Spouse(s) John Henry Hammond Children John Hammond | Died 22 February 1970 | |
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Born September 17, 1874 Manhattan, New York City Occupation Heiress, author, philanthropist Parents Emily Thorn Vanderbilt, William Douglas Sloane Grandchildren John P. Hammond, Jason Hammond, Douglas Hammond Cousin Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt Similar Emily Thorn Vanderbilt, William Henry Vanderbilt, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Hammond, George Washington Vanderbil | ||
Emily Vanderbilt Sloane Hammond (September 17, 1874 – February 22, 1970) was an author, philanthropist, and socialite. She was a member of the Vanderbilt family, and mother of music producer John Hammond. She was a keen musician and was president of numerous charitable societies.
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Biography
Emily Vanderbilt Sloane was born on September 17, 1874 to Emily Thorn Vanderbilt (1852–1946) and W. & J. Sloane heir William Douglas Sloane (1844–1915). She was the granddaughter of William Henry Vanderbilt.
She was raised in New York, and summered at Elm Court, a mammoth shingle-style cottage in Lenox, Massachusetts. Uninterested in the débutante social circles of her peers, she preferred playing the piano at Sunday school. She took a keen interest in religion, delivering small sermons to her brothers and sisters, and later considered her faith important to mask the guilt of being born into a wealthy family.
She married John Henry Hammond I on April 5, 1899 at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church. They had four children; Adele Sloane Hammond (1902–1998), Alice Frances Hammond (1905–1978), Rachel Hammond (1908–2007) and John Henry Hammond II (1910–1987).
As an adult, Emily regularly attended opera and public lectures, and employed a social secretary. She disliked alcohol and tobacco and forbade either of them to be consumed in her house.
John Henry Hammond I died in 1949. Emily died on February 22, 1970 at her home at 136 East 64th Street, aged 95.
Philanthropy
Vanderbilt Sloane was enthusiastic about donating money to good causes and social demands. She was a supporter of educationalist Martha Berry and made many financial contributions to Berry College; correspondence between the two women was later made public. A major activity of hers was the restoration of the Theodore Roosevelt House at 28 East 20th Street. She was president of the Women's Roosevelt Memorial Association for many years. She was president of the Home Thrift Association, supporting a Yorkville settlement house, and was president for 43 years of the Three Arts Club, a residence for women studying music, painting and drama. She was a founder of the Parents' League of New York in 1914, and later became its president. She was the president of the Peoples' Chorus of New York, and a commissioner of the Girl Scouts of Westchester County.
After her husband's death in 1949, she donated the family's 277-acre Mount Kisco estate, Dellwood, to the controversial Moral Rearmament movement.
Home
Emily's parents commissioned the architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings to design a mansion for the couple at 9 East 91st, on land purchased from Andrew Carnegie; it was known as the John Henry Hammond House. The house has since been restored and is now the Consulate General of the Russian Federation.
The reception rooms on the second floor – a ballroom, library and music room – routinely sat three hundred guests, at concerts often featuring Vanderbilt Sloane on piano, and her son John Hammond, Jr. playing violin or viola. Many greats of jazz played in the house, including Benny Goodman Rachel Hammond Breck noted that her mother's parties never went for long, mainly due to her refusal to serve alcohol.
Legacy
Her son John Henry Hammond became a jazz impresario and record producer. Daughter Alice Frances Hammond married jazz musician Benny Goodman. Her daughter Adele Hammond is the paternal grandmother of actor Timothy Olyphant.