Balsan, Consuelo Vanderbilt, 1877-1964 - Social Networks and Archival Context (original) (raw)

Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt was born in New York City. She was the eldest child of William Kissam Vanderbilt, a New York railroad millionaire, and his first wife, Alva Erskine Smith. Determined to secure the highest-ranking mate possible for her only daughter, Alva Vanderbilt engineered a meeting between Consuelo and the indebted, titled Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough. The pair married at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, New York City, on November 6, 1895. They had two sons. Consuelo's second marriage, on July 4, 1921, was to Lt. Col. Jacques Balsan. Consuelo Balsan died at Southampton, Long Island, New York, on December 6, 1964.