New Britain herald., 1926-11-23


 leging coercion was used ao the time If her marriage in 1899 to MT. Van- derbilt, eldest son of the late Will liam Nissan Vanderbilt, who also was the father Of the Duchess of Marlborough.
 Decree Reported Approval
 The plea, the correspondent as- serts. has been thoroughly examined by the Rota and decision reached to grant the annulment, but the de- cree is being withheld for time because of the great publicity which has surrounded the Marlborough case.
 Mrs. Vanderbilt, who at present is in Paris, is understood by the cor respondent in Rome to have been requested to deny the annulment for the time being, and it Is as- serted that there would be no un- truth In such a denial, as the actual sentence has not yet been set down in writing although the three Rota judges have decided to grant the plea.
 Has Nothing to Say
 When the Worlds correspondent in Paris last night informed Mrs. Vanderbilt of the news from Rome, she declined to see the correspond ent but sent out a message saying: Mrs. Vanderbilt has nothing to say"
 Mr. Vanderbilt when seen In New York and shown the Rome dis patch read it carefully and said: Honestly, this is the first I've heard of it. I don't know anything about it." he added that the plea might have been made outside New York without his knowledge.
 NIiiiionaire's Daughter
 Mrs. w. K. Vanderbilt II was Virginia Fair, daughter of the late United States Senator James G. Fair, who came to this country from Ireland when boy and made an enormous fortune in gold mining in the west. Three children, two daughters and a son. were born of her union with MT. Vanderbilt, she is a Catholic, MT. Vanderbilt Is an Episcopalian.
 The marriage ceremony was per- formed at the home of Miss Fairs sister. Mrs. Herman Oelrichs in this city by the Rev. Father Thomas Francis Murphy. Mrs. Oelrichs died yesterday. At the time of the marriage it was estimated that Miss Fairs fortune was s5,0O0,O0O, and that Mr. Vanderbilt received ap- proximately s1O,O00,OO0 from his father.
 Separated IS Years Ago.
 The couple separated about IS years ago, the three children re- mained with the mother. The parting always has been asserted to have been an amicable one due to incompatibility. It was once hinted that Mrs. Vanderbilt would seek divorce, but she refrained from doing so owing to religious scruples, the Catholic church forbidding di- yorce.
 When Mrs. Vanderbilt sailed from New York for France November IS. accompanied by her son, William k. Vanderbilt, Jr., it was rumored that she would seek formal dissou- tion of the marriage through the church at Rome, MT. Vanderbilt characterized the rumor as tom myrot."
 Both Daughters Married
 Both daughters of Mir. and Mrs Vanderbilt are married. They were reared in the Catholic faith by their mother. Muriel Vaudebilt was mar ried in Newport by an Episcopaian clergyman to Frederick Cameron Church, who was said at the time to have objected to the rule of the Catholic church requiring children born of such a union to be brought up as Catholics. Consuelo, the other daughter, named after the Duches of Marlborough, was mar ried by Father Murphy, who off, clated for her father and mother, many yeas ago, at the Vanderbilt home here to Earl E. T. Smith On the same day, in the same house, but not at the same time. Mir. and Mrs. Church were remarried by Father Murphy.
 Priest Surprised
 Regarding the report that Mrs Vanderbilt alleged coercion before the Rota tribunal, Father Murphy, who married her said he was sur prised at the report.
 Il my self made all the wedding arrangements" he asserted.
 The bride at that time was liv- ing with her sister, the late Mrs Herman Oelrichs. When I per- formed the ceremony the bride and groom seemed happy and de- lighted"