Consuelo Vanderbilt

Portrait of Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl, 1931 by Painter: Artur Lajos Halmi

(November 24, 1903 - February 21, 2011)

Consuelo Vanderbilt , known to family and friends as “Consie,” was born in Manhattan on November 24, 1903. She was the daughter of William Kissam Vanderbilt II and Virginia Graham Fair, daughter of U.S. Senator James Graham Fair of Nevada, one of the famed “Silver Kings” of the Comstock Lode.

Consuelo Vanderbilt

Through her father she was a great-great-granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, the shipping and railroad magnate who established the Vanderbilt family fortune.

William Kissam Vanderbilt II

Virginia Graham Fair

She was raised in a family of immense privilege and prominence. Consie had two siblings: William Kissam Vanderbilt III, a noted yachtsman and automobile enthusiast who died tragically in an automobile accident in 1933, and Muriel Vanderbilt, who became a well-known socialite and thoroughbred horse breeder. On her maternal side, she was the niece of Theresa “Tessie” Fair Oelrichs, the celebrated Newport society leader whose mansion Rosecliff became one of the most famous of the Gilded Age “cottages.” Her paternal uncle was Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, the last Vanderbilt to be directly involved in the family’s railroad empire and a three-time America’s Cup winner. These family connections placed Consie firmly within the center of both East Coast society and Western mining wealth.

Earl Edward Tailer Smith

In 1926, she married Earl Edward Tailer Smith, who later served as United States Ambassador to Cuba from 1957 to 1959 during the turbulent years of Fidel Castro’s rise to power. Smith published The

Fourth Floor: An Account of the Castro Communist Revolution recounting his experiences. Together they had two daughters, Virginia Consuelo Smith (later Burke) and Iris Smith (later Christ).

Her marriage to Smith ended in divorce, and in 1936 she married Henry Gassaway Davis III, grandson of U.S. Senator Henry Gassaway Davis of West Virginia, the 1904 Democratic vice-presidential nominee. That union was also short-lived.

In 1941 she wed William John Warburton III of Philadelphia society, though this marriage too was brief.

Henry Gassaway Davis III

William John Warburton III

Noble Clarkson Earl

In 1951 she married Noble Clarkson Earl, Jr., a businessman and sportsman. Together they established Iridale Farms in Ridgefield, Connecticut, which became known for its livestock and, most notably, their champion Skye terriers. The Earls were longtime participants in dog shows and breed clubs, and their Ridgefield estate reflected Consie’s lifelong devotion to animals. She decorated the property with stone statues of dogs, and one room of her home was dedicated entirely to her beloved companions, complete with a fireplace inlaid with coins depicting dogs. Noble Clarkson Earl, Jr. died in 1969.

Consuelo's Ridgefield Connecticut Estate

Consie remained in Ridgefield for the rest of her life, becoming a respected and beloved figure in the community. She supported the Animal Medical Center in New York and other causes, continuing the Vanderbilt tradition of philanthropy. She was remembered for her elegance, humor, and vitality, as well as for her devotion to the welfare of animals.

She celebrated her birthdays every year, often with cake and champagne, right up until her 107th in November 2010. She was among the last of her generation of Vanderbilts, and counted among her cousins Gloria Vanderbilt and Gloria’s son, journalist Anderson Cooper.

Consuelo “Consie” Vanderbilt Earl died at her home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, on February 21, 2011, at the remarkable age of 107. She was survived by her daughter Virginia Consuelo Smith Burke of Palm Beach, Florida, seven grandchildren, and eighteen great-grandchildren. Her daughter Iris predeceased her.

She was laid to rest at Saint Mary’s Cemetery in Ridgefield, Fairfield County, Connecticut,