Case of Gay Man Murred by Heirs Doris De Reopened

WAS GEE WASHGTON GAY? CONSIR THE EVINCE
THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY
DRIVG WH THE VANRBILTS IIBY BRETT BERKMARCH 15, 2010SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEGEE VANRBILT WAS THE FOPPISH AND TROVERTED FAVORE SON OF THE WORLD’S RICHT MAN. THIS SEEMS LIKE WOULD BE AN ENVIABLE POSN; AND WAS—MA ALL THE MORE ENVIABLE BY THE TIMG OF HIS DAD’S ATH (AND TH, HIS SIZABLE HERANCE) WHICH OCCURRED AROUND GEE’S 23RD BIRTHDAY, 1885. GEE VANRBILT TH BEME THE WORLD’S FIRST TSTAFARIAN, ALBE A DISTCTLY GILD AGE IDM: BUYG A SMALL PLOT OF LAND (195 SQUARE ) NEAR ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLA, BUILDG A MOST TTAGE THAT HE LLED BILTMORE (AT 175,000 SQUARE FEET, STILL THE LARGT PRIVATE HOME AMERI), AND DULGG HIS PROTO-HIPPIE HOBBI: STAABLE FORTRY, SCIENTIFIC FARMG, ANIMAL HBANDRY, AND GARN SIGN. HE ALSO DISPLAYED A PRCIENT TERT ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, THOUGH THOSE DAYS THIS MEANT AN “ALTERNATIVE” TO HAVG ALL YOUR CRAP PULLED AROUND BY A MULE. SO, WHEN HE WAS CHFFRED AROUND PARIS 1903 THIS NEW THG LLED AN AUTOMOBILE, HE WAS IMMEDIATELY SMTEN. WH A FEW YEARS, HE WAS HAVG THE HARNS AND RRIAG CLEARED OM BILTMORE’S BARNS TO MAKE ROOM FOR MOTORIZED TRANSPORT.“BY THE EARLY NETEEN-TEENS, THERE WERE AT LEAST SIX VEHICL REGISTERED AT BILTMORE,” BILL ALEXANR, THE TATE’S LANDSPE AND FORT HISTORIAN TOLD ME WHEN I STOPPED BY THE OTHER DAY. (I’VE BEE QUE A REGULAR ON THE PROPERTY.) THE WERE DRIVEN HHER AND YON OVER HUNDREDS OF OF IMPROVED ROADS, ROADS WHICH HAD BEEN SIGNED AND BUILT TO EXACTG STANDARDS—LIKE MUCH OF THE RT OF THE TATE’S GROUNDS—BY NONE OTHER THAN FRERICK LAW OLMSTED, FATHER OF LANDSPE ARCHECTURE AND SIGNER OF CENTRAL PARK. VANRBILT WAS SUCH A PROPONENT OF WHAT HE LLED “TOMOBILG” THAT HE UNRTOOK THE DRIVG OF HIS VEHICL HIMSELF—AT A TIME WHEN MOST EVERYONE OF HIS CLASS HAD CHFFRS—AND HAD HIS WIFE AND DGHTER LICENSED AS WELL, AT A TIME WHEN WOMEN ALMOST NEVER DROVE. HE ALSO BEME AN EXECUTIVE THE SOUTHERN MOTOR FERATN, A REGNAL PRO-ROAD-BUILDG GROUP, 1906. AND HE HELD TOMOBILG EXCURSNS FOR MANY OF THE ERA’S HOI POLLOI, TAKG SPIRED RIS WH FOLKS LIKE WILLIAM JENNGS BRYAN, AND LIKELY HOSTG VENTOR THOMAS EDISON, R MAN HENRY FORD, BBER BARON HARVEY FIRTONE, AND NATURALIST JOHN BURROUGHS ON ONE OF THEIR ODD ATERNAL MPG EXCURSNS—EXCURSNS WHERE, ACRDG TO BURROUGHS, THEY WOULD “CHEERFULLY ENDURE WET, LD, SMOKE, MOSQUO, BLACK FLI, AND SLEEPLS NIGHTS, JT TO TOUCH NAKED REALY.” (NOTE: I THK I WENT TO THAT MP, THOUGH ’S THE TOUCHG OF NAKED REALY PART I REMEMBER MOST FONDLY.)VANRBILT OWNED MANY VEHICL DURG HIS FORHORTENED LIFE, BUT ONLY ONE IS STILL THE TATE’S AMAZG LLECTN. IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE LAST R G.V. PURCHASED BEFORE PASSG AWAY 1914, AND ’S CURRENTLY BEG READIED FOR DISPLAY ON-SE, WHICH IS WHY I POPPED BY BILTMORE THE FIRST PLACE. “WE’RE APPROACHG AS AN ARTIFACT,” NANCY ROSEBROCK, THE TATE’S MANAGER OF NSERVATN AND LLECTNS, TOLD ME AS SHE WALKED ME AROUND THE ENORMO VEHICLE, “SO OUR GOAL IS TO RPECT THE STORY BEHD THE OBJECT.” TO THIS END, SHE’S GOG AT THE TOMOBILE MUCH LIKE SHE WOULD ANY OF THE OTHER OBJETS SHE SHEPHERDS: APPOTG EXPERTS OM HER STAFF TO ANALYZE, STABILIZE, CLEAN, AND TREAT THE VEHICLE’S VAR MATERIALS (LEATHER, METAL, TEXTIL, AND WOOD) WHILE MATAG S HISTORY, STEAD OF TRYG TO MAKE LOOK BRAND NEW.SO WHAT DID THE SCN OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S WEALTHIT FAI DRIVE AROUND HIS MOST UNTRY PLACE? A HANDSOME (AND HUGE) SEVEN-PASSENGER 1913 STEVENS-DURYEA MOL C6 TOURG. ORIGALLY GRAY, THE R WAS REPATED WHE SHORTLY AFTER GEE’S ATH, AND NOW HAS A GEO PKISH PATA, WHICH SUED ME JT FE. LIKE EVERYTHG ELSE AT BILTMORE, HAS QUE THE PEDIGREE. IT WAS MANUFACTURED BY THE PANY RPONSIBLE FOR CREATG THE FIRST GASOLE-POWERED TOMOBILE AMERI, BACK 1893, AND FOR WNG THE FIRST AMERIN R RACE, 1895. IT HAD AS S BRAND MOTTO “THERE IS NO BETTER MOTOR CAR.” AND ST MORE THAN $5,000 WHEN NEW, WHICH IS ROUGHLY $111,000 NTEMPORARY GREENBACKS, OR ABOUT THE CURRENT PRICE OF THIS FAB MASERATI QUATTROPORTE I’M ALWAYS GOG ON ABOUT.THE STEVENS-DURYEA WILL BE ON DISPLAY TO THE PUBLIC STARTG MAY 20 THE TATE’S NEW ANTLER HILL VILLAGE, BUT FIRST THE ON-SE TEAM HAS TO FISH SPCG UP. THEIR BIGGT CHALLENGE? “SIZE,” NANCY ROSEBROCK TOLD ME. “WHEN WE NSERVE OBJECTS, WE’RE UALLY WORKG SMALL, WH SWABS AND Q-TIPS. WHEN WE NSERVED A BEDROOM SUE RECENTLY, WE WENT THROUGH ABOUT 40,000 SWABS. SO WHO KNOWS HOW MANY THIS WILL TAKE!” MY BIGGT AREA OF TERT? THE THREE LOCKED PARTMENTS SI THE VEHICLE FOR WHICH BILTMORE NSERVATORS ARE CURRENTLY CREATG KEYS. THOUGH LIKELY TO YIELD NOTHG BUT AN AL CAPONE’S VLT MOMENT, THERE’S ALWAYS THE CHANCE THAT THERE WILL BE SOME SPECIAL TREASURE—GOLD BRICKS, A LOST RENOIR, A NEW WILL—STUFFED SI. I LLED DIBS ON WHATEVER THEY FD THE TNK. THEN AGA, I ALSO LLED SHOTGUN ON THE FIRST RI, AND THAT DIDN’T GET ME VERY FAR. “THERE’S APPARENTLY SOMETHG TASTROPHILLY WRONG WH THE ENGE,” ROSEBROCK SAID, “SO OUR TENTN IS NOT TO MAKE N.” PL, SHE ADD, “IF SOMEONE SAT ON THAT [PASSENGER] SEAT, WOULD CMBLE.”PHOTOS URTY OF THE BILTMORE ESTATE.BRETT BERK WR GAILY ABOUT CULTURE, POLICS, AND RS FOR , AND IS THE THOR OF THE GAY UNCLE’S GUI TO PARENTG. VIS HIM AT OR FOLLOW HIM ON TWTER.MOST POPULARTE CRIME, TE FAH: THE SERIAL KILLER AND THE TEXAS MOM WHO STOPPED HIMBY JULIE MILLERRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHTHE ELVIS PRLEY WE DIDN’T SEE ELVISBY KATEY RICHBRETT BERK
IS THERE PROOF THAT GEE VANRBILT WAS GAY?
CASE OF GAY MAN MURRED BY HEIRS DORIS DE REOPENED

WAS GEE WASHGTON GAY? CONSIR THE EVINCE

Larry Kramer's recent novel, The Amerin People: Volume 1: A Search for My Heart, has got tongu waggg aga about which great men Amerin history were gay. In terviews, as well as the book, Kramer has claimed that many of the founrs, cludg Gee Washgton, were gay. As Kramer knows, the terms "heterosexual" and "homosexual" were ed the late neteenth century, and many will dismiss the book bee he appears to be a bad historian by assertg morn ias about the past.

Kramer has long argued that amic historians are as much to blame for the straight-washg of Amerin history as even the most rabid of anti-gay, right-wg, history myth-makg foundatns. We should know enough by now that neher n stand scty as clear evince of sexual his terview wh the New York Tim Kramer said: "People say, 'Can you prove to me that Gee Washgton was gay? Assertg that Gee Washgton was gay garners headl bee Amerins thk they know that Gee Washgton was as straight as uld be -- a visn that partly reli on the tradnal image of virtuo, Amerin manhood.

THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY

For Kramer, assertg that Washgton was gay reveals not only that Amerins are bigots who straight-wash their histori, but also tells somethg about LGBTQ Amerins. There has never been any history book wrten where the gay people have been the history om the begng. Gay men have always been part of the Amerin ary.

DRIVG WH THE VANRBILTS IIBY BRETT BERKMARCH 15, 2010SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEGEE VANRBILT WAS THE FOPPISH AND TROVERTED FAVORE SON OF THE WORLD’S RICHT MAN. THIS SEEMS LIKE WOULD BE AN ENVIABLE POSN; AND WAS—MA ALL THE MORE ENVIABLE BY THE TIMG OF HIS DAD’S ATH (AND TH, HIS SIZABLE HERANCE) WHICH OCCURRED AROUND GEE’S 23RD BIRTHDAY, 1885. GEE VANRBILT TH BEME THE WORLD’S FIRST TSTAFARIAN, ALBE A DISTCTLY GILD AGE IDM: BUYG A SMALL PLOT OF LAND (195 SQUARE ) NEAR ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLA, BUILDG A MOST TTAGE THAT HE LLED BILTMORE (AT 175,000 SQUARE FEET, STILL THE LARGT PRIVATE HOME AMERI), AND DULGG HIS PROTO-HIPPIE HOBBI: STAABLE FORTRY, SCIENTIFIC FARMG, ANIMAL HBANDRY, AND GARN SIGN. HE ALSO DISPLAYED A PRCIENT TERT ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, THOUGH THOSE DAYS THIS MEANT AN “ALTERNATIVE” TO HAVG ALL YOUR CRAP PULLED AROUND BY A MULE. SO, WHEN HE WAS CHFFRED AROUND PARIS 1903 THIS NEW THG LLED AN AUTOMOBILE, HE WAS IMMEDIATELY SMTEN. WH A FEW YEARS, HE WAS HAVG THE HARNS AND RRIAG CLEARED OM BILTMORE’S BARNS TO MAKE ROOM FOR MOTORIZED TRANSPORT.“BY THE EARLY NETEEN-TEENS, THERE WERE AT LEAST SIX VEHICL REGISTERED AT BILTMORE,” BILL ALEXANR, THE TATE’S LANDSPE AND FORT HISTORIAN TOLD ME WHEN I STOPPED BY THE OTHER DAY. (I’VE BEE QUE A REGULAR ON THE PROPERTY.) THE WERE DRIVEN HHER AND YON OVER HUNDREDS OF OF IMPROVED ROADS, ROADS WHICH HAD BEEN SIGNED AND BUILT TO EXACTG STANDARDS—LIKE MUCH OF THE RT OF THE TATE’S GROUNDS—BY NONE OTHER THAN FRERICK LAW OLMSTED, FATHER OF LANDSPE ARCHECTURE AND SIGNER OF CENTRAL PARK. VANRBILT WAS SUCH A PROPONENT OF WHAT HE LLED “TOMOBILG” THAT HE UNRTOOK THE DRIVG OF HIS VEHICL HIMSELF—AT A TIME WHEN MOST EVERYONE OF HIS CLASS HAD CHFFRS—AND HAD HIS WIFE AND DGHTER LICENSED AS WELL, AT A TIME WHEN WOMEN ALMOST NEVER DROVE. HE ALSO BEME AN EXECUTIVE THE SOUTHERN MOTOR FERATN, A REGNAL PRO-ROAD-BUILDG GROUP, 1906. AND HE HELD TOMOBILG EXCURSNS FOR MANY OF THE ERA’S HOI POLLOI, TAKG SPIRED RIS WH FOLKS LIKE WILLIAM JENNGS BRYAN, AND LIKELY HOSTG VENTOR THOMAS EDISON, R MAN HENRY FORD, BBER BARON HARVEY FIRTONE, AND NATURALIST JOHN BURROUGHS ON ONE OF THEIR ODD ATERNAL MPG EXCURSNS—EXCURSNS WHERE, ACRDG TO BURROUGHS, THEY WOULD “CHEERFULLY ENDURE WET, LD, SMOKE, MOSQUO, BLACK FLI, AND SLEEPLS NIGHTS, JT TO TOUCH NAKED REALY.” (NOTE: I THK I WENT TO THAT MP, THOUGH ’S THE TOUCHG OF NAKED REALY PART I REMEMBER MOST FONDLY.)VANRBILT OWNED MANY VEHICL DURG HIS FORHORTENED LIFE, BUT ONLY ONE IS STILL THE TATE’S AMAZG LLECTN. IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE LAST R G.V. PURCHASED BEFORE PASSG AWAY 1914, AND ’S CURRENTLY BEG READIED FOR DISPLAY ON-SE, WHICH IS WHY I POPPED BY BILTMORE THE FIRST PLACE. “WE’RE APPROACHG AS AN ARTIFACT,” NANCY ROSEBROCK, THE TATE’S MANAGER OF NSERVATN AND LLECTNS, TOLD ME AS SHE WALKED ME AROUND THE ENORMO VEHICLE, “SO OUR GOAL IS TO RPECT THE STORY BEHD THE OBJECT.” TO THIS END, SHE’S GOG AT THE TOMOBILE MUCH LIKE SHE WOULD ANY OF THE OTHER OBJETS SHE SHEPHERDS: APPOTG EXPERTS OM HER STAFF TO ANALYZE, STABILIZE, CLEAN, AND TREAT THE VEHICLE’S VAR MATERIALS (LEATHER, METAL, TEXTIL, AND WOOD) WHILE MATAG S HISTORY, STEAD OF TRYG TO MAKE LOOK BRAND NEW.SO WHAT DID THE SCN OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S WEALTHIT FAI DRIVE AROUND HIS MOST UNTRY PLACE? A HANDSOME (AND HUGE) SEVEN-PASSENGER 1913 STEVENS-DURYEA MOL C6 TOURG. ORIGALLY GRAY, THE R WAS REPATED WHE SHORTLY AFTER GEE’S ATH, AND NOW HAS A GEO PKISH PATA, WHICH SUED ME JT FE. LIKE EVERYTHG ELSE AT BILTMORE, HAS QUE THE PEDIGREE. IT WAS MANUFACTURED BY THE PANY RPONSIBLE FOR CREATG THE FIRST GASOLE-POWERED TOMOBILE AMERI, BACK 1893, AND FOR WNG THE FIRST AMERIN R RACE, 1895. IT HAD AS S BRAND MOTTO “THERE IS NO BETTER MOTOR CAR.” AND ST MORE THAN $5,000 WHEN NEW, WHICH IS ROUGHLY $111,000 NTEMPORARY GREENBACKS, OR ABOUT THE CURRENT PRICE OF THIS FAB MASERATI QUATTROPORTE I’M ALWAYS GOG ON ABOUT.THE STEVENS-DURYEA WILL BE ON DISPLAY TO THE PUBLIC STARTG MAY 20 THE TATE’S NEW ANTLER HILL VILLAGE, BUT FIRST THE ON-SE TEAM HAS TO FISH SPCG UP. THEIR BIGGT CHALLENGE? “SIZE,” NANCY ROSEBROCK TOLD ME. “WHEN WE NSERVE OBJECTS, WE’RE UALLY WORKG SMALL, WH SWABS AND Q-TIPS. WHEN WE NSERVED A BEDROOM SUE RECENTLY, WE WENT THROUGH ABOUT 40,000 SWABS. SO WHO KNOWS HOW MANY THIS WILL TAKE!” MY BIGGT AREA OF TERT? THE THREE LOCKED PARTMENTS SI THE VEHICLE FOR WHICH BILTMORE NSERVATORS ARE CURRENTLY CREATG KEYS. THOUGH LIKELY TO YIELD NOTHG BUT AN AL CAPONE’S VLT MOMENT, THERE’S ALWAYS THE CHANCE THAT THERE WILL BE SOME SPECIAL TREASURE—GOLD BRICKS, A LOST RENOIR, A NEW WILL—STUFFED SI. I LLED DIBS ON WHATEVER THEY FD THE TNK. THEN AGA, I ALSO LLED SHOTGUN ON THE FIRST RI, AND THAT DIDN’T GET ME VERY FAR. “THERE’S APPARENTLY SOMETHG TASTROPHILLY WRONG WH THE ENGE,” ROSEBROCK SAID, “SO OUR TENTN IS NOT TO MAKE N.” PL, SHE ADD, “IF SOMEONE SAT ON THAT [PASSENGER] SEAT, WOULD CMBLE.”PHOTOS URTY OF THE BILTMORE ESTATE.BRETT BERK WR GAILY ABOUT CULTURE, POLICS, AND RS FOR , AND IS THE THOR OF THE GAY UNCLE’S GUI TO PARENTG. VIS HIM AT OR FOLLOW HIM ON TWTER.MOST POPULARTE CRIME, TE FAH: THE SERIAL KILLER AND THE TEXAS MOM WHO STOPPED HIMBY JULIE MILLERRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHTHE ELVIS PRLEY WE DIDN’T SEE ELVISBY KATEY RICHBRETT BERK

In an era before gay marriage or open pri, ary men fell love, formed passnate iendships and had same-sex enunters.

But the se of one of the ary’s foundg hero, homosexualy was always part of the story.

Historians also thk he was homosexual—and served as an openly gay man the ary at a time when sex between men was punished as a crime. He also downplayed mors that the baron had been dismissed om the Pssian ary for homosexualy. But he was gay, and homosexualy was viewed as a crimal aberratn by many of his peers.

IS THERE PROOF THAT GEE VANRBILT WAS GAY?

”After the war, von Stben legally adopted both men—a mon practice among gay men an age before same-sex marriage was legal. John Mulligan, who was also gay, served as von Stben’s secretary and is thought to have had a relatnship wh the baron. Durg von Stben’s lifetime, the ncept of gay marriage, gay pri or g out was unthkable and there was no language or open culture of homosexualy.

But historil homosexual relatnships were actually don’t mean beg gay was ndoned: Sodomy was a crime lonial Ameri.

Much as sortg out which royals might have been gay the past is challengg, so is wh the Vanrbilts. Is that the same as sayg he was gay?

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WAS GEE WASHGTON GAY? CONSIR THE EVINCE

THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY

IS THERE PROOF THAT GEE VANRBILT WAS GAY?