Early Life
She was born as Madeleine Talmage Force on June 19, 1893, in Brooklyn, New York to William Hurlbut Force and his wife, the former Katherine Arvilla Talmage (1863-c.1930). She had one sibling, Katherine Emmons Force.
Her father William Hurlbut Force (1852–1917) was a member of a well-established business family. He owned the successful shipping firm William H. Force and Co and his father had been prosperous in the manufacturing industry. In 1889 William had married Katherine Tulmage who was the granddaughter of Thomas Tulmage, a former Mayor of Brooklyn. William and his wife were part of the Brooklyn society and he was a member of numerous prestigious clubs in this city. He also owned a notable art collection. The family were members of the Episcopal Church which was also the church of the Astor family.
Madeleine was educated at Miss Ely’s School and then for four years at Miss Spence’s School, which was located at West 48th Street in Manhattan. According to one report she was “counted an especially brilliant pupil” at this school. She was also taken abroad with her sister Katherine by her mother and toured Europe several times. When she was introduced to New York social life she was immediately adopted by the “Junior League” which was a clique of debutantes. She appeared in several New York society plays and attracted quite a following. She was known to be a very competent horsewoman and enjoyed yachting. One report said that she was bright and good with drawing room conversation.
Read more about this topic: Madeleine Astor
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early and/or life:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
““Never hug and kiss your children! Mother love may make your children’s infancy unhappy and prevent them from pursuing a career or getting married!” That’s total hogwash, of course. But it shows on extreme example of what state-of-the-art “scientific” parenting was supposed to be in early twentieth-century America. After all, that was the heyday of efficiency experts, time-and-motion studies, and the like.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“The businessman who assumes that his life is everything, and the mystic who asserts that it is nothing, fail, on this side and on that, to hit the truth.... No; truth, being alive ... was only to be found by continuous excursions into either realm, and though proportion is the final secret, to espouse it at the outset is to ensure sterility.”
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)