Vanderbilt v. Vanderbilt

bring me a sword. Once the sword was at hand, the King said, divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other. One woman, horrified, said she would rather the other woman kept the baby so that it could live. The other told the king to go ahead. King Solomon knew at once that the first woman must be the child's mother. In some ways, the custody case in front of Justice

Carew was even harder than Solomon's. As a justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Carew was not allowed to use a sword to render judgment. Instead, he would have to listen to weeks of testimony and to carefully weigh his options. And things only got more complicated from there. When Solomon administered his test the Book of King's records, his subjects saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment. Justice Carew could not hope for

such a positive reception. No matter what he decided, people would be furious, not just the parties involved, but the crowds gathered outside the courthouse and the millions of people who followed the case avidly in newspapers. For this was not an ordinary custody case. The women fighting in front of Justice Carew for custody of a ten year old

girl were not ordinary women. They were members of one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in American history, and in their battle for custody of this girl, they would bring the full force of their names and connections to bear, stopping at nothing, from hiring spies to destroying reputations to get what they wanted. After all, they were used to the world bending to their whims. It often

does when your last name is Vanderbilt. On the one hand, there was the girl's mother, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, a defining beauty of her generation, a friend to royalty and Hollywood, a regular feet in the society columns. On the other hand, there was Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Gloria's sister in law, the enormously wealthy patron of the arts who had founded her own museum. Between them was the girl also named Gloria, ten years old, with a sleek cap, of thick dark

hair and a strange, nervous manner. What was she so frightened of? The Justice wondered, was one of the women the source of her fear? Could one of them cure it? There was much to consider, and that was before the high priced lawyers, and the interfering grandmother and the hysterical nanny. Justice carew shook his head. Perhaps he needed a sword after all. Welcome to History on Trial. I'm your host,

Mira Hayward this week the matter of Vanderbilt. For a brief, beautiful period in the early nineteen twenties, it seemed that all of New York society loved the magnificent Morgans. That's what the newspapers called the Morgan twins, Gloria and Telma, and the name fit. They were stunningly beautiful, intriguingly foreign, and ever present. The twins had exploded onto the social scene in nineteen twenty one, aged seventeen and made a strong impression. No one minded that their pedigree was not

entirely blue blooded. Their father, Harry Hayes Morgan, was a career diplomat and not related to the JP Morgans. Their mother, Laura, was the daughter of a Civil war general and a Chilean aristocrat. The twins had grown up abroad with their two older siblings, a brother Hair and a sister Consuelo. Their lifestyle had been nomadic and they had picked up a number of languages as a result. At seventeen, after sporadic schooling, the twins had been left alone in New

York City. Their mission, their mother, Laura, made it clear, was to find husbands. Laura Morgan was a domineering, status and money obsessed women, as her granddaughter would later reflect, quote, Laura Morgan did not believe in married love, in friendship between women, or that women could ever achieve positions of power except through the men they married. The twins knew that for their financial security they would need to make good matches. Still, they were going to enjoy their independence

while they could. They showed up to parties in stunning dresses they had sown themselves dancing until the wee hours charming the social columnists. The photographer Cecil Beaten was one of many who found himself drawn to Gloria and Telma. They are alike as two magnolias, Beaten wrote, and with their marble complexions, raven tresses and flowing dresses, with their slight lisps and foreign accents, they diffuse an atmosphere of

hot house elegance and lacy femininity. Soon enough, Telma caught the eye of Junior Converse, scion of a wealthy family, and in February nineteen twenty two, the couple eloped. Upon their return to New York, they hosted a dinner party, and it was there that Gloria met the man whose family would shape her life. He was unprepossessing, this man nearly twenty five years older than Gloria, with a bushy mustache, graying hair, and the flush complexion and bulging belly of

the heavy drinker he was. Despite all of this, the man was considered the most eligible bachelor in New York, all because his name was Reggie Vanderbilt. Wealth did not serve Reggie Vanderbilt well born in eighteen eighty, he was the youngest son of Alice and Cornelius Vanderbilt, the second the couple who built the famous or infamous one hundred and thirty eight thousand square foot Newport vacation home known as the Breakers. Raised in luxury, Reggie wanted for nothing

and never faced consequences. On his twenty first birthday, he inherited several trusts worth approximately fifteen point five million dollars. That night, to celebrate his windfall, he went gambling and lost seventy thousand dollars. By nineteen fifteen, as part of an investigation into Reggie for tax fraud, authorities discovered that all he had left was the income off of the

one trust, whose principle he could not touch. In fourteen years, Reggie had spent nearly twenty five or in today's money, nine hundred and twenty three million dollars. Four years later, Reggie's first wife, Kathleen, divorced him. The couple had married in nineteen oh three and had one daughter, also named Kathleen, who in nineteen twenty two was almost exactly the same

age as her father's new love interest, Gloria Morgan. Kathleen and Gloria were close for a while until Reggie told his daughter of his plan to propose to her good friend, Gloria. Kathleen fled to her mother's house in Florida. Reggie bought a sixteen carrot heart shaped diamond engagement ring. Gloria Morgan knew who she was married, wrying Reggie had told her about his financial difficulties. He had explained his health problems to her too. Reggie's drinking was quickly killing him, but

still Gloria wished to marry him. She seemed to see Reggie as something of a father figure. Her own father had often been absent, and she liked how Reggie took care of her. After winning over Reggie's mother, Alice with her bold personality, Gloria married Reggie on March sixth, nineteen twenty three. Eleven months later, on February twentieth, nineteen twenty four, Gloria gave birth to a baby who the couple named Gloria Laura Vanderbilt. To keep the Glorias apart, I'll call

the child Little Gloria, as her mother's family did. The couple designated Reggie's older sister, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney as Little Gloria as godmother. Laura Morgan Glory, Loria's mother, helped her daughter with the difficult early days of parenthood. Soon as was her way, Laura had completely taken charge. She was the one who selected and hired the baby's nanny, Emma Sullivan Keislich. The thirty three year old nanny was well trained and had worked with a number of other wealthy families.

But most importantly to Laura's mind, Nurse Keeslick had the same view of little Gloria that she did. To their minds, little Gloria was not an ordinary baby. She was special. She was a Vanderbilt, practically American royalty. Laura and Nurse Keeslick treated the baby like she was made of glass. As author Barbara Goldsmith writes in Little Gloria Happy at Last, her account of the trial, quote, the child was the main concern of their lives and their justification for being

in Gloria's household. Their obsessive focus on the baby would one day have devastating consequences for the entire family. On September fourth, nineteen twenty five, Reggie Vanderbilt died from alcoholic cirrhosis, aged forty five. Gloria barely had time to mourn her husband before the bill collectors came knocking on her door. The extent of Reggie's debts soon revealed itself. He owed hundreds of thousands of dollars. He had left Gloria with

almost nothing of her own. However, their daughter, Little Gloria, inherited her father's one remaining asset, the inviolable trust, whose principle he was never able to touch. She and her older sister Kathleen, each received half of this money, two and a half million dollars each, to be held in trust until they were twenty one. Laura Morgan suggested that Gloria reach out to a family friend, the lawyer George Wickersham, for financial and legal advice. Wickersham sent over an associate,

Thomas Gilchrist, to help the thirty nine year old. Gilchrist advised Gloria that her daughter would need a legal and financial guardian. Gloria, who was only twenty at the time, was not old enough to serve in these roles. The law said you had to be twenty one. Wickersham agreed to take on the guardian ships, with Gilchrist acting as

his representative. Eventually, Gilchrist would become an official guardian Gilchrist and Wickersham helped Gloria prepare a petition asking that money be withdrawn from Little Gloria's Trust to support herself and her child. Justice James Foley of the Surrogate's Court, the legal body which administered estates in New York, approved Gloria's request for four thousand dollars into day money seventy one

thousand dollars a month. That is an enormous sum to most of us, but within Gloria's circles, this was a paltry amount, especially considering that Gloria soon began financially supporting her parents. It should also be noted that this amount was well within the income the trust generated each year. In nineteen twenty six, Gloria decided to move to Paris. Little Gloria's guardian, Thomas Gilchrist, objected to this plan, believing that it was better for the child to be raised

in America. He threatened Gloria, telling her that Justice Foley would cut her income off, but Justice Foley had no such plans. He told Gloria to enjoy life abroad, but said that she ought to bring the child home when it was school aged. Gloria happily agreed and set off for Paris. These years in Europe were happy ones. Mostly, Gloria lived the life of a beautiful young society widow, staying out late, taking trips to the south of France,

throwing cocktail parties. Like nearly all wealthy women of her generation, Gloria left the child care to the nanny. Nurse Keislich and Laura Morgan created a loving, if over protective atmosphere for the toddler, but beneath the surface, trouble was stirring. In October nineteen twenty six, Gloria met Gutfried, Prince of ho and Loah Landenberg on a ship. Friedel, as friends called him, was close to Gloria's age, and the two bonded as they crossed the Atlantic. Within months they were

in love. In March nineteen twenty seven, they announced their engagement. There were two problems though. First, Friedel had no money you would not have any until the death of his father, Thomas Gilchrist told Gloria that her daughter's money could not be used to support a new husband. Secondly, there was the problem of Laura Morgan, Gloria's mother, Always tightly wound and prone to hysteria had become increasingly unhinged. She was

obsessed with Little Gloria's safety. She saw Friedel as a threat to her granddaughter's well being, and this threat was not metaphorical. She believed, on the basis of no evidence, that Friedel would murder Little Gloria for her money. Soon this year expanded, Laura began openly claiming that Friedel and Gloria were trying to kill the child. Nurse Keieslich, who had become obsessed with the child, refusing to ever leave

her side, fell into step with Laura's paranoid fantasy. Little Gloria, who loved her grandmother and her nanny fiercely, could not help but absorb their anxieties. After a year of stress from all sides, Gloria and Friedol decided to call off their engagement. Gloria kicked her mother out of her house in Paris. Laura moved into a hotel ten blocks away. Nurse Keislick took Little Gloria to visit her regularly. Gloria began spending more time in England, where her twin sister

Telma was living. Telma had by now divorced her first husband, married a wealthy English viscount and started an affair with the Prince of Wales. Life was a whirlwind of parties and hunts, and even a presentation at court, but by nineteen thirty Gloria was receiving increasing pressure from Gilchrist to return to America. He held her financial position over her head, constantly threatening to cut her off. To Gloria, the arrangement

was unbearable. She later wrote, quote, everything was under constant surveillance. I was never able to do anything on my own initiative when it came to expenditures without first consulting my child's guardians. Gilchrist's desire to control Gloria's life is at times difficult to understand. There are several factors that might

explain it. A genuine desire to serve the child's financial interests, Gilchrist's condescending paternalistic feelings towards the elder Gloria, and most importantly, the fact that he was receiving regular letters from Laura Morgan claiming that Gloria was an unfit mother. Eventually, Gilchrist and Wickersham issued an ultimatum. If Gloria and seven year old little Gloria did not return to America in nineteen thirty two, they would be cut off financially. Reluctantly, Gloria

made reservations on an ocean liner. The America that the Vanderbilts returned to was a much bleaker country than the one they had left. The Great Depression had ravaged the nation. Kidnappings for ransom were on the rise, and wealthy families were hiring bodyguards to protect their children. Nurse Kislich was terrified of Little Gloria being kidnapped and spoke constantly of the danger. This annoyed Gloria Vanderbilt, who did not believe that her daughter was at risk. But she was wrong.

Already plans were being put in place to take Little Gloria away from her. It was not anonymous criminals who were planning the kidnapping, though, it was the child's own family. For all the conflict that would define Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's relationship, the two women had a surprising amount in common. They had both been raised by status ofsessed mothers, were both bound by strict social conventions, and both had a taste for pleasure. The biggest difference

between the two ultimately was money. Gloria, despite her lifestyle, did not have any money of her own. Gertrude, on the other hand, controlled one of the largest fortunes in the world. Gertrude was born on January ninth, eighteen seventy five, the second daughter of Alice and Cornelius Vanderbilt. The second She was five years older than her brother Reggie, making her thirty years older than her sister in law Gloria.

From childhood, Gertrude had had an overwhelming a waywareness of her social status and the expectations for a woman in her position. She consciously developed a chilly, impenetrable shell of perfect manners which concealed her inner desires, perhaps because she knew that those desires would shock society. As a teenager, Gertrude fell in love with another woman. The two began a passionate three year relationship that lasted until Gertrude was

twenty one. By eighteen ninety six, Gertrude's feelings for her girlfriend had begun to fade, and she turned her attention to Harry Payne Whitney, the dashing, handsome air to a prestigious family In eighteen ninety six, she married Harry in the social event of the season. The couple would have three children. Like Gloria, they left the raising of these children to Nanny's. Though their life was filled with luxury, the marriage was not a happy one. The Whitneys had

little in common, and Harry was frequently unfaithful. To occupy herself, Gertrude began to explore the art world. She took up sculpting and then collecting. By the nineteen twenties, she had established herself as one of the foremost patrons of American art. She had also established a hidden private life, playing out beneath her public role as a respectable society matron. In the second life, she was a bohemian, throwing wild parties in her downtown art studio for her artist friends and

having affairs of her own. In both lives, public and private, she was a force to be reckoned with. My ways are deep, Gertrude wrote of herself, and I cover my tracks with discretion, but nonetheless, when I want something, it often happens. In nineteen twenty nine, the Metropolitan Museum of Art declined Gertrude's donation of her entire collection of American art. Gertrude wanted to keep her collection together, and she wanted it to be displayed. So she did what any passionate

collector with a mind boggling fortune would do. She created a museum of her own. The Whitney Museum of American Art opened in New York City in nineteen thirty one and today attracts more than seven hundred thousand visitors a year. In nineteen thirty Harry Whitney died, bequeathing Gertrude his five thousand acre of Long Island estate, Wheatley Hills. It was at Wheatley Hills that the true trouble with Little Gloria began.

In the summer of nineteen thirty two, after the two Glorias returned from their years abroad, a doctor informed Gloria that her daughter needed to have her tonsils removed. The surgery went smoothly, but a week after the night before Gloria planned to take a trip to Europe, the child had a hysterical fit, screaming that she was going to die. Gloria pushed back her trip. The next day, Gertrude stopped by.

She asked Gloria if she could take the child to Wheatley Hills for the summer so she could recover from her surgery in a peaceful environment. Gloria readily accepted. At Wheatley Hills, little Gloria's troubles continued. She seemed to be in constant pain, but none of the eight physicians that Nurse Keeslick was constantly summoning to the house could find anything physically wrong with her. Little Gloria had night terrors

and emotional outbursts. Gertrude Whitney was concerned. She had received letters from Laura Morgan and Nurse Keeslick while they had been abroad, letters full of concerns over the environment that Little Gloria was growing up in. They had portrayed the elder Gloria as an immoral pleasure seeker. Laura had also expressed darker concerns, fears that Gloria might harm the child.

Gertrude had thought these concerns far fetched, but now that she spent more time with Little Gloria witnessed her panic and instability, she began to believe, especially as the child's conditions seemed to improve while away from her mother. By the fall, little Gloria seemed happier and healthier, and even began school on Long Island. In September, Gertrude telegrammed Gloria in Europe and asked if little Gloria could stay through Christmas.

Gloria said yes. In January, Gloria returned to New York, but after her return, Telma wrote to her that their father was dying. Gloria quickly headed to Europe, but did not tell Gertrude or Thomas Gilchrist why. Gertrude and Gilchrist were concerned. How could Gloria so casually leave her child. Gilchrist wrote a sternly worded letter to Gloria demanding that she returned to New York or be cut off, But when Gloria met with Gilchrist, he informed her that her

daughter would be staying at Wheatley Hill's. Gloria was confused. On the one hand, Gilchrist was telling her that she needed to have her daughter with her in order to receive money, but he was also saying that she could not have her daughter back. Gilchrist also decided to alter the financial arrangements. Instead of Gloria receiving four thousand dollars

a month to cover all expenses. He would pay household expenses straight from the trust, and Gloria would receive a reduced income of seven hundred and fifty dollars a month, plus two hundred and fifty dollars to give to Laura Morgan, who was supporting. Unbeknownst to Gloria, Gilchris used his new power to hire household servants that spied on Gloria and reported on her lifestyle to him. This uneasy situation continued through nineteen thirty three. Gloria visited her daughter occasionally at

Wheatley Hills, but spent most of the year abroad. In September, she met with Gertrude to discuss Little Gloria. It was an unproductive conversation, as Barbara Goldsmith writes, quote, neither woman would speak of her true concerns. Gloria would say nothing of what she felt to be the punitive financial measures that were being enacted against her because of the child's absence.

Gertrude would not speak of her apprehension regarding the atmosphere, which she had come to consider both morally and physically dangerous to her niece. There existed between these two women an exquisite non communication that avoided all the ugly realities of their relationship. Concerned that things were progressing beyond her control,

Gloria contacted a lawyer named Nathan Berkin. Berkin, of Romanian born jew had immigrated to New York as a child and grown up in the tenements of the Lower East Side. Like Max Stoyer, the defense lawyer in the Triangle firecase covered in episode six of History on Trial, Berkin had used his intelligence and work ethic to rise to the

top of the legal profession. He represented many show business clients and to help found the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers to help musicians protect their intellectual property. Now fifty four, Berkin had a long Island mansion of his own and a thriving law practice. He quickly agreed

to help Gloria Vanderbilt. Berkin's hiring was seen by Laura, Gertrude and Nurse gos Keislick as another sign that Gloria was unfit to raise her child, not because she was getting a lawyer involved, but because that lawyer was Jewish. Berkin suggested that Gloria apply to become the sole guardian of little Gloria and the co guardian of Little Gloria's property. Gloria liked the idea, but was concerned that it was

too bold. She was worried about alienating Alice Vanderbilt, Reggie, and Gertrude's mother, who she had always had a good relationship with. Gloria also didn't have enough money to pay Burkin's legal fees. But in April nineteen thirty four, Alice Vanderbilt died, aged eighty eight. She left Gloria one hundred thousand dollars in her will. Gloria told Burkin to move forward with the petition. He submitted the petition to the

Surrogate's Court on June eighteenth. Thomas Gilchrist, as the existing guardian of Little Gloria's property, received notice of the petition, and he quickly notified Gertrude Whitney. Gertrude was concerned over the past two years, Little Gloria had grown strong and happy at Wheatly Hill's All that progress might be undone if she had to return to her mother. Gertrude began to hatch a plan. On July third, Justice James Foley

of the Surrogate's Court heard Gloria's application for guardianship. It should have been a routine hearing, but once Nathan Burkin finished reading the application aloud, a man at the back of the courtroom declared, I object to the petition. Fully summoned the man to the bench and asked on what grounds he objected. On the grounds the man replied, of unfit guardianship, Foley said he would hear more in his

chambers after lunch. Gloria was horrified, and her shock only increased after lunch, when it was real that the man who had objected had done so on behalf of her own mother, Laura Morgan. Gloria didn't know it then, but Gertrude and Laura had worked together, deciding that it would look best if the child's grandmother was the public face of the objection. Aware that the stakes were now raised, Nathan Burkin advised that Gloria take a more aggressive tack

against Gertrude. He told her to begin gathering affidavits that testified to her fitness as a mother. Burkin also hired a private investigator to surveil Laura Morgan and gathered dirt on Gertrude Whitney. The Whitney camp was working along similar lines, hiring detectives of their own to follow and investigate Gloria Vanderbilt. In the meantime, Justice Folly was holding regular meetings for

the two camps to try to work something out. Eventually, a compromise was reached, although the terms were understood different by each side. In essence, Little Gloria would stay for a year with Gertrude, spending one month of the summer with her mother. Gloria could see her daughter whenever she wished. After that, Gloria believed that Little Gloria would return to her custody full time. Gertrude, on the other hand, believed that at this point a further discussion over custody would

be had. In August, Gloria sailed to Europe to collect affidavits from her friends. Upon her return in September, she called Gertrude Whitney on the phone. The women realized that they had different understandings of the agreement, and Gloria became frightened that Gertrude planned to contest her custody every year. She asked Gertrude to send Little Gloria to her house in New York City for the weekend and Gertrude agreed.

Gloria consulted with Burkin about the development. He advised Gloria to buy a house of her own near Girha Trudes on Long Island. That would undermine Gilchrist and Gertrude's argument that Little Gloria needed to stay at Wheatley Hills because country living was better for the child. That weekend, Gloria, excited about the plan, told Nurse Keeslick that Little Gloria would soon be living with her full time. This was a mistake. Nurse Keeslick, while out with Little Gloria, called

Gertrude Whitney. Gertrude told Keeslick to bring the child to her quickly. Soon, Gloria realized that her child was missing. Furious, she and her sister Consuelo sped to Gertrude's city home and demanded to see little Gloria. Gertrude claimed that Little Gloria had gotten sick and that she was simply caring for her. Gloria was incensed and spotting Nurse Keeslick immediately fired her. Then she asked for her daughter again, But when Little Gloria appeared, she seemed to be terrified of

her mother, take her away. Don't let her hurt me. She's going to kill me, she cried. Gloria could not understand what was happening. Two doctors were summoned to examine little Gloria. After some time with the doctors, little Gloria seemed to calm down, even hugging and kissing her mother. But Gloria was still frightened. She believed that Gertrude and Laura and Nurse Keyslich were turning her child against her.

She knew Little Gloria was supposed to say at Gertrude's that week to attend school, but after the events of the day, she felt she could not allow Little Gloria to stay with Gertrude for one moment more. She went to Nathan Burkin's office and told him she needed Little Gloria back now. Berkin cautioned her against taking any drastic actions which could lead to a court battle, but Gloria

was at the end of her rope. She had spent the past two years in a date of limbo, and she felt it had been a mistake to wait so long. She thought her child had been poisoned against her while she waited. She told Burkin to do whatever it took. On September twenty third, a process server arrived at Gertrude Whitney's house at Wheatley Hill's. Gertrude refused to receive the

legal papers he had brought. He returned thirty minutes later and told Gertrude's footman, quote, tell missus Whitney that unless she accepts in person, I will plaster the whole front of her city mansion with these court papers. Gertrude Whitney came down the stairs and took the papers. Burkin had sent her a writ of habeas corpus, an order to produce someone before a court. This writ demanded that Gertrude Whitney present little Gloria to New York Supreme Court Justice

John Francis Carew. It also commanded her to explain why she had quote wrongfully recived, strained, and detained the child. After years of below the surface dealings, the Vanderbilt case had suddenly erupted into the public eye. There was no going back now, and if the actions of the first weeks of September were any indication, things were going to get very, very ugly. On Monday October one, nineteen thirty four, The matter of Vanderbilt began in Courtroom number three hundred

and fifty five of the New York Supreme Court. Justice John Francis Carew presided there would be no jury in this case. Justice Carew would hear all the testimony and make a decision on his own. Carew was fifty eight, a lifelong New Yorker and a socially conservative, devout Catholic.

He was inclined to keep children with their parents, telling Gertrude Whitney at a pre trie hearing quote, only the most unusual circumstances warrant the refusal of custody of a child in favor of any other relative, no matter how unselfish the motives of the relative might be. The burden of proof was on Gertrude to prove that Gloria was an unfit mother. Knowing that they faced a difficult fight, Gertrude's team had brought on an experienced trial lawyer, Herbert

Crommelin Smith. Smith's first witness with little Gloria's life, long nanny, nurse Emma Sullivan Keieslich Keeslick, now in her mid forties, was a large woman with heavy features, Little Gloria called her Dodo Keeslich was devoted to her charge and had spent the past ten years harboring a growing hatred for Gloria Vanderbilt. On the witness stand, her anger irrupted. She described Gloria Vanderbilt as an immoral party girl and an absentee mother. I will never understand the type of woman

Missus Vanderbilt is. She said she had seen Gloria in bed with Prince Friedel. She claimed she and Little Gloria, she said, had been abandoned in rat infested ramshackle houses in France and England while Gloria swanned around. Her personal dislike for Gloria was so evident that Justice Carew cautioned her, saying this credits a witness. When the witness seems to be too eager, it throws a partisan spirit, which discounts her testimony severely. His multiple warnings went unheeded, and Kislick's

testimony became increasingly angry and unhinged. By the time she stepped down. Many people watching, including Carew, were con discerned about the impact a woman like this might have on a child. The defense next called Maria Kyo. The twenty three year old frenchwoman had been Gloria Vanderbilt's personal maid for four years from nineteen twenty nine to nineteen thirty three. Like Kieslich, Kyo described troubling goings on in the Vanderbilt household.

There were parties that lasted all night and kept the child awake. Kyo said at these parties, people got so drunk that they couldn't walk. Kyo also claimed to have seen pornographic books and photographs in the house. On cross Nathan Burkin undermined Kyo's credibility, getting her to admit that she had been promised money for her testimony, although she

would not say by whom. Shaken Kyo seemed to crumble under Berkin's questioning, admitting that she didn't know if Gloria was frequently drunk, as she had claimed on direct examination, but that she had only assumed that Gloria was because quote she always smiled and often repeated herself. Cayo admitted that many of Gloria's friends were perfectly respectable people. By the end of the cross examination, Burkein must have felt that Cayo had become his witness, but then he pushed

things too far. You saw nothing improper in her conduct, he asked. Kyo, paused, yes, I remember something. It seems to me very funny. Burkin should have quit while he was ahead, but instead he asked Cayo for details. Certain that this would be another non story like all her others, Cayoe obligingly described a scene in the south of France where Gloria had been traveling with her friend Nadezhda, Marchioness

of Milford Haven. When I came into the bedroom one morning, Cayoe said, Missus Vanderbilt was in bed reading a paper, and there was Lady Milford Haven beside the bed with her arm around Missus Vanderbilt's neck and kissing her just like a lover. A stunned silence fell over the courtroom. Homosexual behavior was a crime in most states at the time, including New York. Homosexuality itself was seen by many to

be immoral, deviant, and indicative of mental problems. The news of Gloria Vanderbilt's alleged lesbian relationship with a British aristocrat made international news. Justice Carew was horrified both by the allegation and by the potential damage the testimony might have on the child. He ordered that the trial was to be private from that moment forward. The next morning, Carew called all the lawyers into his chambers. He told him

that he recommended an out of court settlement. Frank Crocker, a longtime legal representative of Gertrude Whitney, told Justice Carew that there would be no more scandalous testimony. Their case was based on neglect, not character assassination. Carew allowed the trial to proceed. He also said he would again admit the press, but he never did. Carew's approach to the press would be baffling for reporters. He wanted to protect the trial participants privacy and reputations, but he also didn't

like being criticized for cutting the press off. He decided to give the reporters summarized versions of each day's testimony, but his summaries were often vague and inaccurate, and both sides quickly began leaking transcripts favorable to their own cases, So the story that emerged for the public was full of contradictions and contextless statements. The public was absolutely obsessed

with the trial. Conditions in America were dire. Thousands of people were unemployed and hungry, and this kind of glamorous yet tragic trial was the perfect distraction. Public opinion largely favored Gloria Vanderbilt, who many saw as a struggling widow being persecuted by her wealthy sister in law. Crowds of women would gather outside the courtroom and cheer for Gloria when she emerged. Laura Morgan felt no such sympathy for

her daughter. During her testimony on October ninth, she ripped into Gloria, It is not my daughter's fault, but she has not been born with a maternal instinct. She was indifferent to the child, she proclaimed. Laura also focused on the gaps in Little Gloria's religious education. The issue of real religion had come up several times during Kieslik and

Cayote's testimony too. In truth, religion had not been especially important to any of Little Gloria's caregivers, but it was very important to justice carew and so lawyers on both sides instructed the witnesses to discuss how they wished to raise Little Gloria as a good Catholic. Laura Morgan held a large gold crucifix in her left hand throughout her testimony. When Herbert Smith asked her about Gloria's morals, Laura began to sob and raise the crucifix in front of her face.

A strange fact emerged during Berkin's cross examination of Laura. During a routine line of questioning about guardianship, Laura revealed that she believed Gloria to already be the child's legal guardian. Berkin explained that she was not because she had only been twenty when Reggie died. That is not true, said Laura, claiming that Gloria had been twenty one. She said her twins had been born on August twenty third, nineteen oh four, not August twenty third, nineteen oh five, as the guardianship

papers declared. This came as a shock to everyone in the courtroom, Gloria Vanderbilt included Laura. It later came out, had lied to her daughters about their birth year, believing that younger women were more eligible brides. This pointless lie had sparked years of misery. Had Gloria known she was twenty one at the time of Reggie's death, she could have become her daughter's legal and financial guardian and none of this would have happened. But unfortunately, it was too

late to go back now. There were a number of other witnesses who testified for Gertrude's case, Gertrude herself who spoke mildly about Little Gloria's happy life at Wheatley Hill's, employees of Gloria's who discussed her fast living. These were the same servants that Thomas Gilchrist had hired to spy on Gloria, and several doctors who discussed Little Gloria's physical

and emotional problems. They all provided helpful information. But just as Carew knew that he now needed to speak to Little Gloria herself, wishing to spare her the ordeal of public testimony, krew decided to have Little Gloria speak to him in his chambers. Herbert Smith and Nathan Burkin were also present. Little Gloria quickly made it clear that she hated and feared her mother. She has never been nice

to me, little Gloria said. Carew asked her about letters she had written to her mother, where she said that she loved her. No, I did not, never, said Little Gloria. I used to write letters to her because I was afraid of her. Do I have to go back to her. Little Gloria asked, I think you will want to Carew replied. Little Gloria began to sob. No, she cried. Carew was deeply troubled, but there was something strange about Little Gloria's answers. She could not explain why she did not like her

mother or why she was afraid of her. She could not give examples of any way in which her mother had hurt her, and there was something else. She seemed to have anticipated what questions would be asked, sometimes giving answers that seemed rehearsed, but her tears and her fear seemed very real. Un Settled, Carew turned to more familiar ground, the Catholic Church. He began testing Little Gloria on a litany of Catholic prayers and rituals. Nervous Little Gloria froze

and struggled to remember words. After nearly two and a half hours of questioning, little Gloria left the courthouse. Carew was concerned. The child was clearly troubled, but he could not understand just what was going on. Unfortunately for Gloria, her own witnesses did not do much to counteract the

damaging testimony. Of her daughter. Nathan Burkin had originally threatened to go after Gertrude's reputation, calling in witnesses from the art world who could testify to her own partying and bisexuality, but Theobald Matthew, a lawyer representing Lady Milford Haven, advised Berkan against it, warning that this would cause Gertrude's lawyers to go after Gloria even harder than they already had.

So Instead, Berkan presented a number of Gloria's friends, all of whom said that she was an affectionate and caring mother. Gloria's former fiance, Prince Friedel, came over from Europe with his wife, Princess Marina, both of whom testified on Gloria's behalf. So did Glodelaria's twin Telma, and her brother Harry. None of their testimony was very compelling, and the absence of certain witnesses implicated in Gloria's scandalous behavior, including Lady Milford Haven,

raised questions about whether the allegations against them were true. Finally, Gloria herself testified during the trial. Nathan Burkin had urged her to appear weak and helpless to feed into the public narrative, but Gloria didn't need to act. She had had health problems ever since catching diphtheria right before her wedding, and the trial had driven her to the point of emotional and physical collapse. She had lost seventeen pounds off her already slim figure by the time she testified on

the stand. Gloria frequently felt fate, cried, and took breaks. Berkin led her through her early life, marriage and the birth of Little Gloria. Emotionally, Gloria proclaimed her love for her daughter, Mister Burkin, the only thing I want to say is this. I loved my baby then as I love her now, and there is no use asking me how much I love her, because I do love her. Fragile and passionate Gloria made for a sympathetic witness, but

Herbert Smith's cross examination of her was damaging. He brought up letters that Little Gloria had written to her grandmother in which she criticized her mother. In one, Little Gloria wrote, quote, my mother was in Paris enjoying herself, while poor me was unhappy in England. Gloria claimed that Little Gloria had been forced to write this either by Nurse Keieslich or by Laura Morgan, but she had no evidence to support her claim. More damning was Smith's account of Gloria's travels

during her daughter's lifetime. Between nineteen twenty five and nineteen thirty three, Gloria had traveled almost constantly, never staying in one place for more than a few months. After Smith took her through all of these trips, he asked, quote, did you spend one percent of all the days of

the year with your child? Later, when Smith pressed her on the issue again, Gloria shot back that Gertrude traveled nearly as much, which was true, but Smith quickly rejoined, quote, how does that compare with your absences time and again with your daughter lying sick? He had made his point On Tuesday, November thirteenth, after nearly seven weeks, both sides rested just as Carew paused for a moment and then spoke. In the matter of Vanderbilt, he had concluded that the child,

Gloria Laura Vanderbilt, should live with Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Justice. Carew's full statement in court that day was a somewhat ambiguous one. What he said was this quote. This child is very much better off where it is than where it was. Nevertheless, this mother is a young woman. I don't think this child should be altogether taken from this woman. The child certainly today is very very strongly prejudiced against

the mother. I would be glad if the mother could have an opportunity, first of all, to win back the confidence and affection of the child, and second to show that her future conduct will not be as her past conduct has been. Nathan Burkin was confused. How was Gloria Vanderbilt supposed to make a stronger connection with her daughter if the child was living with another woman, a woman who was hostile to Gloria. Carew responded that that was

for the lawyers to sort out. The custody arrangement would be hammered out in a series of conferences over the next week. Ultimately, it was determined that little Gloria would stay with Gertrude during the school week and with Gloria on the weekends. Carew especially wanted Gloria to have her daughter on the weekends so that they could attend Catholic Mass together, which seemed to be his largest concern. No one was happy with this outcome, it wasn't an outcome

that made much sense from a variety of perspectives. For those with firsthand knowledge of the case, who had witnessed little Gloria's apparent terror of her mother, it seemed preposterous that weekends together would reconcile the pair. For those on the outside, in the press and the public, the decision seemed illogical. Justice Carew's full decision criticized Gloria Vanderbilt's quote mode of life. If her mode of life was so terrible, many wondered, why was he allowing her custody at all.

The United States Law Review published a cheeky poem which summed up the public feeling quote, rock a bye baby, up on a writ Monday to Friday. Mother's unfit as the weekends she rises in virtue Saturday's Sunday's mother won't hurt you. A Family Court judge, writing on the decision declared, quote, the mere fact that the court believes the parent is not pursuing the wisest course in the rearing of the child does not justify taking the child from the parent.

People also criticized the idea of a judge dictating a child's religious education. Carew had somehow not expected this criticism. Throughout the trial, he had struggled with the high profile nature of the case. By November, he had begun screaming at reporters. He called press conferences and then abruptly canceled them. He compared himself out loud, this time to King Solomon, leading reporters to dub him the Socialites Solomon. The bad

reaction to his decision seemed to deeply affect Carew. Two years later, he checked into a hospital in Connecticut that specialized in treating nervous breakdowns. Nathan Berkin was also profoundly impacted by the trial. Normally tough and unrelenting, he had become emotionally involved in this case and was brought to tears by Justice Carew's decision. He felt personally responsible for Gloria Vanderbilt's public humiliation. It had been his imprudent questioning

that elicited Maria Coyote's scandalous TESTI. He promised to appeal the case. His first appeal failed. The Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court upheld Carew's ruling. Burkin, undaunted appealed again asking the United States Supreme Court to review the case. He worked day and night on this final appeal, but in the spring of nineteen thirty six, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. Several months later, on June sixth, nineteen thirty six, Nathan Burkin died, aged

only fifty six. He had a great heart, said his associate, Herman Finkelstein, and I think this case broke it. And what of Little Gloria. After the trial, everyone simply forgot about Gloria. Her cousin Gerda Henry recalled. Gerda, who grew up at Wheatley Hills with Little Gloria, described their childhood as a lonely one quote, we were so much alone. My grandmother and my parents both would leave for months

at a time. We never saw anybody but servants. Little Gloria and Gertrude's relationship was always a distant one, mainly due to Gertrude's aloofness. Little Gloria would later write, quote, I felt that she wanted to be close to me as much as I wanted to be close to her. She extended herself to me as much as it was

possible within her nature to do. The hard shell that Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney had cultivated to protect her interior life prevented her from ever making a true connection with her niece. As Little Gloria grew older, she chafed against Gertrude's strict restrictions on her. In nineteen thirty nine, when she was fifteen, she asked the court to adjust the custody arrangement so

that she could her mother whenever she wished. Both Gertrude and the court agreed to this arrangement, and then in nineteen forty one, Little Gloria, now seventeen, moved to Los Angeles to live with her mother and her mother's twin, Telma. But even then a happy home life eluded her. Her mother seemed uncertain of how to act around her, and more interested in her own social life than in connecting

with her daughter. The elder Gloria drank heavily, unexpectedly, disappeared on weekend trips, and spent many nights at the apartment of her girlfriend, the actress Keeddy Kevin. The situation was untenable for Little Gloria, now no longer so little. In her memoir, she wrote, quote I couldn't go on living with my mother, and I wasn't going back to live with Aunt. Gertrude best get married quick. On December twenty eighth, nineteen forty one, two months before her eighteenth birthday, Gloria

married thirty two year old Pat de Chico, a Hollywood agent. Unfortunately, Di Chico was physically and emotionally abusive. Gertrude strongly disapproved of the marriage, and the relationship between aunt and niece became strained. Four months after the wedding, on April eighteenth, nineteen forty two, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney died, aged sixty seven. In nineteen forty five, Gloria turned twenty one and got

control of her trust. She divorced Pat di Chico and married conductor Leopold Stekovski, forty two years her senior, the next day, shortly after, she cut her mother off financially. She later said that it was Leopold's idea for her to do this, but it was true that the mother and daughter were estranged. They fought publicly in the press. Gloria and Leopold had two sons before divorcing. In October nineteen fifty five. Laura Morgan died in nineteen fifty six.

Gloria married the director Sidney Lamette the same year. They divorced. In nineteen sixty three. Gloria would write of her many marriages, quote, my search for love has and always will be to revive the dream of fulfilling the half forgotten, inevitably frustrated wishes for perfect harmony and complete mutuality, wishes that originated in the now buried fantasy of obtaining the perfect mother to love me unerringly and unceasingly. The men are substitutes,

let's say, substitutes for my old sweetheart. In nineteen sixty three, Gloria finally found a good substitute, a writer named Wyatt Cooper. Wyatt came from a tight knit Mississippi family, and Gloria would later remember quote, when I met his large, loving family, I was overwhelmed to see what it must have been like to experience a supportive family behind you. Wyatt and Gloria had two sons together, including Anderson, who became a

famous news anchor. Wyatt tragically died during surgery in nineteen seventy eight. He was, in Gloria's words, quote the most honest person I've ever met, and his sense of values taught me what the loving parenting I never had could be like. Two years after Gloria and Wyatt married, the elder Gloria died on February thirteenth, nineteen sixty five. The mother and daughter's relationship had never been an easy one,

but in recent years it had thawed. In nineteen eighty seven, Gloria wrote of her mother quote, although I still search for her, and part of me probably always will, it is an ache I have learned to live with, and we have found she and I a place of peace where we rest together, closer perhaps in death than we ever were in life. On June seventeenth, twenty nineteen, little

Gloria herself died, aged ninety five. She had found great success in the field of fashion design and true happiness in her family and friends, but her childhood haunted her. How could it not. Her early life was deeply unstable, populated by people who were supposed to care for her, but who, for their own reasons, could not. No one had ever simply sat down with little Gloria and tried to figure out what would be best for her. The Vanderbilt money, which brought so much luxury to its owners,

also brought great stree. It prevented family members from talking to each other, from being honest. It inspired greed and possessiveness. It hired lawyers. It made what could have been a simple problem a horrifically difficult one. Is it any surprise that when little Gloria, now grown up, first saw the television program Judge Judy, she had a fantasy that this woman could have solved the problem for her. Judge Judy wouldn't subject me to the hostile formality of a trial,

Gloria wrote. Instead, I'd be invited to sit up beside her on the bench for a cozy chat, so she could get a sense of what I was like and what I wanted. That's the story of the matter of Vanderbilt. Stay with me after the break to learn the answer to the trial's most enduring mystery, why who was Little Gloria so afraid of her mother? In nineteen eighty, the journalist and author Barbara Goldsmith published Little Gloria Happy at Last.

The book, which is an extremely well reported and comprehensive account of the case, brought renewed interest to the trial. In nineteen eighty two, the book was adapted into a television mini series, which was nominated for six Emmy Awards. The little Gloria in question was now in her late fifties, and she was not happy about the book or TV show. Her son Anderson Cooper recalled she never read the book

nor watched the series. But in nineteen eighty five, perhaps in response to Goldsmith's book, Gloria published her own account of the trial as part of a memoir called Once Upon a Time. In this memoir, Gloria finally explained her own behavior jury the trial, which had long unseettled observers, Gloria had seemed to experience extreme fear at the idea of living with her mother. This fear was central to

Justice Carew's decision to have her live with Gertrude. Goldsmith had theorized in her book that, based on the constant fears about kidnapping at the time, and exacerbated by her grandmother and nanny's obsession with the subject, little Gloria had been afraid that her mother would kidnap and kill her. In Once upon a Time, Little Gloria provides a different answer. Her fear was not of having to live with her mother. She said it was of losing her beloved nanny, Nurse Keislich,

who she called Dodo. Dodo, despite her helicopter nannying loved and cared for Gloria, and the child was terrified of losing her. Why did she believe that that her mother would fire Dodo because her grandmother, Laura Morgan, had told her so. Gloria paints a terrifying portrait of Laura Morgan, a woman so obsessed with status that she schemed to remove her granddaughter from her daughter's custody in order to

bring herself closer to the Vanderbilt name and fortune. Gloria said that Laura had fed her harsh words to write down in letters about her mother, letters that would later be used at trial. Laura told Gloria to pretend to hate her mother. She told her to play sick. She told her to be affectionate towards Gertrude Whitney. If she did these things, Laura told her, Gloria would not lose

her beloved Dodo. Unfortunately, Laura's scheme fell apart. The only clear outcome of the trial was the loss of Dodo, whose disturbing performance on the stand had convinced both sides that she needed to go. She was instructed to leave Wheatley Hills and cease contact with the child. Gloria wrote of the horrifying moment that she learned Dodo would be leaving, saying, from that moment to this nothing has ever been the same again. When Gloria finally reunited with Kieslik as a teenager,

she vowed to never leave her again. She financially supported Kieslick for years, even having her live with her at one point. However, even this relationship eventually soured. Kieslick loved Gloria, It's true, but the love was not a healthy one. She saw the child as an extension of herself, not as an individual. Reflecting on this dynamic, Gloria wrote, quote, when I was a child, she gave me the love of a mother, But when I grew up, it was hard for her to do this. Perhaps some mothers can

love their young only when they are that. The final breaking point came during Gloria's marriage to the director Sidney Lamett, who was Jewish. Kieslich was anti Semitic. She had, in fact made anti Semitic comments to Nathan Burkan during the trial and Gloria could not tolerate her prejudices. By the time Keeeslick died in nineteen seventy three, Gloria had not spoken to her for more than a decade, but not being by Dodo's side at her death would be one

of Gloria's greatest regrets. The Dodo, for all her faults, had loved Gloria, and love, as Anderson Cooper notes in his account of the trial, is the one thing that, despite all of their other privileges, the Vanderbilt family never seemed to have enough of. Thank you for listening to History on Trial. My main sources for this episode were Barbara Goldsmith's book Little Gloria, Happy at Last and Gloria Vanderbilt's memoirs, including Once Upon a Time and It seemed

important at the time. For a full bibliography, as well as a transcript of this episode with citations, please visit our website History on Trial podcast dot com. History on Trial is written and hosted by me Mira Hayward. The show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer Trevor Young and executive producers Dana Schwartz, Alexander Williams,

Matt Frederick, and Mira Hayward. Learn more about the show at History on Trial podcast dot com and follow us on Instagram at History on Trial and on Twitter at Underscore History on Trial. Find more podcasts from iHeartRadio by visiting the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.