Key Figures

The youngest of eight children born to William Henry and Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt, George Washington Vanderbilt was known from childhood for his reflective demeanor and thoughtfulness towards others. Quiet and patient like his father, he also inherited William Henry’s appreciation of art and antiques and would grow up to become a patron of the arts, an early adopter of new technology, and a collector of rare and beautiful objets d’art.

Despite the loss of both parents when Edith Stuyvesant Dresser was only 10, she and her older brother and three sisters experienced a fulfilling childhood under the care of their maternal grandparents. One of the four “Dresser Girls”, Edith and her sisters were raised with a rigorous schedule which included study, exercise, music lessons, and prayer, but still allowed plenty of time outdoors.

Named in honor of prominent members of her mother’s and father’s families, Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt is the only child of George and Edith Vanderbilt. Her birth was not only a joyous occasion celebrated among family and friends, it was also a newsworthy event recorded in the society pages of the era. Cornelia spent her childhood at Biltmore, and counted among her many playmates her cousins, the children of families who lived on the estate, and of course, the Vanderbilt family’s beloved Saint Bernards.

The third of four boys born to Lord William Cecil and Mary Rothes Margaret Tyssen-Amherst, John Francis Amherst Cecil grew up at Didlington Hall in Norfolk, England. His father was a descendant of Sir William Cecil, 1st Baron of Burghley and Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I. While serving as First Secretary of the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., John was introduced to Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt, one of the nation’s most eligible heiresses.

Frederick Law Olmsted was born in Hartford, Connecticut. His father was a merchant and one of his favorite pastimes was taking trips through the countryside to study landscapes. Young Frederick often accompanied him, inheriting the elder Olmsted’s fascination for the beauty of nature’s canvas.

With their mother and father both hailing from prominent Vermont families, Richard Morris Hunt and his two brothers were destined for great accomplishments. Elder brother William became a famous painter, and Leavitt, the youngest, an attorney and photographer, while Richard became one of the most accomplished architects in the world.

Born August 17, 1928, William A.V. Cecil was the younger of Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil and the Honorable John Francis Amherst Cecil’s two sons and a grandson of George and Edith Vanderbilt. Educated in England and Switzerland, he enlisted in the British Navy near the end of World War II. After returning to the U.S., he attended Harvard University, graduating in 1952 and pursuing a career in finance with Chase Manhattan Bank. He returned to Biltmore in 1960 to manage his family’s estate, ultimately creating a unique business philosophy in which profitable private enterprise supported his mission of preserving Biltmore for future generations.

Born December 11, 1931, Mary Lee Ryan was the daughter of Marion Merrit Lee and textile manufacturer John J. Ryan, Jr. She graduated with a B.A. in English from Vassar College in 1953 and became a partner in the Wall Street firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. She married William A. V. Cecil, an officer with Chase Manhattan Bank, in 1957. Three years later, the Cecils moved to Asheville, NC, to raise their family and undertake managing and preserving Biltmore Estate.