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Emily Thorn Vanderbilt facts for kids

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Emily Thorn Vanderbilt
Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White.jpg
Mrs. William Douglas Sloane (Emily Thorn Vanderbilt) by Benjamin Curtis Porter
Born January 31, 1852
Staten Island, New York, US
Died July 28, 1946(1946-07-28) (aged 94)
Occupation Philanthropist
Spouse(s)
(m. 1872; his death 1915)

Henry White
(m. 1920; his death 1927)
Children
  • Florence Adele Sloane
  • Emily Vanderbilt Sloane
  • Lila Vanderbilt Sloane
  • William Douglas Sloane
  • Malcolm Douglas Vanderbilt Sloane
Parent(s) William Henry Vanderbilt
Maria Louisa Kissam

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.

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).

Philanthropy and work

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

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

Personal life

In 1872, the twenty year old Vanderbilt was married to William Douglas Sloane (1844–1915). 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:

  • Florence Adele Sloane (1873–1960), wife of James Abercrombie Burden Jr. and of Richard Montgomery Tobin.
  • Emily Vanderbilt Sloane (1874–1970), who married lawyer John Henry Hammond III.
  • Lila Vanderbilt Sloane (1878–1934), wife of William Bradhurst Osgood Field.
  • William Douglas Sloane (1883–1884)
  • Malcolm Douglas Vanderbilt Sloane (1885–1924), who married Elinor Lee.

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.

She died on July 28, 1946, in Lenox, Massachusetts.

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
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