Alice Vanderbilt
| Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt | |
|---|---|
Gwynne as "The Electric Light" at a costume ball on March 26, 1883
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| Born |
Alice Claypoole Gwynne November 26, 1845 Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Died | April 22, 1934 (aged 88) Manhattan, New York City |
| Spouse(s) | Cornelius Vanderbilt II (m. 1867; his death 1899) |
| Children | Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt William Henry Vanderbilt II Cornelius Vanderbilt III Gertrude Vanderbilt Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt Gladys Moore Vanderbilt |
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 Claypoole Gwynne 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 was the great great granddaughter of Major Ebenezer Flagg who served in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment during the American Revolution who was killed in action in 1781.
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 Gwynne Vanderbilt died at 7 o'clock on April 22, 1934 in her home at 1 East Sixty-seventh Street in Manhattan, New York City. Her youngest daughter, Countess Széchenyi, inherited both The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island, and her mother's second New York townhouse located at 1 East 67th Street (the former George Jay Gould, Sr. residence). Gertrude received the proceeds from the sale of 1 West 57th Street (sold in 1925) totaling $7,000,000 while son Neily received ownership of the Gwynne Building in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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.
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