extravagant woman In America,
although her extravagance, so far, has not had any percepti
ble effect upon the great Mackay fortune. That her husband
Clarence Mackay, delights in his wife's fads and expendi
tures is one of the prettloxt parts of It. '
Other matches in which the brides have been exception
ally lucky In stepping Into great wealth from families which,
though having social position, were not classed as having
" money," were Miss Alva Willing of Philadelphia, who mar
ried John Jacob Astor, and Mrs. William Heberton, the
daughter of Mrs. Albert Pancoast, who later married young
Joseph Wldener. The seasons which Mrs. Widener spent
at Newport and the popularity which she achieved there
has Impressed everybody with the beauty and social tact of
this young woman. Less pronounced was the change In Miss
Abbey Aldrich's manner of life when she married John D.
' Rockefeller Jr. She has always shared the tastes of her hus
band, and, like him, cares little for society and takes an
Interest in religious activities. '
Latest ot the Vanderbilt Brides.
Of the latest Vanderbilt brides, Mrs. Reginald and Mrs.
Willie K. Jr., It la only Mrs. Reginald to whom marriage
has brought access of worldly fortune in quantity so much
greater than her own that it will make any perceptible dif
ference In her life. As MJss Virginia Fair, Mrs. Willie K.
Vanderbilt Jr. inherited wealth, which, with what more
will come to her, amounts, without the help of any of the
Vanderbilt money, to $7,000,000 or $8,000,000. With Mrs.
Reginald, however, It was different The mother of Adelaide
Neilson was said at the time of the girl's marriage to have
an income of about $50,000 a year from the Gebhard estate.
As part of this sum was settled upon her, she oannot be
accused of marrying for spending money. In fact, when,
after several years of playing together as a little girl and
boy, Kathleen Neilson and Reggie Vanderbilt found that the
Inevitable had happened and that they had fallen in love,
there was a great storm. Mrs. Neilson could not see her
baby taken away from her, and It was five years before
her consent was finally obtained. Even then she is said to
have spent many tears upon the matter and a close friend
declared that she wept all one night, after she had given
her consent Mrs. Vanderbilt also put away the last momen
toes of her boy's childhood and with a long, deep sigh ad
mitted that she supposed It could not be helped, although
her' objection waa concerned more with the boy's youth
than with his choice. In point of family, Miss Neilson had aa
much to offer as he, h her grandfather, old Mr. Gebhard,
was trading furs with the Indians early in the hust century
when Cornelius Vanderbilt Waa ferrying people over from .
Staten Island.
. Gave Up Millions for His Wife,
To have won the approval of Mrs. Vanderbilt was some
thing to be proud of, for, as Is well known, both father and
mother In the Cornelius Vanderbilt family have played an
active part in their son's matrInonla4 affairs. One day
young Cornelius Vanderbilt fell In love with Grace Wilson
and another day he married her. When his father declared
that he would disinherit him on account of the sevore pain
which this step caused him, nobody believed him. How
deeply he meant It, however, was disclosed on Aug. 18, 1808,
when at a great reception at the " Breakers " he Introduced
his son Alfred, then nearlng his majority, as the heir to the
Vanderbilt millions. So it comes that Elsie French, who mar
lied Alfred Gwynn Vanderbilt, Is now the possessor of the
$30,00,000 which would otherwise have been shared by the
beautiful Grace Wilson. Mrs. Cornelius, however, haa many
things that money cannot buy, although she has, withal, still
a fair quantity of money itself. In the $7,000,000, which
finally came to her husband. She has wonderful tact and
social faculty. She has the great gift of diplomacy, and has
the reputation of being the most popular woman In New York
society. She has a well filled nursery and her children are
cared for by herself to a considerable extent, She has a
beautiful voice. King Edward once took her in to dinner
when she was Miss Grace Wilson. After' dinner he re-j
marked that she had the most sympathetic voice that ever '
Cheered him through a dinner. And now that her husband
has ambitions toward a political career, It la believed that
ber help wUl be of untold value to him.
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