Margaret Van Alen Bruguiére

On July 15, 1876, she was born as Margaret Louise Post in Newport, Rhode Island, to William Post (1848–1900) and Rosalie DeWolf Anthony (1844–1929), a descendant of the early settlers of Rhode Island. Her maternal aunt, Louise Vanderbilt (née Anthony; 1844–1926), was married to Frederick Vanderbilt, a grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt.{{cite news|title=F. W. VANDERBILT DIES IN HYDE PARK; Grandson of Founder of the Family Fortune-61 Years on New York Central Board OWNER OF FAMOUS YACHTS Gifts to Hospitals, Colleges and Other Institutions Totaled Millions Director of 22 Railroads Gave Millions to Philanthropy In Cup Defender Syndicate Bought Napoleonic Furnishings|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/06/30/archives/f-w-vanderbilt-dies-in-hyde-park-grandson-of-founder-of-the-family.html|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=30 June 1938}} Her younger brother was William Post and her sister was Rose Post Howard, the wife of Thomas H. Howard.{{cite news |title=MRS. THOMAS H. HOWARD RITES HELD IN NEW YORK {{!}} Kin of Former Colonists Was Sister of Mrs. Louis S. Bruguiere |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/16372813 |accessdate=9 December 2018 |work=Newport Mercury |date=8 Apr 1949 |page=3 |language=en}}

She spent her summers at the Post family's residence in Newport, 'Rosetta', and winters at her uncle Frederick Vanderbilt's Hudson Valley estate, Hyde Park. After marrying James Laurens Van Alen, she moved into the Van Alen family's Newport mansion, 'Wakehurst', an exact replica of Wakehurst Place in England, which would serve as her home for more than seventy years.

She was known for supporting a number of causes, including the Red Cross and Newport Hospital, in addition to a number of local charities in Newport and Washington. When her son, Jimmy Van Alen, purchased the Newport Casino and began restoring it, she donated $10,000 towards the restoration.

She gave $10,000 for the landscaping and renaming of Washington Square Park in Newport in honor of her friend, President Dwight D. Eisenhower.{{cite web |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19690122&id=syRfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8U4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3495,2164927|title=Wealthy Newport Dowager, Mrs Brugiere, Dies at 92 |publisher=Nashua Telegraph|date=22 January 1969|accessdate=4 March 2014}} She was also a prominent support of the Republican Party, and was known for hosting political fundraisers at her various homes in Newport and Washington.

File:Mrs. Louis Brugiere, Wakehurst, residence in Newport, Rhode Island. LOC gsc.5a25936.jpg

Every summer would be spent in Newport at her home 'Wakehurst' (which had been legally deeded to her in 1927), where she would host the most fashionable entertainments. By the 1940s, she had become known as the new leader of Newport's 'High Society', the Newport winter season officially starting with her annual Christmas party. One was not considered an "insider" unless one had received TWO invitations to Mrs. Van Alen's mansion. The first, most likely for tea and crackers, was for Mrs. Van Alen to have a chance to survey the potential candidate. Only if a second invitation was received, for dinner, was acceptance assured. By the 1960s, many of Newport's grand mansions that lined Bellevue Avenue had been turned into public museums or schools. "Wakehurst is the last 'properly run' [estate] left in Newport."{{cite web |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19631113&id=a39QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3RAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6289,1622713|title=Glamor Of Nineties Glitters by the Sea|last=McCardle|first=Dorothy|publisher=The Milwaukee Sentinel|date=13 November 1963|accessdate=4 March 2014}}

She spent most of the 1930s serving as a nurse to her ailing uncle, Frederick Vanderbilt, at Hyde Park. When he died in 1938, he left the majority share of his $78 million fortune to her, along with his Hyde Park estate.{{cite news|title=F.W. VANDERBILT LEFT $72,845,478; Appraisal Shows Four Public Gifts Totaled $11.114,609, 42 1/2% of Residuary TAXES TAKE $42,836,278 City, State and Westchester Bonds and U.S. Steel Stock Formed Bulk of Estate|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E0DE3DD153CE43BA15753C3A9649D946093D6CF&legacy=true|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=30 December 1941}} She later donated the estate as a public park and museum, today known as the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site.

In 1900,{{cite news|title=ENGAGEMENT AT NEWPORT.; Miss Margaret Louise Post to Marry James Lawrence Van Alen.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F05E7D8153FE433A25753C3A9669D946197D6CF&legacy=true|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=30 October 1900}} Margaret, who was called "Daisy" by her family and friends, married James Laurens Van Alen (1878–1927),{{cite news|title=JAMES L. VAN ALEN DIES IN PARIS AT 48; Member of Old New York Family, Long Ill, Succumbs With Family at Bedside.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F03E4D7163CEE32A25752C3A9639C946695D6CF&legacy=true|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=31 May 1927}} the son of James John Van Alen (1848–1923) and grandson of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor (1830–1908), "the Mrs. Astor".{{cite web |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19730827&id=0NBOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DAIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7122,3128259|title=Old And New Newporters Preserve Way Of Life|publisher=The Toledo Blade|last=Moore|first=Patricia|date=27 August 1973|accessdate=4 March 2014}} Before his death in 1927, they were the parents of:

• James Henry Van Alen II (1902–1991),{{cite news|title=James Van Alen, 88, Innovator Who Changed Scoring in Tennis|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/05/obituaries/james-van-alen-88-innovator-who-changed-scoring-in-tennis.html|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=5 July 1991}} who married Candace Baird Alig (1912–2002),{{cite news|title=Candace A. Van Alen|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=242532|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=March 2, 2002}} in 1948.{{cite news|title=MRS. C. VANDERLIP, J. H. VAN ALEN WED; Assistant to Herald Tribune Editor Bride of Descendant of John Jacob Astor|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F02E7D8143EE53ABC4153DFB7678383659EDE&legacy=true|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=9 November 1948}}
• William Laurens Van Alen (1907–2003), who married Elizabeth Brinton Kent (1911–2015),{{cite news|title=Paid Notice: Deaths VAN ALEN, ELIZABETH (BETTY) BRINTON KENT|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E6DE123AF934A1575AC0A9639D8B63|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=27 September 2015}} the daughter of A. Atwater Kent, the inventor and prominent radio manufacturer, in 1931.{{cite news|title=MISS ELIZABETH KENT WED TO W.L. VAN ALEN; Married to Great-Grandson of William Astor at St. Saviour's Church, Bar Harbor, Me.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/08/09/archives/miss-elizabeth-kent-wed-to-wl-van-alen-married-to-greatgrandson-of.html|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=9 August 1931}}
• Louise Astor Van Alen (1910–1998), who married Prince Alexis Mdivani in 1931.{{cite news|title=LOUISE VAN ALEN WEDS PRINCE MDIVANI MAY 15; Wedding to Take Place in Wakehurst, Bride-Elect's Homeof Newport.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/03/22/archives/louise-van-alen-weds-prince-mdiv-ani-may-15-wedding-to-take-place.html|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=22 March 1931}}{{cite news|title=LOUISE A. VAN ALEN IS WED TO PRINCE; Simplicity Marks Marriage to Alexis Mdivani at Mother's Newport Villa. ONLY RELATIVES PRESENT Ceremony Takes Place in Room Where Bride Was Christened-- They Plan Tour of Europe.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F0CE5DB153BE433A25755C1A9639C946094D6CF&legacy=true|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=16 May 1931}} They divorced in 1932, and in 1933 he married Barbara Hutton. In 1936, she married his brother, Prince Serge Mdivani, who was divorced from Pola Negri.{{cite news|title=MISS VAN ALEN TO REWED.; She Will Marry Serge Mdivani, Whose Brother She Divorced.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/12/04/archives/miss-van-alen-to-rewed-she-will-marry-serge-mdivani-whose-brother.html|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=4 December 1935}}{{cite news|title=MDIVANI WEDDING IS HELD IN FLORIDA Former Louise Van Alen Bride of Ex-Brother in Law at Her Mother's Villa. SHE IS GOWNED IN WHITE Carnations and Ferns Are Used in Decoration of the Home for the Ceremony.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/02/09/archives/mdii-eddhg-is-h-bld-i1-orda-formerlouise-van-alen-bride-of-i.html|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=9 February 1936}} Serge died during a polo match shortly thereafter, also in 1936.{{cite news|title=SERGE MDIVANI LEFT ESTATE OF $478,631; Half Goes to Widow, Former Louise Astor Van Alen|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/02/01/archives/serge-mdivani-left-estate-of-478631-half-goes-to-widow-former.html|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=1 February 1939}} She later met Alexander Saunderson (d. 2004),{{cite news|title=Paid Notice: Deaths SAUNDERSON, ALEXANDER|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E1DD1330F931A2575AC0A9629C8B63|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=12 September 2004}} a British soldier who was the great-grandson of Alexander Saunderson. They married in 1947{{cite news|title=MRS. L. A. MDIVANI BRIDE IN NEWPORT; Former Louise Van Alen Wed in Historic Trinity Church to Alexander Saunderson|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F0CE3DF153AE233A25753C2A96E9C946693D6CF&legacy=true|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=20 August 1947}} and remained married until her death in 1998.{{cite news|title=Paid Notice: Deaths SAUNDERSON, LOUISE ASTOR VAN ALEN|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/04/classified/paid-notice-deaths-saunderson-louise-astor-van-alen.html|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=1998}}

In 1948, Daisy Van Alen married yachtsman Louis Sather Bruguière (1882–1954), son of Louis S. Bruguière and grandson of Peder Sather, who had survived the sinking of the S.S. Arabic.{{cite news|title=MRS. M. L. VAN ALEN, L. S. BRUGUlERE WED|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E0DE1DB1739E03BBC4D51DFB7668383659EDE&legacy=true|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=1948}} They lived together at Wakehurst and in Washington, D.C. until his death in 1954.{{cite news|title=LOUIS S. BRUGUIERE, ART CONNOISSEUR, 72|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/01/22/archives/louis-5-bruguiere-art-connoisseur-72.html?login=email|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=1954}}

She died in 1969 as the wealthiest woman in Newport, with her estate being valued at $47 million. In her obituary, she was officially declared the "Dowager Empress of American Society".{{cite news|title=Mrs. Louis S. Bruguiere Dies; Leader of Society in Newport; Second Invitation to Visit Her Was Viewed as Hallmark of Acceptance in Colony|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/01/21/77320724.html?pageNumber=47|accessdate=18 September 2017|author=Nemy, Enid|work=The New York Times|date=January 21, 1969|language=en}}

Her grandson, William L. Van Alen Jr. (1933–2010), a lawyer, was married to Virginia Guest, the daughter of Elizabeth Polk Guest and Raymond R. Guest, a horse breeder and former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland in 1975.{{cite news|title=Virginia Guest Is Married to William L. Van Alen Jr.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/19/archives/virginia-guest-is-married-to-william-l-van-alen-jr.html?_r=0|accessdate=18 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=19 October 1975}} Her maternal grandfather was Frank Polk, the first United States Under Secretary of State, and her paternal grandfather was Frederick Guest, an MP and Secretary of State for Air and the third son of Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne.

• [https://asthemoneyburns.com/ As The Money Burns] (2020–present) [https://asthemoneyburns.com/ website], a history podcast reconstructing the Great Depression through the lives of heirs and heiresses. Daisy Van Alen's daughter Louise Van Alen is a primary character, and Daisy as well as her two sons and Louise's brothers appear regularly throughout the series.

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Category:1876 births

Category:1969 deaths

Category:American art collectors

Category:People from Newport, Rhode Island

Margaret

Category:American women art collectors