Elizabeth de la Poer Beresford, Baroness Decies (April 22, 1868 – June 13, 1944) was an American author, philanthropist, and

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

socialite.

Early life

Drexel was born on April 22, 1868, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Lucy Wharton and Joseph William Drexel. Her paternal grandfather was the son of Francis Martin Drexel, the immigrant ancestor of

Anthony Joseph Drexel Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. (September 13, 1826 – June 30, 1893) was an American banker who played a major role in the rise of modern global finance after the American Civil War. As the dominant partner of Drexel Burnham Lambert, Drexel & Co. of ...

who founded present-day J.P. Morgan & Co. and was influential in developing the private banking system of the United States.

Career

Drexel was an author who published two books, ''King Lehr and the Gilded Age'' (1935) and ''Turn of the World'' (1937). The first, published after the death of her second husband, tells the story of her unhappy marriage to Henry Lehr, which was referred to as a "tragic farce" of a 28-year marriage. ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine described it as: Her second book, and first as Lady Decies, ''Turn of the World'', was also a semi-autobiographical history of American high society during the

Gay Nineties The Gay Nineties is an American nostalgic term and a periodization of the history of the United States referring to the decade of the 1890s. It is known in the United Kingdom as the Naughty Nineties, and refers there to the decade of supposedl ...

up through

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Following the book's publication, ''

The Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'', formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'', was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for over a century, from 1884 to 1992. At the height of its popul ...

'' wrote, In Paris, she purchased and renovated the Hôtel de Cavoye at 52 Rue des Saints-Pères in the 7th Arrondissement. The ''

hôtel particulier () is the French term for a grand urban mansion, comparable to a Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse. Whereas an ordinary (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a ...

'' was built as the Paris residence of Louis d'Oger, Marquis de Cavoye, a

Favorite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler. It was es ...

of King

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

who served as Grand Marshall of the Royal Household at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. At her home, she hosted receptions, including for Prince Christian of Hesse and his American wife, the former Elizabeth Reid Rogers.

Personal life

First marriage

On June 29, 1889, Elizabeth married John Vinton Dahlgren (1869–1899), a graduate from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and the son of Admiral John A. Dahlgren (1809–1870) at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. Together, they had two sons: * Joseph Drexel Dahlgren (1890–1891), who died as an infant * John Vinton Dahlgren Jr. (1892–1964), who married Helen Broderick in 1946, was a graduate of

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

and Georgetown. During this marriage, she made generous donations to Roman Catholic charities and to

, including funds for the construction of Dahlgren Chapel, which was named for her first son. Georgetown University asked for her portrait, which was painted in 1899 by the Swiss-born American artist

Adolfo Müller-Ury Adolfo Müller-Ury, Order of St. Gregory the Great, KSG (March 29, 1862 – July 6, 1947) was a Swiss-born American portrait painter and Impressionism, impressionistic painter of roses and still life. Early life and education Müller was b ...

(1862–1947). Dahlgren died August 11, 1899, in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

, where he had gone in hopes of recovering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

."John Vinton Dalhgren Dead"
''The New York Times'', August 12, 1899.

Second marriage

In June 1901, Elizabeth married Henry Symes Lehr (1869–1929), aka Harry Lehr. The marriage was never consummated. According to her, on her wedding night, her husband told her that he loathed her and could not stand the thought of touching her ever, although he wanted her to understand she was to be cordial to him in public and he might in turn occasionally call her "darling". He had, he admitted, married her for her money because poverty terrified him. In 1915, the Lehrs were in Paris, and Elizabeth worked for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. They remained in Paris after

, where they bought in 1923 the ''Hôtel de Cavoye'' at 52, rue des Saints-Pères in the 7th arrondissement. Harry Lehr died on January 3, 1929, of a brain malady in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Third marriage

On May 25, 1936, she married The Rt Hon. The 5th Baron Decies (1866–1944), a widower and

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

peer who had previously been married to Helen Vivien Gould (1893–1931). Upon this marriage, she became The Rt Hon. Baroness Decies. Lord Decies filed suit for divorce in 1942, which Lady Decies contested. In 1943, she appeared in the photograph "The Critic" by Weegee. Lord Decies died on January 31, 1944, at his

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

home.

Death

Elizabeth, Lady Decies, died at the Hotel Shelton in Manhattan on June 13, 1944. She was buried in the crypt below Dahlgren Chapel at

, which she and her first husband had built as a memorial to their first son, Joseph Drexel Dahlgren, who died in infancy.

Published works

*''"King Lehr" and the Gilded Age'' (1935) *''Turn of the World'' (1937)

References

External links

*
''Great Day in the Morning''
is a play by

Thomas Babe Thomas Babe (March 13, 1941 – December 6, 2000) was an American playwright, "one of Joseph Papp's most prolific resident playwrights at the New York Shakespeare Festival," with seven of his plays premiered at the Public Theatre. His work ...

, based on Elizabeth Wharton Drexel's life (archived 7 March 2006). {{DEFAULTSORT:Drexel, Elizabeth Wharton 1868 births 1944 deaths American people of Austrian descent American socialites Elizabeth Elizabeth Wharton Gilded Age Decies