Caroline Berryman Spencer


Caroline Suydam Berryman Spencer was an American socialite who lived in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. She served as editor of Illustrated American.

Early life

Caroline Suydam Berryman was born on December 28, 1861, in New Haven, Connecticut, to a very wealthy and socially prominent family. She was a daughter of Charles Henry Berryman and Harriett Berryman of the Whitney family. Her siblings included Henry Whitney Berryman and Georgiana Louise Berryman. Their paternal grandparents were Edwin Upshur Berryman and Maria Berryman, who both died young. The siblings' maternal grandparents were Hannah Whitney and Henry Whitney. Other relatives were aunts Cornelia Lawrence Whitney, Maria Whitney, and Caroline Suydam Whitney.

Personal life

On October 3, 1882, she married Lorillard Spencer Jr., a son of Lorillard Spencer and Sarah Spencer of the Griswold family. His paternal grandparents were Eleanora Eliza Spencer and William Augustus Spencer. Among his siblings was sister, Eleanor Spencer and brother William Augustus Spencer, who died aboard the Titanic. Together, they were the parents of two daughters who died in infancy, and a son, who also predeceased her:
They had a home in Newport known as Chastellux, "one of the most beautiful places in that city." After the death of her husband, who owned The Illustrated American, Spencer became a missionary in the Philippines. She died at age 86 on April 6, 1948, at her home, Blue Bird Cottage, in Newport, Rhode Island. She was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.