Alice Claypoole Gwynne Vanderbilt (November 11, 1845 – April 24, 1934) was the wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and reigned as the matriarch of the Vanderbilt family for over 60 years.
Alice Claypoole Gwynne was born on November 11, 1845 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Alice, who was also raised in Cincinnati, was a daughter of Rachel Moore (née Flagg) and lawyer Abraham Evan Gwynne. After her father's death in 1855, her mother remarried to Albert Mathews, who wrote under the name Paul Siogvolk. Alice's siblings included David Eli Gwynne, Abram Evan Gwynne, Cettie Moore (née Gwynne) Shepherd, and Edith Olivia (née Gwynne) Gill.
She was a granddaughter of Henry Collins Flagg, a former mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, and a great-great granddaughter of Major Ebenezer Flagg, who served in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment during the American Revolution, and who was killed in action in 1781. Her maternal uncles were George Whiting Flagg, a painter, and Jared Bradley Flagg, also a painter and real estate developer. Through Jared Flagg, she was a first cousin of Ernest Flagg, an American architect.
Alice was from an old Rhode Island family and among her ancestors was Roger Williams, who founded the State of Rhode Island, and Samuel Ward Sr., a former Rhode Island Governor. Many Flagg family members are buried in Newport's Island Cemetery. Alice's affection for Newport reflected this association of her earliest colonial ancestors with the city.
While teaching Sunday school at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York, she met Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the eldest son of William Henry Vanderbilt and Maria Louisa Kissam. They were married on February 4, 1867 at the Church of the Incarnation on Madison Avenue in New York. Together, Alice and Cornelius were the parents of four sons and three daughters:
Alice Vanderbilt's husband died of a cerebral hemorrhage on September 12, 1899 at their New York home at 1 West 57th Street. His estate at the time of his death was appraised at $72,999,867 (equivalent to $2.2 billion in 2018 dollars), $20 million of which was real estate.
Alice lived another 35 years until her death on April 22, 1934 at her home at 1 East 67th Street in Manhattan, where she had moved after the sale of the 57th Street mansion in 1925 (it was demolished in 1926). Her youngest daughter, Countess Széchenyi, inherited both the massive summer "cottage" The Breakers, in Newport, and her mother's last New York townhouse, the former residence of George Jay Gould Sr. Gertrude received the proceeds from the sale of 1 West 57th Street, totaling $7,000,000.
Alice was responsible for constructing several massive family houses, including the enlargement of 1 West 57th Street, making it the largest private residence to ever be built in an American city at the time. She also played a role in constructing The Breakers, in Newport.
In 1914, she was responsible for the construction of the Gwynne Building in Cincinnati, Ohio, site of the first shop of Procter and Gamble, later the company's headquarters. After her death, her son Neily received ownership of the Gwynne Building.
Alice donated to various charitable causes. Throughout her life she was a large supporter of the YMCA, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Trinity Church and St. Bartholomew's Church. She and her husband donated Vanderbilt Hall to Yale College in memory of their eldest son, Bill, a student there when he died in 1892. She gave the front gates to her former mansion on Fifth Avenue to be placed in Central Park. Mrs. Vanderbilt also donated a facility to Newport Hospital in 1903 in memory of her husband, Cornelius.
Through her son, Reginald, Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt was the grandmother of Cathleen Vanderbilt, Gloria Laura Vanderbilt, the socialite and fashion designer, and the great-grandmother of news anchor Anderson Hays Cooper and his late brother, Carter Vanderbilt Cooper.
Through her son, Alfred, Alice was the grandmother of William Henry Vanderbilt III, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr., and George Washington Vanderbilt III.
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