Emily Thorn Vanderbilt

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]

Emily Thorn Vanderbilt
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) Lenox, Massachusetts, US
Occupation	Philanthropist
Spouses	William Douglas Sloane ​ ​ (m. 1872; died 1915)​ Henry White ​ ​ (m. 1920; died 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

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]

• 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),^[7] 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.^[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