Henderson daily dispatch., 1936-11-23
By JUDITH FIELD


Grecnvlle. Del, Nov. ga quiet
cbirch wedding
Tins, vpifies Ethel du Pont, fan
o,. of FRANKLIN d. Roosevelt, Jr. She
oo,ra have a White House wedding.
mt. gill, who has everything,
ro,s, heess is retiring and charm
B.onde ana slender, Ethers smile
and husky, low voice is teasingly re-
min scent of Joan Bennett of the
movies.
IF Emel were a talkative soul, she
coufl diate on this: First, that plat
mum set engagement ring, presented
her bv Franklin. Jr., on one of his fire.
ouent weekend trips to the Eugene
du Pont estate on Owls Nest road.
with the almonds three times as
many and three times as large as the
usual betrothal rings; secondly, the
distinction of having the presidents
son fer a boy friend, and thirdly, the
priv lege. even though it is undesired
in her ease, of having her marriage
performed in the mansion of the
chief executive of the nation. And.
of course the further attributes Of
wealth. youth and beauty are pleas
ant. too in Their way.
EthePs Antecedents
Indeed. the 20-year-old Ethel, who
suddenly burst into the limelight as
a very important young lady. has
everyone guessing. Before the an
nouncement OF the engagement which
will link the presidents family with
that of the most Influential members
Of tn opposition party, she was more
or less known only as sister of
Miss Aimee du Font and Nicholas r.
du Pont of Greenville and of Eugene
du Pont III of Richmond, Va, a
daughter to Eugene du Pont-named
in 1889 by the late Ambassador
James w. Gerard as one of the 81
men who rule the United States
and the former Ethel Pyle, one of
the most famous society beauties of
her day; and niece or cousin to the
heretofore, more spectacular wealthy
du Points of Delaware.
To the du Foni-conscious iAhabi-
tants OF Wilmington, Ethel was re-
garded as a somewhat shy, gawky
schoolbirl. Before graduating from
the Ethel Walker school at Simsbury,
Conn. in 1884 she had attended Mrs.
Hebbs school in Wilmington. She
Lived a casual, quiet life, though she
often was seen at horse shows, win
ming prizes for superior horseman-
ship. Her swimming is excellent, too,
and, at one time, she took flying in
struct.ons at the private du Pont
flying field-although she wasn't par
ticularly interested in following the
example of her cousin, the former
Alice du Pont (now Mrs. James Paul
Mills) who became an accomplished
pilot. Ethel would come into Will
lnington on occasional evenings to
enjoy the lobster specialties in the
restaurant of a small hotel there.
Within Herself
Never attracting undue attention,
she was one of those girls who kept
within themselves. AS a matter of
fact, one of her first cousins once
remarked that he knew most of his
friends better than he knew her.
linen during her senior year at
Mrs. Walkers school, this rather re-
firing girl met Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, Jr., who was a freshman
at Harvard. A grand nephew of the
late President Theodore Roosevelt,
grandson Of Mrs. James Roosevelt,
great-grandson of the late Mr.. and
Mrs. Warren Delano; as we'll as being
grandson Of the late Mr.. and Mrs.
Elliot Roosevelt and great-grandson
OF the late Mr.. and Mrs. Valentine
q. Hall, and, of course, son of the
president of the United States, young
Franklin had lot of Roosevelt blood
in him to live up to-
But, beng no i4'rovert, he has man
aged to do all right for himself. At
Harvard he was a member of the
freshman crew and rowed on the jun
log varsity in his sophomore and
junior years. Wishing to try out for
football at the beginning of his col
lege career, he soon gave up the idea
and turned in his uniform because
cameramen were always following
him around and interfered with the
practice. He is a member of the Fly
and Iroquois clubs and Hasty Pud-
ding Institute of 1910, and, recently,
he was raised to a third degree of
Masonry.
Coming from families with oppos-
ing party beliefs and, though of OPP
pos.te personalities themselves, the du
Pont girl and young Roosevelt have
grown to complement each other
perfectly.
Three-Year Courtship
Making frequent visits to the Walk
er school in 1888, and a guest at
Ethel's 1894 debut, Franklin also has
been seen lately escorting her to the
Harvard football games. Then, too
ne once purchased roadster giving
Owl'a Roost road as his address.
During joint interview recently
the newly engaged couple were In
complete and comforting accord
facn was eager for the other to hear
"hat l have to- say"
lough poised and contained, Miss
Oh Pont was obviously disturbed
when Franklin, ioVially convers.ne