(c) 2014 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Delia Macomber Field

Buffalo, 1853 - 1937, Beverly

BiographyHeiress, Philanthropist, Socialite. Delia Spencer married Arthur Caton in 1876. Arthur has been described as a Chicago lawyer, sportsman and clubman. The son of one of Illinois’ first state Supreme Court justices, Arthur studied and practiced law. Having inherited his father’s huge estate in Ottawa, Illinois, Arthur’s love for golf, as well as breeding horses and dogs, overcame any obsession he might have had for poring over statutes and dealing with demanding clients. That he was known as a “clubman” might suggest that he may have spent more than a few long nights at the Chicago Club toasting to his fortune. Arthur died in 1904 and After the death of Marshall Field's first wife Nannie in 1896, Field married longtime friend Delia Spencer Caton in 1905. The marriage license acquired in London in 1905 indicated that Delia was 46 years old, 24 years younger than her 70-year-old fiancé. The pair married at St. Margaret’s Church in Westminster Abbey. The ceremony was quiet, and attended only by a few friends. The newlyweds’ happiness was short-lived. Marshall Field died in 1906. He was playing golf in a foursome that included his nephew, his secretary, and Robert Todd Lincoln and shortly after succumbed to pneumonia. It is said that the shooting death of his son, Marshall Field, Jr., allegedly at the fabled Everleigh Club brothel, also contributed to his demise. Field’s estate was valued at $65 million. After bequests to his daughter, grandchildren and the Field Columbian Museum, Delia was to receive a tax-exempt $1 million, as well as the Field mansion on Prairie Avenue. Lest it be interpreted that this comparatively small portion of her husband’s estate would leave her wanting, Delia also inherited from her husband and father-in-law’s substantial estates. Unexpectedly single, Delia was free to pursue her own joys. She left Chicago, and purchased an Italianate mansion in Washington, D.C. that came to be known as the Pink Palace. There, she hosted one of the earlier salons of the Nation’s Capital, taking her flair for entertaining to even higher social levels. Delia was not just any well-bred, wealthy lady of her time. She had lived long and well. She had endured what was likely an empty marriage, with her entertainments being her greatest joy. When she finally married the man who had adored her for years, she became his widow within months. Delia died in 1937. [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22576194/delia-macomber-field DJackson 6/3/2021]

Further bio: https://www.classicchicagomagazine.com/the-second-mrs-field-the-fabulous-delia-caton/ [DJackson 6/3/2021]

Person TypeIndividual

Last Updated5/8/24

Terms