Emily Vanderbilt Sloane

Emily Vanderbilt Sloane Hammond (September 17, 1874 – February 22, 1970) was an author, philanthropist, and socialite. She was a member of the Vanderbilt family, and mother of music producer John Hammond. She was the granddaughter of William Henry Vanderbilt. A major activity of hers was the restoration of the Theodore Roosevelt House at 28 East 20th Street. She was president of the Women's Roosevelt Memorial Association for many years. She was president of the Home Thrift Association, supporting a Yorkville settlement house, and was president for 43 years of the Three Arts Club, a residence for women studying music, painting and drama. She was a founder of the Parents' League of New York in 1914, and later became its president. She was the president of the Peoples' Chorus of New York, and a commissioner of the Girl Scouts of Westchester County.

After her husband's death in 1949, she donated the family's 277-acre Mount Kisco estate, Dellwood, to the Moral Rearmament movement.

Residence

Emily's parents commissioned the architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings to design a mansion for the couple at 9 East 91st, on land purchased from Andrew Carnegie; it was known as the John Henry Hammond House. The house has since been restored and is now the Consulate General of the Russian Federation.

The reception rooms on the second floor – a ballroom, library and music room – routinely sat three hundred guests, at concerts often featuring Vanderbilt Sloane on piano, and her son John Hammond Jr. playing violin or viola. Many greats of jazz played in the house, including Benny Goodman

Personal life On April 5, 1899, she married John Henry Hammond at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church. He was the brother of Ogden H. Hammond, U.S. Ambassador to Spain. Together, they had four children:

Adele Sloane Hammond (1902–1998), who married John K. Olyphant Jr. (1895–1973) in 1927. After his death in 1973, she married John Josiah Emery Jr. (1898–1976). Alice Frances Hammond (1905–1978), who married George Arthur Victor Duckworth (1901–1986) in March 1927. They divorced in January 1942. She married Benny Goodman (d. 1986) in March 1942. Rachel Hammond (1908–2007), who married Richard L. McClenahan. They divorced in February 1942 and she married John Gordon Ferrier Speiden (1900−1970) in May 1942. They also divorced and she married Manley du Pont Breck (1906−1972) in 1961. John Henry Hammond II (1910–1987), who married Jemison "Jemy" McBride in 1941. They divorced in 1948 and in 1949, he married Esme O'Brien Sarnoff. Emily died on February 22, 1970, at her home at 136 East 64th Street, aged 95.

Descendants Her son John Henry Hammond became a jazz impresario and record producer. Grandson John P. Hammond (1942–2026) was a blues singer and guitarist. Daughter Alice Frances Hammond married jazz musician Benny Goodman. Her daughter, Adele Hammond, was the paternal grandmother of actor Timothy Olyphant (b. 1968).

Publications

The Golden Treasury of the Bible (1919) Comfort Thoughts for Those at Home (1923) A Trip that Kindles (1953)