The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1906-06-30
THAW's FLoRoDORA wIFR.
Some Of the characteristics of Woman
Whom Notorious Pittsbufg Fellow
Married.

Some Of the characteristics of Woman
Whom Notorious Pittsburg Fellow
Married.
Evelyn Nesbit Thaw was school
girl in Pittsburg when the death Of her
father, Winfield Scott Nesbit, left her
mother and herself almost destitute.
Encumbrances on the little property
left by the father shut off almost every
source Of Income. The schoolgirl had
to face more serious problems than
usually fall to the lot Of girl in knee
dresses,
When the girl was only 10 a Mrs,
Darragh, a portrait painter and minia-
ture maker Of Philadelphia, had dis
covered her and had painted her head.
Later Phillips, photographer of Phil
adelphia, had asked the Pittsburg child
to sit for several Photographic studies.
The pictures were printed in an art
magazine and attracted attention. Be-
fore her father had been dead long
Evelyn Nesbit found that she was be-
ing sought after by such artists as Car
rol Beckwith, r. $, Church, Carl Blen-
ner and ]. Wells Champney.
The schoolgirl found herself sudden
ly thrown into the atmosphere of the
studio and the life that calls itself
bohemian. She was not yet II and
New York dazzled her.
When grown men began to shower
attentions on her she suddenly found
herself woman. There were patrons
who were willing to lift her into sue
cess, among them Stanford White, man
about town and first nighter, whose at
tentSons toward the girl were marked.
Theatrical managers who tell the story
say thtat Stanford Whites interests
were almost fatherlike. Evelyn, they
add was nothing but ia flaway girl.
When "Florodora," was put on in the
fall of 1900 Fisher G. Ryley engaged
Evelyn Nesbit to sing in the chorus
as one of the flower girls. Her face
and figure attracted attention, and the
| girl in the chorus found herself talked
about. After the run of "F'lorodora"
came 1.-THE White Rose" in which
Irene Bently starred Evelyn Nesbit
had small part in this short-lived
musical comedy.
The popular chorus girls who number
wealthy men among their admirers do
not lack for chances. Miss Nesbit,
among whose early patrons Stanford
White was said to have been the most
loyal and beneficent, suddenly found
the means to go to Europe for musi-
cal education.
Her departure left a distant gap
in a select circle of admirers. Her
memory was kept green by photo
graphical studies done by Burr McTn-
tosh and published in his magazine.
The figure of a darlz-haaFed girl in
graceful kinlona and ourled up on a
polar bears hide became a familiar
one to New York readers
The trip to Europe ended in the
whirwind love affair with Harry Thaw,
the subsequent return to New York
under circumstances of peculiar inter-
est and the remarriage in Pittsburg I'M
der the maternal blessing circumstan-
ces made familiar by recent recounting.
Then followed the brave effort of the
newly-wedded Mrs. Thaw. to fit nerseR
for her new place ia society,
Pittsburg gossips ten how the ex-
chorus girl, made sister-in-law to the
Earl Of Yarmouth, diligently undertook
to study German and French as well
as music at one time. Professor Luigi
Won Kunits attended at 9 o'clock to
teach Mrs. Thaw French, the pro-
fessor's wife followed with instruction
in polite German, and the afternoons
were given over to Henry Bramsen,
planoforte instructor, and Nine. Bram-
ser, eNkyasSE Qtsthe Yelees