The Nicholas Bruen Collection of Gwendolen Armstrong Rives Correspondence contains a single letter written by Gwendolen Armstrong Rives to Mimi and Edward, the parents of Nicholas Bruen.
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Title of item, PSNCA.H.059: Nicholas Bruen Collection of Gwendolen Armstrong Rives correspondence, Box #, Folder #, Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport, R.I.
The Nicholas Bruen Collection of Gwendolen Armstrong Rives Correspondence is organized at the folder level as a single folder.
Gwendolen Ella Rives Armstrong was born on September 7th, 1911. She graduated from the Nightingale-Bamford School in Manhattan and was a member of the Manhattan Junior League (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-miss-armstrong-enga/151630384/). She was the third child and only daughter of Edward Maitland Armstrong (1874-1915) and Gwendolen King Armstrong (1876-1901). Her maternal grandparents were David King Jr. (1839-1894) and Ella Louise Rives (1851-1925). Through her maternal grandmother, Ella Louise Rives, she and her brothers, David King Maitland Armstrong (1903-1967) and Edward Maitland Armstrong Jr. (1905-1961), inherited the property Kingscote in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1925, though their mother was permitted to live there until her death.
On July 9th, 1936, Gwendolen Ella Rives Armstrong married Anthony Anthony Barclay Rives (1909-1964) and became Gwendolen Armstrong Rives. Anthony Barclay Rives was the oldest of George Barclay Rives' (1874-1935) three sons with his second wife, Gisela Antonia Preinerstorfer (1882-1953). Anthony and Gwendolen were second cousins as Anthony's paternal grandfather, George L. Rives (1849-1917) was Ella Rives King's brother.
After their marriage, Anthony Barclay Rives and Gwendolen Armstrong Rives moved to Cobham, Virginia and lived first at the Rives family property, Edgewood, and later at Linden Lane, a horse and pony farm Anthony operated with his brother Alexander. After her husband's death in 1964, Gwendolen Armstrong Rives returned to Newport and moved into Kingscote with her mother, Gwendolen King Armstrong. The two lived together until Gwendolen King Armstrong's death in 1968. Throughout her life, Gwendolen Armstrong Rives traveled extensively, including several trips to Europe and the United Kingdom. She maintained an interest in history, including her family's. Gwendolen Armstrong Rives continued to live at Kingscote until her death in 1972. At the time of her death, she was the sole owner of Kingscote as her brothers predeceased her, and she left the property to the Preservation Society of Newport County.
Nicholas Bruen (1947-2011) was the son of Edward Fielder Livingston Bruen (1913-2004) and Marian Nathalie Stuyvesant Gray Bruen (1912-2000). Marian Nathalie Stuyvesant Gray Bruen was the third cousin of Gwendolen Armstrong Rives.
Marian Nathalie Stuyvesant Gray Bruen was the daugther of Marion Anthon Fish (1880-1944) and Albery Zabriskie Gray (1881-1964). Marion Anthon Fish's parents were Marion Graves Anthon "Mamie" Fish (1853-1915) and Stuyvesant Fish (1851-1923). Stuyvesant Fish's paternal aunt was Margaret Ann Fish (1807-1977), who daughter, Helen Neilson (1845-1927) was married to David Maitland Armstrong (1874-1915). The couple's son, Edward Maitland Armstrong (1874-1915) was the father of Gwendolen Armstrong Rives.
The collection was donated to the Preservation Society of Newport County by Nicholas Bruen on February 14th, 2002.
The Nicholas Bruen Collection of Gwendolen Armstrong Rives Correspondence was processed by archives fellow, Megan O'Connell, on
No accruals to this collection are expected.
This collection is related to the following other collections: