Sigourney Thayer

Sigourney Thayer (March 24, 1896 – November 2, 1944) was an American theatrical producer, World War I aviator, and poet.[1]

Sigourney Thayer
BornMarch 24, 1896
Southborough, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedNovember 2, 1944(1944-11-02) (aged 48)
Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationSt. Mark's School
Alma materAmherst College
OccupationProducer, aviator, poet
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1928; div. 1929)​

Mary Van Rensselaer Cogswell
​
​
(m. 1931; his death 1944)​
Parent(s)William Greenough Thayer
Violet Otis
RelativesRobert H. Thayer (brother)

Early life

Thayer was born in Southborough, Massachusetts, the son of Rev. William Greenough Thayer (1863–1934), headmaster of St. Mark's School from 1894–1930, and Violet (née Otis) Thayer,[2] a member of the Boston Brahmin Otis family of Boston.[1] He was the brother of Robert Helyer Thayer (1901−1984), a lawyer, naval officer and diplomat.[3]

Career

In June 1916, Thayer enlisted and first served on the American-Mexican border. He became a 1st Lieutenant and pilot in the 1st Operations Group, and afterwards graduated from Amherst College in 1918. He wrote regular poetry for the Atlantic Monthly, and his poem, "The Dead" has appeared in numerous World War I anthologies.

In later life, Thayer became an executive at Vultee Aircraft.[1]

Theatrical producer

In the 1920s and 1930s, Thayer was a theatrical producer. He produced Last Night of Don Juan: The Pilgrimage (1925), Beau-Strings (1926), Damn the Tears (1927), Bridal Wise (1932), and Keeper of the Keys (1933).

Personal life

In December 1928, he married Emily O'Neill (née Davies) Vanderbilt (1903–1935) of Manhattan (who had divorced William Henry Vanderbilt III earlier the same year[4][5]).[6][7] She was the daughter of Frederick Martin Davies, granddaughter of Daniel O'Neill, owner of the Pittsburgh Dispatch newspaper, and the grandniece of Frederick Townsend Martin, a prominent writer of the 1920s.[8] Their marriage lasted less than a year. After her divorce from Thayer in 1929, Emily married writer Raoul Whitfield (1896-1945) in 1933. She filed for divorce in February 1935, and killed herself at the Dead Horse Ranch near Las Vegas, New Mexico, on May 24, 1935.[8][9]

In April 1931, Thayer married Mary "Molly" Van Rensselaer Cogswell (1902–1983), daughter of Cullen Van Rensselaer Cogswell, a Manhattan socialite, and great granddaughter of General John Cullen Van Rensselaer.[10][11] She was a society columnist for the New York Journal, and wrote under the house pseudonym "Madame Flutterby", covering the Lindbergh kidnapping. She wrote the first biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, published by Doubleday in 1961.[12] Together, they had a daughter:

  • Eugenie Sigourney Thayer (1933–2015),[13] who married Hussein Rahim, the son of Kamil Abdul Rahim, the Egyptian Ambassador to the United States, in 1961.[14][15]

He died in 1944 in an automobile accident in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and is buried at Southborough Rural Cemetery, Southborough, Massachusetts.[1]

References
  1. "SIGOURNEY THAYER KILLED; Aircraft Executive, Ex-Flier, Dies in Auto Crash". The New York Times. November 3, 1944. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  2. "Twill". Time Magazine. December 2, 1929. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  3. US Dept of State, Office of the Historian listing, retrieved September 23, 2013
  4. Blair, William G. (April 16, 1981). "William H. Vanderbilt, 79, Dead". New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2008. William Henry Vanderbilt, a former Governor of Rhode Island who was a great-great-grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, the 19th century railroad magnate, died Tuesday night at his home in South Williamstown, Massachusetts He was 79 years old. Mr. Vanderbilt, a Republican, served in the State Senate from 1928 to ...
  5. "Died". Time. April 27, 1981. Retrieved August 4, 2008. William Henry Vanderbilt, 79, farmer-philanthropist and sometime politician who served as Governor of Rhode Island from 1938 to 1940 and was the great-great-grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, the 19th century railroad magnate; of cancer; in Williamstown, Massachusetts
  6. "Emily Vanderbilt Marries S. Thayer". New York Times. December 8, 1928. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  7. Times, Special To The New York (December 10, 1928). "Sigourney Thayers at Greenbrier". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  8. "OWN LIFE TAKEN BY EX-WIFE OF W. H. VANDERBILT". Chicago Tribune. May 25, 1935. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  9. "MRS. R. WHITFIELD A SUICIDE IN WEST; Former Wife of W.H. Vanderbilt Found in New Mexico Home, Pistol in Hand". The New York Times. May 25, 1935. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  10. "MARY V. R. COGSWELL TO WED ON MARCH 28; | Will Dispense With Bridal Party at Wedding to Sigourney Thayer. Holmes--Woodfield". The New York Times. March 11, 1931. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  11. "Marriage Announcement 3 -- Thayer - Cogswell". The New York Times. March 29, 1931. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  12. Smith, J. Y. (December 14, 1983). "Mary V.R. Thayer, Ex-Society Columnist, Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  13. "Weschler's to Feature Two Original Works by Washington, DC Artists, Sam Gilliam and Gene Davis". www.artfixdaily.com. February 27, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  14. Times, Special To The New York (December 10, 1961). "Eugenie S. Thayer Engaged to Marry". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  15. "Hussein Rahim, Son of Aide At U. N., Weds Miss Thayer". The New York Times. December 28, 1961. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
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