Marriage of Edward and Peaches Browning

Uncommon card · No. 176702

Real estate multimillionaire and magnate Edward W. "Daddy" Browning married Textile High School student Frances Heenan “Peaches” Browning in Westchester County, New York, on April 10, 1926. Edward was 51 and Frances was 15. The marriage, according to University of Northern Colorado historian Nicholas L. Syrett, "redefined the terms by which many Americans (and indeed international observers) understood child marriage". Following the publicization of the event, Frances suffered an acid attack by an unidentified attacker. Edward, who would be worth about $300 million if adjusted for 2012, bought her multiple lavish gifts, including 179 coats, 60 dresses and an African goose. They went to live at Edward's residence in Kew Gardens. Frances returned to the house of her mother, who had earlier approved the marriage, in October. She later separated from Edward without a divorce. Frances died from a domestic accident in 1956. She was described by the New York Times as a "symbol of the Twenties...

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