CUSTODY OF CHILD

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 47, 19 November 1936, Page 11

CUSTODY OF CHILD

Mrs. Vanderbilt Renew? Litigation (Received November IS, 7.20 p.m.) New York, November 17. Mrs. Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt has renewed her litigation to obtain custody of her daughter Gloria, alleging that she could now provide a propet environment for the child A feud between two of the most socially prominent American families came to a head in 1934, when the 10-year-old Gloria Vanderbilt, heiress to a 3,000,000dollar fortune, brought a chambers action in the Supreme Court to decide whether she should remain in the custody of her paternal aunt, Mrs. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, or of her own mother, Mrs. Gloria Vanderbilt. Mrs. Vanderbilt had previously brought a suit to recover the child from Mrs. Whitney, who refused to yield on the ground that the plaintiff devoted too much time to social obligations, drank excessively, and was otherwise unfit to be the child’s mother. The child's preference was for the aunt, with whom she had been living for two years. The judge ruled that Gloria should remain with her aunt for four years, until shy reached the age of 14 years, when she was to decide for herself if she wished to continue with her aunt or return to her mother’s custody. The ruling was subsequently upheld by the appellate division of the New York Supreme Court, which found that the defendant took little interest, in her child until she was in danger of losing the allowance granted from her late husband’s estate for Gloria’s support.