Marshall Field Married the Widow Next Door. 4 Months Later He and His Only Son Were Both Dead

Hey guys! We're now on Spotify 🎧 Join us here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cvs0yj... For 30 years, Marshall Field was the richest merchant in America, and the woman he loved lived a few doors down Prairie Avenue, married to another man. In 1904 her husband died. On September 5, 1905 she married Field at last, quietly, in London. 11 weeks later his only son was shot dead at 38, and on January 16, 1906 Field himself was dead of pneumonia, barely 4 months into the marriage. His fortune, reported at more than $120 million, passed straight over his new wife to two schoolboys, leaving Delia, as Chicago put it, cut off with a million. And one strange line in the will set aside another million for whatever man she married next. Subscribe to the channel: @velvetsociety-s7l In this video, we tell the full life of Delia Spencer Caton Field, including the thirty-year open secret of Prairie Avenue, the tunnel Chicago swore ran between their two houses, the mysterious shooting of Marshall Field Jr and the Everleigh Club rumor, the New Year's Day golf game that killed the richest man in America, the will that cut his widow off with a million, the codicil written for her next husband, and the pink palace in Washington where she outlived them all. 🔔 Subscribe so the next Gilded Age story finds you. 💬 Comment where you're watching from and tell me how you read that codicil, a devoted man's last kindness or a jealous one's last joke. 📢 Share this on Facebook, Reddit or a group chat with anyone who loves the true stories behind the great American fortunes. You are the reason this channel exists. Chapters: 00:00 Opening 01:13 The Widow Everyone Already Knew. 08:52 The Girl From The Hardware Money. 24:52 The Best Kept Open Secret. 32:43 The Tunnel That Never Was. 40:25 Waiting For The Dead To Make Way. 48:16 A Quiet Wedding In London. 55:58 The Son At Nineteen Nineteen Prairie Avenue. 1:04:06 The Rumor That Would Not Die. 1:19:42 Cut Off With A Million. 1:27:40 Because He'll Need It. 1:35:19 The Pink Palace. Sources: The Second Mrs. Field: The Fabulous Delia Caton (Classic Chicago Magazine) https://classicchicagomagazine.com/th... The Mysterious Death of Marshall Field, Jr. (Classic Chicago Magazine) https://classicchicagomagazine.com/th... Marshall Field, the Legacy (Classic Chicago Magazine) https://classicchicagomagazine.com/ma... Delia Spencer Field (American Aristocracy) https://americanaristocracy.com/peopl... The Pink Palace (American Aristocracy) https://americanaristocracy.com/house... Marshall Field (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshal... Marshall Field Jr. (Find a Grave) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7... DISCLAIMER: This video is based on real historical events and figures, drawn from the sources listed above alongside primary archives, biographies, court records, period press, and leading historical scholarship. While every video is heavily researched, occasional minor inaccuracies in dates, quotes, or specific details may occur — historical sources sometimes disagree, and interpretation is sometimes required where the historical record is silent. Any errors are unintentional. #MarshallField #DeliaCaton #GildedAge #GildedAgeChicago #PrairieAvenue #ChicagoHistory #Chicago #VelvetSociety #History #Documentary #AmericanHistory #Heiress #HighSociety #EverleighClub #MarshallFieldJr #RobertToddLincoln #PinkPalace #WashingtonDC #Edwardian #TrueStory