Natica (Rives) Burden (1883-1908)
Mrs Natica Caroline (Belmont/Rives) Burden
She was born in the same year that her parents divorced, just one year after they were married. She was named for her mother's best friend Lady Natica (Yznaga) Lister-Kaye and was a god-daughter of the Mrs Astor. She was brought up entirely by her mother and was formally adopted by her stepfather, George L. Rives, taking his surname. By the time of her marriage she was described in The New York Times as, “a very beautiful girl. She is clever and vivacious, and has been a great belle. In fact, few young women in New York society have been more admired.” She was particularly close to her sister-in-law, Hon. Cynthia Burke Roche, and as a pair they were noted to be, "girls of exceptional charm and vivacity and had few rivals for popularity".
In 1907, she married William P. Burden but died apparently accidentally less than a year later at their marital home at 908 Fifth Avenue: the rubber supply pipe to the gas light she had placed by her bed that allowed her to read at night had become disconnected. Gas was blown almost directly into her face and though a window was slightly open, gas filled the room sufficiently that she died in her sleep. She died without children.
In 1907, she married William P. Burden but died apparently accidentally less than a year later at their marital home at 908 Fifth Avenue: the rubber supply pipe to the gas light she had placed by her bed that allowed her to read at night had become disconnected. Gas was blown almost directly into her face and though a window was slightly open, gas filled the room sufficiently that she died in her sleep. She died without children.
