Alexander Turney Stewart October 12, 1803 – April 10, 1876 Alexander Turney Stewart was born on October 12, 1803, in Lisburn, Ireland, to Scottish Protestant parents. His father died only weeks after his birth, and soon after, his mother left for America with her new husband. Stewart remained behind, raised by his grandfather, who intended for him to enter the ministry. His early education was strict and deliberate, but his path changed after his grandfather’s death. He was t

Caroline Lee Bouvier was born on March 3, 1933, in Manhattan, New York County, New York. She was the younger daughter of John Vernou Bouvier III, a Wall Street stockbroker, and Janet Norton Lee. She was born into a socially prominent New York family and spent her early childhood in Manhattan and East Hampton, New York. Following her parents' separation and divorce during her childhood, she was raised primarily by her mother. Black Jack & Janet Bouvier She was educated in New

Margaret Wright Bedford, known to her friends simply as "Peggy," lived a life that could have been scripted for the society pages. Born in 1932 to Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Henry Bedford, Jr., she was heir to the Standard Oil fortune through her father, who served as a director of the powerful company. Her childhood alternated between the Bedford estate in Greens Farms, Connecticut, and the family's apartment in New York's Pierre Hotel, an existence that was hardly "ordinary," t

Cowles Miles Collier was born 10 September 1838 in Hampton, Virginia, the son of Charles Miles Collier Jr. and Sarah Ann Cowles. He grew up in coastal Virginia and received a military education at the Hampton Military Institute. In 1856 he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point but resigned from the academy the following year. After leaving West Point he pursued maritime service and by the late 1850s was serving at sea, including duty aboard the United State