On Christmas Eve of 1895, George Vanderbilt opened the doors of Biltmore House to welcome family and friends into his home for the first official time. The following day he invited the estate’s many employees and their children into the Banquet Hall where they found a space filled with music, sweet treats and an enormous tree sparkling with lights and laden with gifts for all. In 1898, Mr. Vanderbilt was joined in passing out the presents by his new bride Edith, who was elated with the festive tradition and continued on each year thereafter finding new ways to share the joy of this season. 

Edith’s good friend Anna Wheeler, the wife of the estate’s veterinarian, often helped the Vanderbilts organize exceptional holiday events such as theatrical readings of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for estate employees.  In an unpublished memoir, Anna reflected back on these special times and the many ways in which Edith carried the true spirit of Christmas year-round.

[Her] work among the mountaineers [and] the charm of her personality soon made her a friend of all who were fortunate enough to know her…. celebrations … were held in the banqueting hall of Biltmore House…. The brilliant tree, in its magnificent setting, the faces of those surrounding it, and the beautiful and gracious hostess are never to be forgotten.

A decade after George Vanderbilt’s death, Edith remarried, settling in Rhode Island and Washington, DC with her husband Senator Peter Gerry.  She dedicated much of her time to political endeavors, particularly to supporting those serving in the military and to promoting literacy and educational efforts.  And though she did not reside at Biltmore full-time, it’s touching to know that she, too, never forgot.  Nestled snugly among papers in our archives are many decades of holiday greetings sent between the former Mrs. Vanderbilt and estate superintendent Chauncey Beadle.  Edith wrote year after year sending her love and best Christmas wishes to those living and working on the estate.

To me, the century-old holiday traditions here illustrate how deeply the Vanderbilts treasured family and community.  Telegram after telegram in our archives serve as tokens of recognition that Biltmore was home for Edith Vanderbilt.. .and that this timeless, magical place was never far from her heart at Christmas-time.  Just as Edith wrote to those she held dear, we send you Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year!

In the days around Christmas 1897, George Vanderbilt was travelling abroad preparing for a trip to India with his good friend, William B. Osgood Field. By late December, they had taken up residence in Paris and were staying at the Hotel Bristol. William wrote his mother fascinating letters detailing their days, but it is particularly interesting to see that the two travelling bachelors were also spending quite a bit a time with a certain young woman, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser. Though George was quite secretive about his intentions, Edith had clearly caught his eye. Edith, for her part, must have been receptive to his attentions as she had invited George and William, as well as some other friends, to the apartment she shared with her sister Susan to dine on Christmas day.   

On Christmas Eve, William surreptitiously snagged one of George’s socks, tucking a small calendar for his writing case into the toe. The stocking was filled with thoughtful tokens and toys that Edith and her governess had picked up on the Parisian boulevards. In went an almanac and a small book of poetry and a newly-published volume of Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz. George was presented with the overflowing stocking as a surprise at breakfast on Christmas morning.

Books were, of course, the perfect gift for George Vanderbilt. George, in fact, presented his friend William with a beautiful copy of Keats at that same festive breakfast.  But could it be that this volume of Quo Vadis was an expression of a secret Christmas wish from Edith? Set in ancient Rome, the Nobel-prize winning novel tells the love story of a young Christian woman and an aristocratic imperial officer. The underlying narrative contrasts the opulent and decadent culture of the wealthy Roman elite with the rewards found by those who seek a simpler lifestyle, embrace altruism and the spiritual power of Christian faith.  We will never know for sure… but, to me, it’s quite telling that George’s running list of “Books I Have Read” documents that he was reading this copy of Quo Vadis later that year, during his honeymoon, with his new bride Edith by his side.

It’s a special day at Biltmore: the 150^th anniversary of George Vanderbilt’s birth! His parents, William Henry and Maria Louisa Vanderbilt, welcomed him into the world at their family home near New Dorp on Staten Island, NY on November  14, 1862. Named in honor of a paternal uncle, little George was the youngest of a large, lively brood. Every so often we run across objects in the collection that shed some light on how the Vanderbilt family celebrated special occasions together.  It’s always touching to me (particularly after 150 years!) to come across tokens of these traditions. Maria Louisa was a devoted and loving mother to each of her eight children and she and George maintained a particularly close relationship throughout their lives. Today seems like a fitting occasion to share two of the birthday gifts that Maria Louisa bestowed upon her youngest son.

Tucked among Biltmore’s 23,000 books are three treasured volumes that George received from his mother for his ninth birthday. Inscribed “George from Mama Nov. 14th 1871”, the books are part of a popular series of novels written by the Reverend Elijah Kellogg, Jr. With titles like Boy Farmers of Elm Island and The Ark of Elm Island, one might guess that George had a taste for adventure, but the stories are also instructive. Throughout the series, the main characters are faced with all sorts of ethical dilemmas challenging their resolve to be upstanding young men, all while navigating the treacherous waters of the West Indies.  Maria Louisa Vanderbilt’s carefully-selected gift gives us a hint of George’s boyhood interests, as well as how deeply she valued and encouraged her children’s moral and intellectual growth.

Filed away in George’s personal papers, we found an unsigned and undated poem. The three pages are bound with a ribbon and composed in perfect penmanship. Upon reading it, it becomes apparent that the poem is from his mother and was written on the occasion of his 21^st birthday. She reflects back upon his birth, celebrates his coming of age, and shares her hopes for his future.

Crowned in an aureole of light, I see grand dreams and visions bright

…there is no scope to youth’s vast boundless wealth of hope, and boundless opportunity for good…”

Through her carefully-crafted prose, Maria Louisa bids her son to heed the call of work, to put right what he finds wrong , and:

To give a kindly word of cheer

To those who heavy burdens bear

Such work will bless, when nobly done.

And such work comes to every one.

He helps the age in which he lives,

Who does his best – and his best gives

To carry sunshine everywhere…

A later stanza relates every mother’s dream of having her child’s greatest aspirations fulfilled.

If in thy heart deep-hidden some cherished wish there be,

One that may bless thy future – that wish is mine for thee.

And with this wish in parting, there comes to light the way

The season’s ripe perfection crowning this festal day.

I can only imagine the pride that Maria Louisa would feel in knowing that her son did indeed improve the age in which he lived, and was able to bring his “grand dreams and bright visions” to fruition as she had hoped. She would undoubtedly be elated to learn that George’s life’s work resulted in the creation of a bounteous estate, a peaceful oasis, and an enlightened community that are all still going strong 150 years later. Happy birthday, George!

A flag containing an array of stars hangs in the Banquet Hall of Biltmore House to honor Biltmore employees who served during World War I. Its 53 stars represent each person – 50 blue stars mark those who returned home, and the three gold stars represent those who died in action.

Today, Nov. 12, 2012, we honor the men and women who have served our country, and those who were and are employed by Biltmore.

Edith Vanderbilt commissioned the flag, known as the Service flag, in 1920. These flags grew in popularity during World War I after Army Captain Robert L. Queissner of the Fifth Ohio Infantry designed and patented a flag to honor his two sons serving on the front line.

In 2005, Biltmore’s Museum Services team had a reproduction of the flag made, which had hung in the Banquet Hall for more than 80 years. It had deteriorated over time and eventually it could no longer support its own weight.

For many years, we knew that one of the blue stars represented Herbert Noble, an English butler who worked in Biltmore House. In 1930, journalist Louis Graves wrote:

“Herbert Noble had been employed at the Vanderbilt home before the war; he had begged to be released to go to England and enlist; and he had come back to America with his ribbon, his wounds, and his memories of the great adventure, and had found his old job waiting for him.”

Herbert’s star was the only one to which we could attach a name. Until last week, that is.

The Museum Services team recently discovered new information about the Service flag through ongoing cataloging and research of the many thousands of documents in the Biltmore Archives. Within these documents exists the elusive list of 52 employees – 49 men and 3 women – who are remembered by these stars. Not all worked at the estate, but some worked at Biltmore Estate Industries and Biltmore Hospital as well. Just like Herbert Noble, many of those who returned to the U.S. after the war went back to their jobs, as Edith Vanderbilt made sure their jobs would be waiting for them when they got home. The identity of the 53rd star, a gold one that is not on the list and presumably added later, is still a mystery.

So now the process of researching the names, positions and stories of those on the list begins.

Biltmore House hosts share the flag’s history with our guests every day, noting that the names have never been known or confirmed. It’s exciting to think that now they’ll be able to share this new discovery with our guests.