Cathleen Vanderbilt

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Cathleen Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt c. 1922
Born(1904-01-23)January 23, 1904
New York City, U.S.
DiedJanuary 25, 1944(1944-01-25) (aged 40)
Havana, Cuba
Spouses
Henry Cooke Cushing III
​
​
(m. 1923; div. 1932)​
Lawrence Wise Lowman
​
​
(m. 1932; div. 1940)​
Antonio Martin Arostegui
​
​
(m. 1940)​
Children1
Parent(s)Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt
Cathleen Neilson
FamilyVanderbilt family

Cathleen Vanderbilt Arostegui (January 23, 1904 – January 25, 1944)[1] was an American heiress and member of the Vanderbilt family.

Early life[edit]

Cathleen was born on January 23, 1904, in Manhattan, New York City. She was the only daughter of Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880–1925) and his first wife, Cathleen (née Neilson; 1885–1927).[2] Her father had a country home known as Sandy Point Farm in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Before her parents' eventual divorce in 1920, they separated and she continued to live with her mother.[3] After the divorce, her mother remarried to Sidney Jones Colford Jr. in 1921,[4] and her father remarried to Gloria Morgan, with whom he had one more daughter, Gloria Vanderbilt.[5]

Her maternal grandparents were Frederick Neilson and Isabelle Gebhard Neilson.[6] Her paternal grandparents were Cornelius Vanderbilt II and Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt.[7] Among her large family was uncle Cornelius Vanderbilt III,[8] aunt Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who married Harry Payne Whitney and founded the Whitney Museum,[9] uncle Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, who died on the RMS Lusitania,[10] and aunt Gladys Vanderbilt Széchenyi, who married Count László Széchenyi.[11][12]

After her father's death in September 1925, Cathleen and her half-sister Gloria inherited the bulk of their father's estate, including a $5,000,000 trust established by Reginald's father, Cornelius II, in 1899.[5]

Personal life[edit]

In 1923, Cathleen was married to Henry "Harry" Cooke Cushing III (1895–1960) in the Italian Gardens of the Ambassador Hotel. Harry was the son of Harry Cooke Cushing Jr. and Adelaide Blanche Cohnfeld, and the nephew of illustrator Otho Cushing. Before their divorce in 1932,[a] they lived at 26 East 96th Street and were the parents of Henry Cooke Cushing IV (1924–2000),[14] a polo player and investor who was married to Georgia Walters "Georgette Windsor" (born 1924), Ruth Swift Dunbar (1932–2010), Rosalba Neri (born 1939), and Laura Alvarez.[15]

In August 1932, ten days after her divorce from Cushing, she married CBS radio executive Lawrence Wise Lowman (1900–1980) at the court house in Hempstead, Long Island. After their marriage, Lowman, a son of David and Amalia Lowman,[16] made their home in New York City. Cathleen obtained a divorce from Lowman on June 7, 1940, in the Cuban courts.[1][b]

On October 9, 1940, she married for the third and final time to Antonio Martin Arostegui (1911–1986), the publisher of PM, the only English afternoon newspaper in Havana, Cuba. He was the son of Marquesa de Justiz de Santa Ana and Arturo Arostegui.[18]

After a two month illness, Cathleen died at the Anglo-American Hospital in the Vedado district of Havana on January 25, 1944, two days after her 40th birthday. She was buried in the Aurelia Castillo family vault at Colon Cemetery, Havana.[1]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Harry later remarried to Frances Sarah Peters (1904–1975) in 1937.[13]
  2. ^ Lowman later remarried to the painter Eleanor Barry (1906–1983) in 1941.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "MRS. M. AROSTEGUI, A VANDERBILT, DIES; Inherited With Mrs. di Cicco Bulk of $7,000,000 Estate of Father, Reginald Vanderbilt" (PDF). The New York Times. 1944. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  2. ^ "Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt Elude the Curious by Leaving Their Train at Roxbury Crossing" (PDF). The New York Times. April 15, 1903. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  3. ^ "MRS. R.C. VANDERBILT, DIVORCEE, IS WED TO S.J. COLFORD JR. She and War Hero Marry in Her Home a Few Hours After Obtaining License. BIG SURPRISE TO SOCIETY Bridegroom, Son of S.J. Colford of Newport, Was Divorced By His Wife Last Month. SERVED IN FRENCH ARMY Bride Is the Daughter of Mrs. Frederic Neilson—Got Her Divorce in Newport Last April" (PDF). The New York Times. January 27, 1921. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  4. ^ "SIDNEY J. COLFORD" (PDF). The New York Times. May 26, 1951. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  5. ^ a b McFadden, Robert D. (17 June 2019). "Gloria Vanderbilt, Builder of a Fashion Empire, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  6. ^ "R.C. VANDERBILT SUED FOR DIVORCE; His Wife, Formerly Cathleen Neilson, Charges Desertion and Asks Custody of Child. SEPARATED SEVERAL YEARS Husband Receives Papers at His Sandy Point Farm, Portsmouth, R.I.--Contest Not Expected" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 August 1919. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  7. ^ "Mrs. Vanderbilt Sr. Dies In Home At 89. Widow Of Financier, Long Ill. Was A Leader In Brilliant Era Of New York Society" (PDF). New York Times. April 23, 1934. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  8. ^ "Gen. C. Vanderbilt Dies On His Yacht. Great-Grandson and Namesake of Commodore Succumbs in Miami to Brain Hemorrhage. Family With Him At End. He Won Distinction as Soldier, Inventor, Engineer, Yachtsman. Often Host to Royalty" (PDF). New York Times. Associated Press. March 2, 1942.
  9. ^ Times Wide World (27 October 1930). "H.P. WHITNEY DIES AT 58 OF PNEUMONIA; ILL ONLY A FEW DAYS; Sportsman and Financier Succumbs Unexpectedly at His Fifth Avenue Home.CAUGHT COLD ON TUESDAY His Wife, the Former Gertrude Vanderbilt, and Their Three Children at Bedside.HE INHERITED A FORTUNE Built Up Vast Properties and Became One of Nation's Richest Men-- Famed for Racing Stables. One of America's Richest Men. H.P. WHITNEY DIES AT 58 OF PNEUMONIA Heir to Wealth and Prestige. Guggenheim Guided His Start. Known Also as Dog Fancier. Many Concerns Now Merged" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  10. ^  Homans, James E., ed. (1918). "Vanderbilt, Alfred Gwynne" . The Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: The Press Association Compilers, Inc.
  11. ^ Times, Special To The New York (4 October 1907). "MISS VANDERBILT WILL WED A COUNT; Gladys, Youngest Daughter of Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, the Financee of Laszlo Szechenyi. HUNGARIAN HERE FOR BRIDE Young Court Chamberlain Is a Guest at the Breakers, Newport -- Betrothal Made in Europe Last Summer" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  12. ^ Arthur T. Vanderbilt II (1989). Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt. New York: Morrow. ISBN 0-688-07279-8.
  13. ^ "Cushing-Holmes". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1 Jul 1937. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  14. ^ "CUSHING CHILD BAPTIZED.; One of the Sponsors Is Mrs. Vanderbilt -- Vanderbilt Christening Today" (PDF). The New York Times. 15 May 1924. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  15. ^ Pace, Eric (27 October 2000). "H. Cushing IV, Polo Player And Investor, 76". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  16. ^ "DIVORCE FOR MRS. LOWMAN; Former Cathleen Vanderbilt Gets Decree in Cuban Court" (PDF). The New York Times. 9 June 1940. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  17. ^ "ELEANOR B. LOWMAN". The New York Times. 31 August 1983. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  18. ^ "MRS. C.V. LOWMAN MARRIED IN HAVANA; Daughter of the Late Reginald Vanderbilt and First Wife Wed to Martin Arostegui" (PDF). The New York Times. 10 October 1940. Retrieved 21 September 2017.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cathleen Vanderbilt.
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