Edith Stuyvesant Dresser was born on January 17, 1873, in Newport, Rhode Island, to Major George Warren Dresser (1837–1883) and Susan Fish Le Roy (1834–1883).[2] She was the great-niece of Hamilton Fish (1808–1893), a U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Senator, and New York Governor. Through the Fish family, she was a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, the last governor of Dutch colonial New York through Hamilton Fish's mother, Elizabeth Stuyvesant, Peter Stuyvesant's great-great-granddaughter.[3] She was orphaned at the age of 10 and was raised by her maternal grandmother.
Her elder brother was Daniel LeRoy Dresser, a shipbuilder.[4] She and her sisters, collectively known as the "Dresser girls," were: Suzanne Leroy Dresser, who married the French Vicomte, Romain D'Osmoy,[4] Natalie Bayard Dresser,[5] who married John Nicholas Brown,[6][7] and Pauline Georgina Dresser,[8] who married Rev. George D. Merrill.[9][10]
Life
Edith was a compassionate person; many said that one would not have known she was the mistress of the Biltmore Estate. She was very involved with the families who worked on the Biltmore Estate, as well as the surrounding community. Edith and her husband, George Vanderbilt, were socially progressive thinkers who played pivotal roles in the improvement of the lives of many people in western North Carolina.[11]
Some of her initiatives included sponsoring literacy and educational programs, and promoting crafts through which women might support themselves. On the estate, she took maternity baskets to women who had just given birth to make sure they had everything they needed. Edith also took her daughter Cornelia's old clothing to families with girls who were about the same age.[12]
After her husband's death in March 1914, she continued her work for the community. She became the first woman president of the State Agricultural Society. With this title, Edith helped build a new hospital, among numerous other deeds. Later, she decided to honor George Vanderbilt, her husband, by selling 87,000 acres to create the Pisgah National Forest for the public to enjoy.[13]
After George's death in 1914, she inherited his $50,000,000 estate and later sold the land around the Biltmore Estate to the United States Forest Service. This became part of the Pisgah National Forest.
^"Natalie Bayard Brown papers". riamco.org. RIAMCO | Rhode Island Archival and Manuscript Collections Online. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
^"John Nicholas Brown II". Brown University. Archived from the original on 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2011-04-22. John Nicholas Brown II (1900–1979) was born February 21, 1900. Two months later, his father John Nicholas Brown I died of typhoid fever, followed shortly by the unexpected death of his uncle Harold Brown. Thus, as an infant JNB became heir of his family's fortune and was dubbed by the public the "richest baby in America." John Nicholas Brown traveled the world in his youth and would continue to do so throughout his life. ...
^McKendree, Sue C. "Edith Vanderbilt's Relationship with Estate Families." Learn NC. UNC School of Education. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.<http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/1834>
^Carley, Rachel, and Rosemary G. Rennicke. A Pictorial Guide to Biltmore Estate. Asheville, NC: Biltmore, 2008. 18-19. Print.