{{Short description|American author and socialite (1868–1944)}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = The Right Honourable | name = The Lady Decies | image = Elizabeth Drexel.jpg | caption = A 1905 portrait of Drexel by Giovanni Boldini | birth_name = Elizabeth Wharton "Bessie" Drexel | birth_date = {{Birth date|1868|4|22}} | birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1944|6|13|1868|4|22}} | death_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S. | burial_place = Dahlgren Chapel, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|John Vinton Dahlgren|June 29, 1889|August 11, 1899|end=his death}} * {{marriage|Henry Symes Lehr|1901|1929|end=his death}} * {{marriage|The 5th Baron Decies|May 25, 1936|January 31, 1944|end=his death}} }} | partner = | children = {{ubl|Joseph Drexel Dahlgren|John Vinton Dahlgren II}} | parents = {{ubl|Joseph William Drexel|Lucy Wharton}} | relatives = {{plainlist| * Francis Anthony Drexel (uncle) * Anthony Joseph Drexel (uncle) * St. Katharine Drexel (cousin) }} }}
'''Elizabeth de la Poer Beresford, Baroness Decies''' (April 22, 1868 – June 13, 1944) was an American author, philanthropist, and Manhattan socialite.<ref name=obit/>
==Early life== [[File:Drexel-Elizabeth 013.jpg|thumb|Drexel and Henry Symes Lehr at their wedding in 1901]] thumb|Drexel's first husband, John V. Dahlgren, {{circa|1897}} thumb|Drexel in 1899 Drexel was born on April 22, 1868, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Lucy Wharton and Joseph William Drexel.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mrs. J.W. Drexel Dead. Former Social Leader of Philadelphia and Mother of Mrs. Harry Lehr. |work=The New York Times |date=January 26, 1912}}</ref> Her paternal grandfather was the son of Francis Martin Drexel, the immigrant ancestor of Anthony Joseph Drexel who founded present-day J.P. Morgan & Co. and was influential in developing the private banking system of the United States. Thomas Wharton Jr., the first president of Pennsylvania was her mother's great-grandfather.
== Career == Drexel was an author who published two books, ''King Lehr and the Gilded Age'' (1935) and ''Turn of the World'' (1937). The first, published after the death of her second husband, tells the story of her unhappy marriage to Henry Lehr, which was referred to as a "tragic farce" of a 28-year marriage. ''Time'' magazine described it as: {{blockquote|A bitter, disillusioned book, 'King Lehr' is memorable for the lurid light it throws on U. S. Society of the Gilded Age, may confidently be opened as one of the most startling and scandalously intimate records of life among the wealthy yet written by one of them.<ref name=time1/>}}
Her second book, and first as Lady Decies, ''Turn of the World'', was also a semi-autobiographical history of American high society during the Gay Nineties up through World War I.
In Paris, she purchased and renovated the Hôtel de Cavoye at 52 Rue des Saints-Pères in the 7th Arrondissement. The ''hôtel particulier'' was built as the Paris residence of Louis d'Oger, Marquis de Cavoye, a Favorite of King Louis XIV who served as Grand Marshall of the Royal Household at Versailles.<ref name="Beresford">{{citation |first=Elizabeth |last=Beresford |title=King Lehr |year=2005 |publisher=Applewood Books |isbn=978-1-55709-963-1 |pages=298–299}}</ref> At her home, she hosted receptions, including for Prince Christian of Hesse and his American wife, the former Elizabeth Reid Rogers.<ref name="1932Party">{{cite news |last1=Times |first1=May Birkhead wireless To the New York |title=PARIS SEASON GAYER THAN WAS EXPECTED; Visitors From England Begin Crossing Channel for Week-End Trips. BIG HOUSES ARE OPENING W.K. Vanderbilt Jr. and Mrs. Henry S. Lehr Are Among Amer- icans Giving Entertainments. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/05/01/archives/paris-season-gayer-than-was-expected-visitors-from-england-begin.html |access-date=29 September 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=1 May 1932}}</ref>
==Personal life== ===First marriage=== On June 29, 1889,<ref>{{cite news|title=Mr. Dahlgren and His Bride.; Beginning of Their Honeymoon in a Historic Maryland House.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1889/07/07/archives/mr-dahlgren-and-his-bride-beginning-of-their-honeymoon-in-a.html|access-date=February 23, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=July 7, 1889}}</ref> Elizabeth married John Vinton Dahlgren (1869–1899), a graduate from Georgetown University and the son of Admiral John A. Dahlgren (1809–1870) at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. Together, they had two sons:<ref name="JVDObit1899">{{cite news|title=John Vinton Dahlgren Dead.; Son of the Admiral Passes Away at Colorado Springs.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1899/08/12/archives/john-vinton-dahlgren-dead-son-of-the-admiral-passes-away-at.html|access-date=February 23, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=August 12, 1899}}</ref>
* Joseph Drexel Dahlgren (1890–1891), who died as an infant * John Vinton Dahlgren Jr. (1892–1964), who married Helen Broderick in 1946,<ref>{{cite news|title=John V. Dahlgren, Kin of Drexels, to Marry|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/06/03/archives/john-v-dahlgren-kin-of-drexels-to-marry.html|access-date=February 23, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=June 3, 1946}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=J. V. Dahlgren Loses Suit.; Falls to Compel Uncle to Account for $70,000.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/10/17/archives/j-v-dahlgren-loses-suit-falls-to-compel-uncle-to-account-for-70000.html|access-date=February 23, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=October 17, 1914}}</ref> was a graduate of Harvard and Georgetown.<ref>{{cite news|title=Nuptials Are Held for Helen Broderick|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/07/15/archives/nuptials-are-held-for-helen-broderick.html|access-date=February 23, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=July 15, 1946}}</ref>
During this marriage, she made generous donations to Roman Catholic charities and to Georgetown University, including funds for the construction of Dahlgren Chapel, which was named for her first son.<ref>{{cite news|title=Built by Mrs. Dahlgren.; Dedication of the Chapel of the Sacred Heart at Washington.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1893/04/17/archives/built-by-mrs-dahlgren-dedication-of-the-chapel-of-the-sacred-heart.html|access-date=February 23, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=April 17, 1893}}</ref> Georgetown University asked for her portrait, which was painted in 1899 by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury (1862–1947).
Dahlgren died August 11, 1899, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he had gone in hopes of recovering from tuberculosis.<ref name="nytobit">[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/08/12/102131791.pdf "John Vinton Dalhgren Dead"], ''The New York Times'', August 12, 1899.</ref>
===Second marriage=== In June 1901, Elizabeth married Henry Symes Lehr (1869–1929), aka Harry Lehr.<ref name=obit/><ref name=time1>{{cite magazine |title=Record of the Rich |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,711722,00.html?iid=chix-sphere |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019165750/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,711722,00.html?iid=chix-sphere |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 19, 2012 |magazine=Time |date= August 5, 1935|access-date=July 21, 2007 }}</ref> The marriage was never consummated.<ref>Vanderbilt II, Arthur T. Fortune's Children. Wm. Morrow and Co., 1989: 235-7. {{ISBN|0-688-07279-8}}</ref> According to her, on her wedding night, her husband told her that he loathed her and could not stand the thought of touching her ever, although he wanted her to understand she was to be cordial to him in public and he might in turn occasionally call her "darling". He had, he admitted, married her for her money because poverty terrified him.<ref>Wayne Craven (2009) [https://books.google.com/books?id=1BrBHQfpEcAC&q=gilded+mansions ''Gilded Mansions''], Norton, New York</ref>
In 1915, the Lehrs were in Paris, and Elizabeth worked for the Red Cross. They remained in Paris after World War I, where they bought in 1923 the ''Hôtel de Cavoye'' at 52, rue des Saints-Pères in the 7th arrondissement. Harry Lehr died on January 3, 1929, of a brain malady in Baltimore.<ref>{{cite news |title=Harry S. Lehr Dies. Once Social Leader. Succumbs To A Brain Malady In Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore. Late Mrs. Astor's Adviser Noted For Daring And Originality Of His Parties. Married Mrs. J. V. Dahlgren, Heiress. Quickly Got Into Limelight. Furor Over "Monkey Dinner" Story. An Excellent Musician. |quote=Baltimore, January 3, 1929. Harry Symes Lehr, for many years prominent in society of New York, Newport, Baltimore and Paris, died today of a brain disorder at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he had been a patient for several weeks. |work=The New York Times |date=January 4, 1929 }}</ref>
===Third marriage=== On May 25, 1936,<ref>{{cite news |title=Decies to Marry Mrs. Harry Lehr; Widow of New York Leader of Society to Become Bride of Irish Peer on May 23. Announcement in Paris. Bride-Elect Member of Drexel Family. Wrote Book, 'King Lehr and Gilded Age.' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/05/12/archives/decies-to-marry-mrs-harry-lehr-widow-of-new-york-leader-of-society.html|date= May 12, 1936}}</ref> she married The Rt Hon. The 5th Baron Decies (1866–1944), a widower and Anglo-Irish peer who had previously been married to Helen Vivien Gould (1893–1931).<ref name=HVGobit>{{cite news |title=Lady Decies Dies at 38 in London. Former Helen Vivien Gould Was Principal in Brilliant International Wedding of 1911. Was Noted As Hostess. Her Entertaining Was a Feature of British Capital. Husband Is Distinguished Irish Peer. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/02/03/archives/lady-decies-dies-at-38-in-london-former-helen-vivien-gould-was.html |work=The New York Times |date=February 3, 1931|access-date=November 26, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Died |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,741088-2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102120449/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,741088-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |magazine=Time |date=February 16, 1931 |access-date=February 4, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=People |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,802366,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930114830/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,802366,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |magazine=Time |date=July 27, 1942 |access-date=July 21, 2007 }}</ref> Upon this marriage, she became The Rt Hon. Baroness Decies.
Lord Decies filed suit for divorce in 1942, which Lady Decies contested.<ref name="1942Divorce">{{cite news |title=LORD DECIES ASKS DIVORCE; Irish Peer's Suit Contested by Former Mrs. Elizabeth Lehr |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/04/12/archives/lord-decies-asks-divorce-irish-peers-suit-contested-by-former-mrs.html |access-date=January 29, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=April 12, 1942}}</ref> In 1943, she appeared in the photograph "The Critic" by Weegee.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Weegee {{!}} The Critic |url=https://whitney.org/collection/works/10435 |access-date=2025-06-08 |website=whitney.org |language=en}}</ref>
Lord Decies died on January 31, 1944, at his Ascot home.<ref name="1944LordDecies">{{cite news |title=LORD DECIES DIES IN ENGLAND AT 77; Soldier, Sportsman, Friend of Taxpayer--Married Gould Heiress Here in 1911 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/02/02/archives/lord-decies-dies-in-england-at-77-soldier-sportsman-friend-of.html |access-date=January 29, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=February 2, 1944}}</ref>
== Death == Elizabeth, Lady Decies, died at the Hotel Shelton in Manhattan, on June 13, 1944. She was buried in the crypt below Dahlgren Chapel at Georgetown University, which she and her first husband had built as a memorial to their first son, Joseph Drexel Dahlgren, who died in infancy.<ref name=obit>{{cite news |title=Lady Decies, Widow of Irish Peer, Dies; Former Elizabeth Drexel of Philadelphia Was Once the Wife of Harry Lehr |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/06/14/archives/ladydeoieswidow-of-irish-peer-dies-former-elizabeth-drexel-ofi.html |work=The New York Times |date=June 14, 1944 |access-date=July 21, 2007 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>
== Published works == *''"King Lehr" and the Gilded Age'' (1935) {{ISBN|1-4047-8242-7}}<ref name=time1/> *''Turn of the World'' (1937) {{ISBN|978-1-4290-9080-3}}
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
== Further reading == * ''Time''; August 5, 1935; Review of ''"King Lehr" and the Gilded Age'' * [https://archive.today/20130204115119/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,848585,00.html ''Time''; May 18, 1936] announcing the engagement of "Mrs. Henry Symes Lehr" with Lord Decies. * [https://archive.today/20130204222232/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,756176,00.html ''Time''; June 1, 1936] announcing the marriage of "Mrs. Henry Symes Lehr" and Lord Decies. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928055222/http://www.cegesoma.be/pls/opac/opac.search?lan=N&seop=2&sele=51&sepa=12&doty=&sest=&chna=&senu=45033&rqdb=1&dbnu=1 Photo of Lord Decies and his wife] after the civil wedding on the steps of the Mairie of the 7th arrondissement of Paris. * Vanderbilt II, Arthur T. Fortune's Children. Wm. Morrow and Co., 1989. {{ISBN|0-688-07279-8}}
== External links == {{Portal|Biography|Literature|USA}} {{Commons category-inline}} * {{OL author}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060307160602/http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/theater/fnap/babe.html ''Great Day in the Morning''] is a play by Thomas Babe, based on Elizabeth Wharton Drexel's life (archived 7 March 2006).
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Drexel, Elizabeth Wharton}} Category:1868 births Category:1944 deaths Category:American people of Austrian descent Category:American Red Cross personnel Category:American socialites Category:American women autobiographers Category:American autobiographers Category:American women historians Elizabeth Elizabeth Wharton Decies Category:Writers from Philadelphia