Alice Claypoole Gwynne

Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt
Alice Claypoole Gwynne as "The Electric Light" at a costume ball on March 26, 1883
Born	November 26, 1845 Cincinnati, Ohio
Died	April 22, 1934 (aged 88) Manhattan, New York City
Spouse(s)	Cornelius Vanderbilt II
Children	Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt William Henry Vanderbilt II Cornelius Vanderbilt III Gertrude Vanderbilt Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt Gladys Moore Vanderbilt
Parent(s)	Abraham Evan Gwynne Rachel Moore Flagg

Alice Claypoole Gwynne Vanderbilt (November 26, 1845 – April 22, 1934) was the wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and reigned as the matriarch of the Vanderbilt family for over 60 years.

Alice was born and raised in Cincinnati, the daughter of lawyer Abraham Evan Gwynne and Rachel Moore Flagg, and stepdaughter of Albert Mathews, who wrote under the name Paul Siogvolk.

She met Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the eldest son of William Henry Vanderbilt and Maria Louisa Kissam, while teaching Sunday school at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church. They were married on February 4, 1867 at the Church of the Incarnation on Madison Avenue in New York. She and her husband had four sons and three daughters.

Alice was responsible for constructing several massive family houses, including the enlargement of 1 West 57th Street, making it the largest private residence to ever be built in an American city at the time. She also played a role in constructing the massive summer "cottage", The Breakers, in Newport, Rhode Island. Her affection for Newport was because many of her earliest colonial ancestors were from the city. An early ancestor was Roger Williams, who founded the State of Rhode Island.Another ancestor was former Rhode Island Governor Samuel Ward, Sr.. Many Flagg family members are buried in Newport's Island Cemetery.

In 1914, she was responsible for the construction of the Gwynne Building in Cincinnati, Ohio, site of the first shop of Procter & Gamble, later the company's headquarters.