Chauncey Delos Beadle began working at Biltmore as nursery supervisor under the direction of Frederick Law Olmsted in 1890—five years before Biltmore House and its surrounding gardens were completed. Beadle, who said he came to Biltmore for a month and stayed for a lifetime, lovingly supervised the estate grounds until 1950.

Chauncey Beadle, ca. 1906

Ten years after arriving at Biltmore, Beadle and the other staff members helped George and Edith Vanderbilt welcome the arrival of their only child—a daughter named Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt. Later that same year, a cucumber magnolia tree (Magnolia acuminate) was planted in the child’s honor in the area of the estate that would come to be known as the Azalea Garden. According to one newspaper account,

The spot selected is in a beautiful grassy dell near Biltmore House. The tree itself, now but a sapling of twelve feet in height, is expected to be 60 feet above the ground when little Cornelia reaches the age of 20 years. A few years after that event, it is expected that it will reach a height of 100 feet. It lives centuries, and is one of the prides of our beautiful southern forests. 

A special bond

As a young girl, Cornelia developed a special bond with Beadle. He had become estate superintendent and was now responsible for the overall business management of the estate, as well as many of the Vanderbilts’ personal affairs—but he was also a trained botanist and horticulturalist who encouraged Cornelia to take an interest in plants and flowers from a very young age. Together, they undertook such activities as planting a flower garden for the child to tend.

When Cornelia was away travelling with her parents, Beadle wrote letters detailing the garden’s growth and often included pressed flowers for her enjoyment.

Here are excerpts from the charming letters Beadle wrote to Cornelia just before her sixth and seventh birthdays:

August 17, 1906 – To Cornelia in Paris, France:

“I promised you just as you were leaving Biltmore to send you some pressed flowers from your garden, that you may see some of the results of the seeds we planted last spring. Almost all of the seeds grew and thrived and, in particular, I wish you could have seen some large double sunflowers as large as breakfast plates … They were so large that I could not press them and I fear that before your return they will have faded and gone. The little package which I am sending you, however, contains some of the smaller flowers that were easily pressed and, perhaps, before your home-coming, I can send you another lot so that you may be able to enjoy the garden even though you were in Europe…”

August 14, 1907 – To Cornelia at Point D’ Acadie, the Vanderbilt’s home in Bar Harbor, Maine:

“I have sent you by mail a package containing a number of pressed flowers from your garden which you painstakingly planted and watered. Very many of the plants have made a splendid showing… In the package you will find handsome Larkspurs of various shades and mottled colors… and several other flowers that were in blossom…. You will find the names of the flowers written on the inside of the sheets of paper which contain them, and I am very sure that you will soon know them all by name and will be able to recognize them wherever you may see them growing…”

Keeping up a correspondence

George Vanderbilt passed away unexpectedly in 1914, and Edith and Cornelia began spending more time in Washington, DC where Cornelia attended The Madeira School. Beadle continued corresponding with the pair through the years, bringing Edith up-to-date on estate business and describing the gardens in great detail so both ladies could enjoy them even when they were far from home.

In a letter dated April 14, 1922, Beadle wrote to Cornelia,

“The tulips in the walled garden are so glorious that we are trying out an experiment of sending you a box today by express for Easter. We shall hope they will bring you something of their original beauty and charm to make Easter even more wonderful. Spring is very much advanced here, even the yellow rambler roses are opening.”

Beadle’s gift

In 1923, Cornelia met the Honorable John Francis Amherst Cecil, a British diplomat who had been transferred to Washington, DC after posts in Egypt, Spain and Czechoslovakia. John Cecil came from a very prominent British family, and was a direct descendant of William Cecil, the first Lord Burghley, who served Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Cornelia and John announced their engagement later that year, and set a wedding date for April 29, 1924. Although Beadle was in Florida and unable to return for their wedding, he sent a very special gift that commemorated their mutual love of the natural world: fresh orange blossoms from his own garden. Our archival records indicate that Cornelia placed some of the fragrant flowers on her veil and also decorated the toe of each of her wedding slippers with a single, perfect blossom.

Cornelia Vanderbilt’s wedding portrait upon her marriage to John Francis Amherst Cecil, April 1924

Images

Top: Chauncey Beadle at Biltmore in 1906

Middle: Cornelia Vanderbilt photograph; 1904

Bottom: Cornelia in her wedding dress at the bottom of the Grand Staircase in Biltmore House

From her debutante days onward, Edith Vanderbilt was a fashionable lady who enjoyed wearing some of the most elegant styles designed by the exclusive fashion houses of the era.

(Right) Standing portrait

In the late 1800s, standing portraits like this one were popular because a standing pose allowed a lady to display all the details of her beautiful costume to best advantage! Note the extraordinary length of lace falling from the delicate floral trim at Edith's shoulders (the floral design is also echoed in her sweeping skirt) and the height of her feathered hair ornament.

(Left) 1900

As a young mother, Edith Vanderbilt's style of dress reflected a bit more restraint than her glamorous debutante and engagement gowns, but there were still rich layers of details to keep the style engaging. Notice the striking combination of Edith's elegant sleeves layered in stripes and dots, the lavish lace bow at her throat, and the dangling brooch pinned to her bodice.

(Right) March 1907

On this date, the New York Times featured a front-page story on Edith Vanderbilt wearing a gown of mountain homespun cloth woven by artisans who worked for Biltmore Industries–a business the Vanderbilts developed to provide economic support for local crafters in the community. Edith Vanderbilt always chose examples of current styles to flatter her tall, slim figure, and this sleek suit is no exception. In addition to enjoying the elegant ensemble, Edith used it as an attractive tool to help influence her social connections and push sales of Biltmore Industries merchandise.

(Left) A fashionable lady

Throughout her life, Edith Vanderbilt would continue to be celebrateded for her fashion sense and good taste. 

(Top) Featured blog image 

A 1911 portrait of Edith Vanderbilt painted by Italian artist Giovanni Boldini, known for his glamorous renderings of notable members of society. This portrait hangs in the Tapestry Gallery at Biltmore House, just outside the entrance to the Library.

In honor of Edith Vanderbilt’s birthday on January 17, we’d like to share a glimpse into her childhood and young adult years before she married “the most eligible bachelor in the world.”

In April 1898, an article appeared in the New York Herald announcing the engagement of George Washington Vanderbilt to Edith Stuyvesant Dresser. Much attention was given at the time to George Vanderbilt’s family connections and the fact that he had long been considered one of the most eligible bachelors in American society. But what of his fiancée, Edith?

Other than basic facts about the identity of her parents and the marital status of her siblings, little more was said about Edith other than that she was “a very charming and accomplished girl.”

Childhood adventures

Edith was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1873. She was the fourth child of Colonel and Mrs. George Warren Dresser, who was a descendant of the last Dutch governor of New York. The Dressers divided their time between Newport and their New York residence, and much of what we know about Edith’s childhood comes from an unpublished narrative written in 1943 by her younger sister Pauline.

According to Pauline, the Dresser children enjoyed a wide variety of pets—including Edith’s 19 turtles that lived in the backyard—and a wide variety of adventures such as roller skating in their dining room while it was being repaired for water damage.

Growing up in Newport

Both of Edith’s parents both passed away in 1883, but the children’s elderly maternal grandparents stepped in to raise the five siblings who ranged in age from six to nineteen. The young Dressers moved to their grandparents’ home in Newport, and a governess named Mademoiselle Marie Rambaud was added for the girls. Pauline’s memoirs mention how Mademoiselle Rambaud had the Dresser girls adhere to the following regime:

“Two hours’ exercise, rain or shine, and early bed hours… We were not allowed to get up until seven… half an hour for dressing, then, if we hurried sufficiently, a chance to run outdoors for a few minutes … before a hasty glass of milk and a roll, which preceded the hour of piano practice from 7:45 to 8:45. A quarter of an hour for family prayers in my grandmother’s room…then breakfast at nine in the dark dining room…, and lessons from 9:30 to 1:30 in winter, and 9:30 to 11:30 in summer. Lunch at 1:30, then another hours’ practice from 2 to 3 – walking every day from 3 to 5. Supper at 5:15 –… and bed at 6:15 in winter and summer, until I was fourteen years old: then only, was I allowed to dine with the family and go to bed at 8:00 P.M….

But life in Newport wasn’t all hard work, and Edith and her sisters were encouraged to enjoy outdoor pursuits such as horseback riding, carriage driving, and swimming. Summers were particularly lighthearted as the Dresser girls, accompanied by their governess and their pet collie Paddy, walked to the beach three times a week, returning in a public horse-driven bus. Apparently Paddy loved to swim so much that he would visit the beach on his own, jumping into a cab for the return trip home. The girls would look out to see what appeared to be an empty cab pull up to their house, and out would jump Paddy, leaving a laughing cab driver behind.

The Paris years

Following the death of their grandmother in 1892, Edith and her sisters spent some time traveling, returning to Newport for a few months before taking an apartment in Paris for the next several years.

In 1896 and 1897, the Dresser girls vacationed for the summer in the French town of Dinard. Still pet lovers as they had been from childhood, they acquired two dogs in France – “Mlle Follette,” who would “die for France,” standing on her hind legs then falling over as though felled by an enemy’s bullet, and Bluette, a bulldog. Time in Dinard was light-hearted and fun, with most of their friends in attendance. They “picnicked and swam and danced and enjoyed themselves hugely.”

After their last summer together in Dinard, Edith and her oldest sister Susan stayed in Paris while Natalie and Pauline Dresser returned to Newport for the first time in four years. It was a time of new beginnings for each of them as the Dresser sisters began to meet and fall in love with the gentlemen they would one day marry.

Edith Vanderbilt’s legacy

Without a doubt, Edith Vanderbilt’s childhood and young adulthood certainly molded her into much more than “a very charming and accomplished girl.” The development of her striking personality traits such as intelligence, sophistication, an outgoing nature, a love of adventure, the ability to relate to people of all backgrounds and cultures, resilience in the face of difficulty, and strong commitment to family make her a woman we continue to admire.

Pictured above, right: the Dresser girls with their grandmother (L-R: Natalie, Edith, Grandmother Susan Fish Le Roy, Pauline, Susan)

Pictured above, left: Dresser girls in Dinard, 1896 or 1897 (L-R: two servants, Edith, Mlle. Rambaud, Pauline, Susan, Natalie; Bluette the bulldog in  foreground & Mlle. Follette to the left of the bicycle)