Phelan Beale

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Phelan Beale (born May 23, 1881 in Chattanooga , Tennessee , † June 12, 1956 in Pass Christian , Mississippi ) was a wealthy attorney and hunter from New York City . Beale, was married to Edith Ewing Bouvier , the aunt of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis . He is probably best remembered by the American public as the head of the family in the Gray Gardens family saga portrayed in the 1975 documentary Gray Gardens , a musical, and the 2009 HBO- produced Gray Gardens feature film . The name refers to the Gray Gardens family estate in East Hampton , New York .

biography

Beale was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and grew up in Montgomery , Alabama . In 1902 he graduated from the University of the South and in 1905 he graduated from Columbia University's law school . He was the grandson of John D. Phelan, a spokesman for the Alabama Supreme Court. Together with Jacqueline Onassis's grandfather "Major" John Vernou Bouvier, Jr. he developed the jurisdiction of "Bouvier and Beale".

In 1917 he married Bouvier's daughter Edith Ewing Bouvier (later she was nicknamed "Big Edie"). The master of ceremonies for their wedding on January 17, 1917 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City included Jackie's father John Vernou Bouvier III and W. Sergeant Bouvier. Their children were Edith Bouvier Beale ("Little Edie"), Phelan Beale, Jr., of Tulsa , and Bouvier Beale of Glen Cove , Long Island .

In 1924, he acquired the 28-room Gray Gardens beachfront property, right on the ocean in the vicinity of Georgica Pond . The couple separated around 1926 and were legally divorced in 1931, although both continued to live in East Hampton. As part of her marital gain, Edith received the Gray Gardens family estate in East Hampton.

Beale belonged to the "Gray Goose Gun Club of Cedar Point", a former hunting reserve that is now Cedar Point County Park , East Hampton. In 1937 he expanded the site by purchasing the abandoned Cedar Island Light . The New England hurricane of 1938 created a headland that connected the reserve with the island. The Gray Gardens property is now the park ranger's residence and is located north of one of the park's general stores.

Beale married Dorothy D. Durham of Poplarville, Mississippi one last time in 1947. He died in Pass Christian, Mississippi in 1956.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.legislature.state.al.us
  2. ↑ Miss Bouvier Weds Jan. 17 - New York Times - January 6, 1917
  3. ↑ Edith Bouvier Beale, 84, 'Little Edie,' Dies - New York Times
  4. ^ Phelan Beale, 75, Retired Lawyer - New York Times - June 12, 1956
personal data
SURNAME Beale, Phelan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH May 23, 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH Chattanooga, Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH June 12, 1956
Place of death Pass Christian , Mississippi