Lives Of The Rich And Famous

I came across an interesting story last week. It is likely you Kentuckians have known about it but I had never heard it before. Filled with controversy and all the makings of a racy southern novel, it is the story of Mary Lily Kenan Flagler Bingham. Volumes have been written on the topic but I will briefly outline the saga here.

Mary Lily Kenan, born in North Carolina in 1867, was the daughter of a successful businessman. I sense that she was an ambitious and adventurous type and her 50 years of life seems to have indeed taken her on quite a wild ride.

When Mary Lily was about 23, she met Henry Flager who was then 61. Henry was a partner with J.D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil. He was also a major land developer in Florida and owner of several large hotels. A romance developed between the two despite the fact that Henry was still married to his second wife, Alice. That of course presented a problem in an age when divorces were often difficult to obtain. But, of course, money and power can buy almost anything can’t it? Henry Flagler’s wife Alice was insane and unfortunately insanity was not considered grounds for divorce in the state of Florida, where they resided. No problem. Henry just used his money and power to get the Florida legislature to change that little rule and so in 1901 he was able to obtain his divorce. Ten days later he married Mary Lily Kenan. 

Henry built a spectacular mansion for Mary Lily in Palm Beach. The mansion, named “Whitehall”, was a 55 room, 60,000 square foot palatial estate. Today this property is called the Flagler Museum. In the spring of 1913 Henry fell on the steps of Whitehall and after suffering from his injuries died several weeks later at the age of 83. 

When Henry died, some of his estate went to maintain his second wife Alice, still a patient at an insane asylum, and some when to the children from his first marriage. But, the bulk of Henry’s estate went to Mary Lily, making her the richest woman in America. Mary inherited somewhere between 60 and 100 million dollars. That’s about 1 to 2 billion dollars in today’s money!

I’m sure that this wealth made Mary Lily one of the most desirable women in America, but she chose to marry an old beau from her youth. His name was Robert Worth Bingham and he was actually a few years younger than Mary Lily. 

Robert Bingham, a native North Carolinian, was married first to Eleanor Miller whose family lived in Louisville, Kentucky. The couple had three children, but Eleanor died in 1913 in an accident with an interurban rail car. A few years later, Robert crossed paths with Mary Lily and the two were married in 1916. They came to Louisville, living first in the Seelback Hotel and later in an estate near the river, Lincliff. 

As a wedding present to Robert, Mary Lily supposedly paid off his debts and gave him several thousands of dollars in cash. He was also apparently granted a yearly allowance of $50,000. But, he hadn’t quite hit the jackpot with this marriage. Mary Lily still listed her niece, Louise Lewis, as her primary heir. 

Soon after the marriage, Mary Lily became ill, and the cause of this illness is unknown to this day. On June 27, 1917, before they had even celebrated their first anniversary, Mary was dead. There are many theories as to the cause of and circumstances surrounding her death. Did Robert poison her? Had she contracted syphilis from Henry Flagler? Was she a morphine and alcohol addict? Did she simply just die of a heart attack?

After her death, Robert submitted a hand written “secret” codicil in which Mary Lily bequeathed to him 5 million dollars. Mary Lily’s North Carolina relatives were suspicious, and quietly had her remains exhumed, soon after her burial. Samples of her internal organs were sent to a lab in New York. Apparently they liked the poisoning theory, but in the end no charges were filed and the codicil was not contested. The State of Kentucky received enough money in inheritance taxes to liquidate the state debt. Robert Bingham used his 5 million to buy the Courier Journal and Louisville Times newspapers. It was his start on what would become a media empire.

Now, here is why I happened upon this saga and how it relates to my family history. No, I’m not related to the Kenans, Flaglers or Binghams. No claim to the millions or billions for me. But, last week Ancestry.com posted a new database of passport applications. I was trolling for family hits and discovered a passport application for my GG grandfather, Gus Hardin. In 1918 he applied for a passport to travel to Havana Cuba. Listed on the application was this: “in matter of inheritance tax of estate of Mary Lily Flagler Bingham.” Interesting. 

I’m not sure why Gus Hardin was involved in the estate of Mary Lily. Gus’s occupation on the passport form is listed as a record keeper for the Louisville Railway Company, which ran the Louisville streetcars. I suppose it is possible that Flagler had some ownership of this Louisville company, especially considering his importance in the development of rail transportation in Florida. Flagler was also involved in promoting trade with Cuba, so perhaps his estate owned some property in Cuba. In the 1920 census Gus lists his job as the court recorder for the Railway Company and in the 1910 census he is listed as a real estate agent. Maybe Gus went to Cuba on a special job for the courts to value property held in Mary Lily’s estate. More research will need to be done to find out Gus Hardin’s connection with this famous estate. In the meantime, if you are interested in this story, all you need to do is “google” the characters involved. Numerous books and articles have been written about Flagler and especially about the Bingham family.

-Mary
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