Lillian (Newlin) Van Rensselaer (1882-1956)

She grew up in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and was a grand-daughter of Robert Newlin who founded what was then Philadelphia's largest brewery. In 1930, she married Peyton Jaudon Van Rensselaer, who was a childless widower 22-years her senior. He died the following year on the steamship that was bringing them back from their honeymoon in Europe. In the same year (1931), she came to Newport where she owned "The Playhouse" on Ocean Avenue and "The Hedges" on Bellevue Avenue. She later bought Seaverge that she attempted to develop with her sister, Edith. In 1950, Lillian made national headlines when she sought court action against Timmy 'The Wood-Hooker' Sullivan and his sister for leaving wood piles that she claimed blocked her access to "The Hedges". She never remarried and died without children, survived by two sisters.