Episode 123: Catch of the Season
Another heir, another birthday, 2 fortunes, a special gift, and by chance possibly someone to share it with?
#JohnJacobAstorVI, #AlfredVanderbilt, #WoolworthDonahue, #heir, racehorse, Seabiscuit, Titanic, Lusitania
September 1933, three new bachelor heirs are fresh on the market, or are they? Alfred “Alfy” Vanderbilt Jr. comes into his fortune but gets an even better gift from his mother. Alfy along with Jakey Astor and Wooly Donahue are more serious and not interested in being the typical playboy heirs, but questions remain as to who is really still on the market.
Other people and subjects include: Princess Barbara Hutton Mdivani, Prince Alexis Mdivani, James HR Cromwell aka “Jimmy,” John Jacob Astor VI aka “Jakey,” John Jacob Astor IV aka “Jack,” Vincent Astor, Alice Ava Muriel Astor Obolensky von Hofmannsthal, Caroline Astor, Madeleine Talmage Force Astor Dick, Jessie Woolworth Donahue, Woolworth “Wooly” Donahue, Alfred “Freddy” Vanderbilt Sr, Margaret “Maggie” Emerson McKim Vanderbilt Baker Amory, Captain Isaac “Ike” Emerson, Ellen “Elsie Tuck French Vanderbilt, Ellen “Tucky” Tuck French, Alice Vanderbilt, Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Grace Wilson Vanderbilt, Cornelius Vanderbilt III aka “Neily,” Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, Sr. aka “Freddy,” Willaim “Bill” Vanderbilt, Reginald “Reggie” Vanderbilt, George Washington Vanderbilt III, William Henry Vanderbilt III – future Governor of Rhode Island, Dorothy “Dotty” Fell, Dorothy “Dolly” de Milhau, Gladys Munn, Pulitzer family, Dr. Smith Hollins McKim, Charles Minot Armory, Raymond Baker, Gloria Baker, Delphine Dodge Cromwell Baker, Ronald Denyer, Agnes O’Brien Ruiz, Sagamore Stables – Sagamore Farms, Preakness Stakes, Pimlico Racecourse of Baltimore, Belmont Racetrack of New York, racehorses, horsey set, birthday party and dance, bachelors, secret engagements, playboys, childhood friends, best gal, sea victims, iceberg, torpedo, scandal, affair, suicide, spousal abuse, St. Georges school in Newport, St. Paul’s school in New Hampshire, Harvard, Yale, private tutors, trusts, ocean liners Europa, Titanic, Lusitania, Mauretania, Paris, Newport, Saratoga, Sands Point, Long Island, Bromo-Seltzer, sodium bicarbonate, pharmacist, antacid, painkiller, sedative, tranquilizer, hangover remedy, Mount Bromo of Java, Alka-Seltzer, Bayer, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), tv series, The Simpsons, The Golden Girls, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Rogers and Hart, Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, Spike Jones’s spoof remake song “Laura,” Otto Preminger, Laura film, Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, German U-boat U-20, torpedo, lifeboats, lifejackets, young mother with baby, Cunard, Blue Riband, wounded soldiers, munitions, Germany, Britain, and United States, warship, passenger ship, racehorses, War Admiral, Seabiscuit, screenwriter James Vanderbilt, 2007 Zodiac, 2012 The Amazing Spider-Man, 2016 Independence Day: Resurgence, Scream franchise 2022 & 2023, effects of loss, identity, connection to loved one, heroism, lionization, fast vehicles and cars, animals, nature, nurture, troubles,…
Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Extra Notes / Call to Action:
American Aristocracy website
https://americanaristocracy.com/
https://americanaristocracy.com/lists/the-four-hundred
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Publish Date: January 24, 2025
Length: 20:23
Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 1 Music: From the Top of Your Head by Carroll Gibbons & The Savoy Orpheans, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 2 Music: Eeny Meeny Miney Mo by Harry Roy, Albums The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s & Tea Dance 2
Section 3 Music: You Hit The Spot by Carroll Gibbons, Album The Age of Style – Hits from the 30s
End Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
AS THE MONEY BURNS
Podcast by Nicki Woodard
Episode 123 – Catch of the Season
Outline
Double inheritance
Chance
00:00
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast by Nicki Woodard. Based on historical research, this is a deep exploration into what happened to a set of actual heirs and heiresses to some of America’s most famous fortunes when the Great Depression hits.
Each episode has three primary sections. Section 1 is a narrative story. Section 2 goes deeper into the historical facts. Section 3 focuses on contemporary, emotional, and personal connections.
00:30
Story Recap
While the most eligible bachelor Jakey Astor gains his fortune, his mother Madeleine Astor tries to marry her third husband.
Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS
Title
00:44
Catch of the Season
[Music Fade Out]
Episode Tag
Another heir, another birthday, 2 fortunes, a special gift, and by chance possibly someone to share it with?
01:04
[Music – From the Top of Your Head by Carroll Gibbons & The Savoy Orpheans, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Section 1 – Story
[Music Fade Out]
01:23
Nothing gets the engagement season more excited than the influx of well-funded future spouses.
Marriage minded mamas and daughters are salivating on the potential crop of bachelors this 1933 summer season. “Jakey” John Jacob Astor VI, “Alfy” Alfred Vanderbilt Jr., and “Wooly” Woolworth Donahue are all in the mix. Even better, each is considered taking a serious turn with no “play-boying” funny business to go around.
01:52
After returning from cousin Barbara Hutton’s wedding to Prince Alexis Mdivani, her cousin and another future Woolworth heir Woolworth “Wooly” Donahue is spotted frequently escorting Dorothy “Dottie” Fell. Rumors have it an engagement announcement is pending. Only Wooly isn’t an heir in full yet, not only does he have another year until his 21st birthday, but an even larger obstacle is that his widowed mother Jessie Woolworth Donahue is alive and well and holding onto her fortune for quite a bit longer.
Meanwhile Wooly is seemingly smitten. Upon return from the Paris wedding, he resumes his courtship of Dottie. When she heads off to Europe, he follows her then travels with her and her family aboard the ocean liner Europa upon their return to the United States.
02:39
Life always has milestones that demarcate a change in life and status. Becoming an adult is definitely one of them.
There might be rituals and celebrations for this life event, and truthfully little might happen afterwards. However for some of those milestones can come with far larger changes, especially if it comes with an inheritance.
1912 had one event that defined an era – the sinking of the Titanic. It was also a year that several young heirs and heiresses were born, all of whom in 1933 are now turning 21 thus gaining their fortunes unlike the waiting Wooly.
03:17
High up in profile on that list is the “Titanic baby” proud scion John Jacob Astor VI, aka “Jakey.” During the disaster, he survives inside his mother’s womb while losing his father only to be born months later. Unfortunately, his father’s will had not been changed so Jakey only gets a small pittance of one of the largest fortunes at the time while the vast majority goes to eldest, half-brother Vincent Astor and another amount nearly 3 times larger than Jakey’s will go to older half-sister Ava Alice Muriel Astor.
03:48
Only a month after Jakey’s birth, another prominent heir Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr., aka “Alfy,” is born on September 22, 1912. This second heir had at least 3 years with his father Alfred “Freddy” Vanderbilt Sr., the de facto heir of the Vanderbilt fortune passed from brother to brother, as 3 of the 4 met their fates far too early. Freddy got the fortune due to a dispute between his father Cornelius Vanderbilt II and second eldest brother Cornelius Vanderbilt III, aka “Neily.” Eldest brother William “Bill” Vanderbilt passed away in college, and Neily married Bill’s potential fiancé Grace Wilson despite the parental objections.
04:29
Only Freddy is traveling for business aboard the Lusitania during World War I when a torpedo sank the ship in 1915. While Uncle Reginald “Reggie” Vanderbilt becomes the next male head of the Vanderbilt family, only to die a few years later leaving Uncle Neily in charge after reconciling with his mother dowager Alice Vanderbilt. But Freddy’s sons each get more favorable portions than had the Astors or the earlier Vanderbilt clan. Alfy too has an older half-brother William Vanderbilt who gets his own substantial fortune, while Alfy shares a trust with his younger brother George Vanderbilt.
05:04
But for now Jakey and Alfy are in demand. High net worth, elite social standing, similar tragedies,… Only 21 years later, they are in fairly different circumstances.
As Jakey and Alfy’s big birthdays approach the press has a field day with these “Sea Victims” marked by iceberg and torpedo. Despite the perils of 1929, many estimate their fortunes still more than doubled over the years.
05:32
Alfy will inherit at minimum twice the amount as Jakey. Alfy not only receives a Vanderbilt inheritance equally split with his own younger brother George. Alfy and George also inherit a separate split fortune from their maternal grandfather “Captain Ike” Isaac B. Emerson of Baltimore. Money heavy Alfy might inherit more money, but it will come to him in pieces of trusts over the years at 21, 25, 30, and 35. Not all at once like it has for Jakey.
More comparisons appear. Both lads grew up with tutors and don’t seem too keen for heading to college. Jakey attends Newport’s St. Georges private school, while Alfy graduates from St. Paul’s in New Hampshire. Jakey is supposed to be a Harvard man while Alfy heads to Yale.
06:17
Jakey’s grandmother is the Gilded Age society queen Caroline Astor long passed, and Alfy’s grandmother dowager Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt is the last remaining living society queen of the early Gilded Age era. Alva Vanderbilt Belmont was Alfy’s great aunt by marriage. Jakey is definitely haughtier and seems more intrigued by the social standing of his name and participating in capital “S” Society, while Alfy prefers to avoid it altogether. Alfy always appears the shy and quiet person in the room. Only Alfy loves horses and horse racing, often skipping Newport Colony activities for the horse racing activities in Saratoga. This year he is spotted with his Aunt Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney at the August races.
07:00
As a special birthday present, Alfy inherits from his mother Margaret “Maggie” Emerson McKim Vanderbilt Baker Armory the prestigious Sagamore Stables, a horse farm established in 1925 by his grandfather Emerson who then bequeathed it to his daughter with the instructions to give to Alfy on his 21st birthday. Alfy has been a fan of thoroughbred racing since he first attended the Preakness Stakes in 1922.
Despite joining Yale’s class of 1935, Alfy isn’t going to be too focused on his education now that his love of horseracing takes over.
Alfy is definitely considered a “Catch of the Season.” Only he isn’t quite available. Still unmarried and so far unengaged, but Alfy has had a steady relationship with Dorothy “Dolly” de Milhau for years, keeping him off the potential eligible lists. They were the best of friends as children, and Dolly still appears to still be his main gal.
07:57
Friday, September 22nd, 1933
In Sands Point, Long Island, his mother Maggie is now referred to as Mrs. Charles Minot Amory, though she has been an unattached divorcee since 1931. Maggie hosts the official birthday gathering for 75 guests from the horsey set for a dinner dance where Alfy blows out his 21 candles.
Now the question remains will Alfy be sharing his fortune with Dolly?
08:27
Monday, September 25th, 1933
A very, very secret engagement is exposed. It is none other than Wooly and Dottie. They got engaged over the weekend, and Dottie got a nice large ring to show off.
Thursday, September 28th, 1933
It’s official Wooly Donahue and Dottie Fell will be getting married this winter.
One heir down, so many others to go…
09:07
[Music – Eeny Meeny Miney Mo by Harry Roy, Albums The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s & Tea Dance 2]
Section 2 – History & Historiography
[Music Fade Out]
09:23
One thing is for certain. There is always another fortune to add to the mix.
Before we get back into the Vanderbilt fortune. Let’s discuss pharmacist “Captain Ike” Isaac Emerson’s road to fortune. In 1888, he invents an antacid Bromo-Seltzer to relieve heartburn, indigestion, and related elements with both painkiller and sedative effects. This became a popular hangover remedy. The compound today is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate, citric acid, and acetaminophen (which replaces earlier toxic ingredients acetanilide and the bromide which served as a tranquilizer). The fizzying texture of this compound reminds the extensive traveler Emerson of the volcano Mount Bromo in Java.
10:09
Bromo-Seltzer will be mentioned in multiple films including The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) and The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), tv series the Simpsons and The Golden Girls, as well as mentioned in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Bromo-Seltzer is also mentioned in songs by Rodgers and Hart, the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, and a spoof remake by Spike Jones of the song Laura, which was the original song for the Otto Preminger’s film Laura starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews.
Another sodium bicarbonate mixture – Alka-Seltzer will be invented in 1978 by Bayer.
10:45
Alfred “Freddy” Gwynne Vanderbilt Sr. is the third son of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and Alice Claypoole Gwynne Vanderbilt. Freddy will inherit a large portion of the family fortune due to the first son / brother William “Bill” Vanderbilt’s premature death in college then second son / brother Cornelius Vanderbilt III, aka “Neily,” being disinherited for marrying Bill’s potential fiancée Grace Wilson.
11:07
Freddy will marry first wife Ellen “Elsie” Tuck French in 1901, and they have 1 son William Henry Vanderbilt III born in 1901. William will be the future governor of Rhode Island. Freddy and Elsie divorce in 1908 on the charge of adultery, after which the accused mistress Agnes O’Brien Ruiz will commit suicide after the scandal in 1909. Agnes will be one of four women associated with Freddy to have died that way. Freddy marries second time to divorcee Margaret “Maggie” Emerson in 1911. They have two sons Alfred “Alfy” Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. in 1912 and George Washington Vanderbilt III in 1914.
11:47
Maggie herself marries several times. First to a wealthy Baltimore physician Dr. Smith Hollins McKim from 1902-1910. In the divorce, she claimed he beat her in drunken rages, then she marries Freddy in 1911 and is widowed in 1915. Third husband is Raymond Baker from 1918-1928, and they have a daughter Gloria Baker. Then Maggie marries 4th husband Charles Minot Armory from 1928-1931.
By the way in 1928, Raymond Baker marries Delphine Dodge Cromwell – heiress to the Dodge fortune and the ex-wife of James “Jimmy” H.R. Cromwell.
12:26
Yes, the story is quite incestuous far more than you can imagine. I can’t even tell you how many more revelations I have gotten since chasing down all the future spouses in this story. Ellen “Elsie” Tuck French is the great aunt to 1933 Newport debutante Ellen Tuck “Tucky” French. Charles Minot Amory’s first wife Gladys Munn will marry into the Pulitzer family.
Getting confused enough already?
12:51
Alfred Sr., aka Freddy, will die when German U-boat U-20 torpedoes the passenger ship RMS Lusitania sinking it in 18 minutes on May 1st, 1915. As the trip was business, Alfred traveled only with his valet Ronald Denyer. Much like his Astor counterpart John Jacob Astor IV, Freddy will be noted in a gentlemanly and heroic way meeting his fate aiding others into lifeboats and giving away his lifejacket to a young mother with her baby, even tying it on her himself. Freddy was unable to swim, and he and Denyer are among the 1,199 passengers who did not survive. Freddy’s body is never recovered.
13:36
British ocean liner RMS Lusitania is built by Cunard, launches in 1906, wins the Blue Riband in 1908, and meets its fate on its 202nd Atlantic crossing. After sinking, its sister ship Mauretania serves as a warship transporting troops and later a hospital ship for wounded soldiers. Later after World War I, disputes will break out between Britain, the United States, and Germany. Germany claims the Lusitania was carrying “munitions” aboard and was a warship, while Britain and the U.S. insist it was a large civilian passenger ship.
14:10
As for another point of interest, Sagamore Stables is now referred as Sagamore Farms. While owner of the above, Alfred “Alfy” Vanderbilt Jr. will also become owner and president of Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore. Where in 1938, Alfy will stage the famous match between War Admiral and Seabiscuit. He will also become president of the Belmont Racetrack in New York.
Alfy is the grandfather of James Vanderbilt, the screenwriter of 2007 Zodiac, 2012 The Amazing Spider-Man, 2016 Independence Day: Resurgence, and later installments for the Scream franchise in 2022 and 2023.
History comes in many shapes and sizes, and it is far more connected than first appears.
14:56
[Music – You Hit The Spot by Carroll Gibbons, Album The Age of Style – Hits from the 30s]
Section 3 – Contemporary & Personal Relevance
[Music Fade Out]
15:15
This story has always been about the spectre (specter) of death and how it impacts a person long afterwards. When people think of heirs or heiresses, they only think about an abundance of money. But those inheritances come with loss generally of a parent or grandparent, so there are far more complicated emotional ties and the complications of identity attached.
Long ago, I noticed how the loss of a loved one marks a person. How the deceased becomes locked in time and memory.
15:42
The loss can come in different forms – divorce, abandonment, death,… All that matters is the one left behind needs something more. I, myself, experienced the aftermath of parental divorces on me, my siblings, cousins, and various friends. And the loss of my brother still quite young to cancer. It takes a lot to reconcile the mind to loss, and the permanence of death can allow for more ideological wishful thinking to prevail.
Often times, this comes with an over correction and a lionization of the missing. The want of connection and the meaning to something grander.
16:21
The last minute heroism indicated in the deaths of “Jack” John Jacob Astor IV aboard the Titanic and “Freddy” Alfred Vanderbilt Sr. on the Lusitania would have their sons and namesakes proud to bear their names. While John Jacob Astor VI, aka “Jakey,” wishes to stake his rung on the social ladder, Alfred Vanderbilt Jr., aka “Alfy,” shows his father, mother, paternal aunt, maternal grandfather, and other Vanderbilt relatives’ interest in racehorses. A legacy intertwined and potentially heightened over time.
16:53
Other connections are the prevalence of mutual interests. How it translates either by nature genetically or by nurture with association and identity onto the next generation. There might be a natural preference that gets reinforced or heightened if mutually shared by the adored missing.
For the Astors, father Jack and his two sons Vincent Astor and Jakey all have interest in technology and fast vehicles. Vincent has quite a collection, and now that Jakey controls his fortune he plans to indulge. Not really a surprise, that doesn’t need to be genetic for what is already a predominantly male trait for that particular interest in fast machines in any form, and the extra money just funds the options.
17:36
For the Vanderbilts, the mutual interest shows up in relation in this case to animals. Alfy’s father Freddy plus his mother and grandfather all had a passion for racehorses, along with other Vanderbilt family members. Vanderbilts are involved in several forms of racing. Once again, not something too offbeat for people to have an interest in, and the prevalence of money allows the passion to be indulged to another level. For Alfy, I don’t know how much his passion will manifest outside of racing, but when it comes to horses he definitely has an affinity for them at all levels from breeding to racing.
18:13
It’s interesting to see in the process of time occasionally how certain heirs, heiresses, and families relate to animals. It’s another recurring theme which will become more prominent in time. As it will be through animals, one seduction will play out.
Before 1933 ends, two more heiresses will turn 21, as the game of fortunes plays on…
18:37
By now some of these names get a little confusing especially as they repeat frequently among generations and across marital connections, thus it is always a great way to be able to go back and back track all the intersections so to speak. For this episode, I stumbled across a fun website https://americanaristocracy.com/ which can help locate a person, a house, or a place in association. I went down the twisty road of Vanderbilts and Astors to reconfirm certain marital alliances and yes nicknames. You can find 265 names on the original Caroline Astor and Ward McAllister’s The 400 List. Check it out at:
https://americanaristocracy.com/
https://americanaristocracy.com/lists/the-four-hundred
Links in the notes and transcript.
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Hook
19:35
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Next when we return to AS THE MONEY BURNS…
Another day, another danger as an heiress finds herself in double trouble, but a minor medical emergency is nothing compared to the tax man.
Until then…
Credits
19:54
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast written, produced, and voiced by Nicki Woodard, based on historical research. Archival music has been provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, check out their website at www.pastperfect.com.
Please come visit us at As The Money Burns via Goodpods, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook (now Meta), or Instagram. Transcripts, timeline, episode guide, and character bios are available at asthemoneyburns.com.
20:23
THE END.