Evelene Brodstone
Encyclopedia
Evelene Brodstone, later Evelyn Vestey, Lady Vestey (August 1, 1875 – May 23, 1941) was one of the highest paid woman executives of the 1920s. Beginning as a stenographer for the Vestey Cold Storage Company in Chicago, Illinois, she rose through the ranks to become the chief auditor and troubleshooter for Vestey Brothers
. In 1924, she married William Vestey, 1st Baron Vestey
.
, to Norwegian
immigrant parents Hans and Mathilde Emelie Brodstone. She had one sibling, her brother Lewis, who was three years older.
The family moved to Superior, Nebraska
when Brodstone was three years old. Two years later, Hans Brodstone died, leaving Mathilde Brodstone to raise two small children. The family lived on a farm, and Brodstone's early and high school education was conducted in a one-room log cabin where students would attend barefoot.
Brodstone was a superb student, excelling at mathematics
and working hard throughout the summer months on her schooling. Her childhood was filled with square dancing, swimming and fishing at a local millrace. She was also an avid cyclist, having won her first bicycle as a prize from the Western Pearl Baking Powder Company of Chicago
. Friends described her as independent and strong-willed. She graduated from high school at the age of 14.
Upon graduation, Brodstone enrolled in Elliott's Business College in Burlington, Iowa
. After completing courses in stenography and accounting, she returned to Superior and worked for the Guthrie Brothers and at Henningsen Produce Company. She later returned to Elliot's Business College to take more courses.
; it had been founded at his father's behest by William Vestey
in 1876, and had been run by his brother Edmund Vestey
since 1882. Brodstone's competence and demeanor impressed Edmund Vestey, who made her his personal stenographer and raised her pay to $20 a week.
Brodstone rose rapidly through the ranks of the growing company, becoming auditor, then manager of Vestey Brothers' American branch, and finally travelling auditor for the entire Vestey firm, at an annual salary of $250,000. Her work took her to the interior of China; to the upper Orinoco River in Venezuela
; to Russia, where her hotel was dynamited, killing all within, while she was visiting the Vestey plant; to Australia, where she purchased 6000000 acres (2,428,116 ha) for the company; and to many other parts of the world. When the manager of a Vestey plant in South Africa absconded with the company's funds, Brodstone followed him halfway around the world before catching him.
The Blue Star Line was originally founded by the Vestey family; at the time of World War I
, its twelve vessels all had names starting with "Brod-" after Brodstone, e.g. Brodholme, Brodland, Brodlea.
Lady Vestey retained her close connection to Superior, where her mother and brother lived until their deaths in 1924 and 1936 respectively. With Lewis Brodstone, she gave the city land and funds for a hospital in memory of their mother; the text of the dedicatory plaque was written by Willa Cather
, who had known the Brodstones during her youth in Red Cloud, Nebraska
. After Lewis's death, she gave Superior two blocks as a bird sanctuary and children's park in his memory. She sent Christmas gifts to the school children of the city, and contributed a large collection of relics of her early life, of her travels, and of her time in England to the Superior museum.
Lord Vestey died in 1940. On May 23, 1941, Lady Vestey died during a Nazi bombing raid. Her ashes were sent to Superior for interment, making her the only member of the British nobility who is buried in Nebraska.
weekend. The city bills itself as the "Victorian Capital of Nebraska".
Vestey Group
The Vestey Group is a privately owned UK group of companies, comprising an international food product business and significant cattle ranching and sugar cane farming interests in Brazil and Venezuela.-Business origins:William...
. In 1924, she married William Vestey, 1st Baron Vestey
William Vestey, 1st Baron Vestey
William Vestey, 1st Baron Vestey Bt was an English shipping magnate.William Vestey came from an old Liverpool family of traders. In 1876, at the age of seventeen, he was sent to Chicago by his father Samuel Vestey, a provisioner of Liverpool.William first managed a meat canning factory that was...
.
Beginnings
Evelene Brodstone was born on August 1, 1875 in Monroe, WisconsinMonroe, Wisconsin
Monroe, known as "the Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA", is a city in and the county seat of Green County, Wisconsin, United States. The population, was 10,843 at the 2000 census. The city is located partially within the Town of Monroe and partially in the Town of Clarno.-Geography:Monroe is located...
, to Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
immigrant parents Hans and Mathilde Emelie Brodstone. She had one sibling, her brother Lewis, who was three years older.
The family moved to Superior, Nebraska
Superior, Nebraska
Superior is a city in Nuckolls County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,957.Superior bills itself as the "Victorian Capital of Nebraska", and holds an annual Victorian Festival...
when Brodstone was three years old. Two years later, Hans Brodstone died, leaving Mathilde Brodstone to raise two small children. The family lived on a farm, and Brodstone's early and high school education was conducted in a one-room log cabin where students would attend barefoot.
Brodstone was a superb student, excelling at mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and working hard throughout the summer months on her schooling. Her childhood was filled with square dancing, swimming and fishing at a local millrace. She was also an avid cyclist, having won her first bicycle as a prize from the Western Pearl Baking Powder Company of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Friends described her as independent and strong-willed. She graduated from high school at the age of 14.
Upon graduation, Brodstone enrolled in Elliott's Business College in Burlington, Iowa
Burlington, Iowa
Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,663 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in the 2000 census. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington, Iowa and Middletown, Iowa and...
. After completing courses in stenography and accounting, she returned to Superior and worked for the Guthrie Brothers and at Henningsen Produce Company. She later returned to Elliot's Business College to take more courses.
Vestey Brothers
In 1895, Brodstone moved to Chicago in search of work. There, she obtained a job as a stenographer with the Vestey Cold Storage Company, earning $12 a week. The company was owned by the Vestey Brothers of LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
; it had been founded at his father's behest by William Vestey
William Vestey, 1st Baron Vestey
William Vestey, 1st Baron Vestey Bt was an English shipping magnate.William Vestey came from an old Liverpool family of traders. In 1876, at the age of seventeen, he was sent to Chicago by his father Samuel Vestey, a provisioner of Liverpool.William first managed a meat canning factory that was...
in 1876, and had been run by his brother Edmund Vestey
Sir Edmund Vestey, 1st Baronet
Sir Edmund Hoyle Vestey, 1st Baronet was an English food producer and importer and shipowner, co-founder of Vestey Brothers....
since 1882. Brodstone's competence and demeanor impressed Edmund Vestey, who made her his personal stenographer and raised her pay to $20 a week.
Brodstone rose rapidly through the ranks of the growing company, becoming auditor, then manager of Vestey Brothers' American branch, and finally travelling auditor for the entire Vestey firm, at an annual salary of $250,000. Her work took her to the interior of China; to the upper Orinoco River in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
; to Russia, where her hotel was dynamited, killing all within, while she was visiting the Vestey plant; to Australia, where she purchased 6000000 acres (2,428,116 ha) for the company; and to many other parts of the world. When the manager of a Vestey plant in South Africa absconded with the company's funds, Brodstone followed him halfway around the world before catching him.
The Blue Star Line was originally founded by the Vestey family; at the time of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, its twelve vessels all had names starting with "Brod-" after Brodstone, e.g. Brodholme, Brodland, Brodlea.
Lady Vestey
In 1922, William Vestey was elevated to the peerage, as the first Baron Vestey. In 1923, his wife died; a year later, Lord Vestey married Brodstone, who at his behest changed her given name to "Evelyn".Lady Vestey retained her close connection to Superior, where her mother and brother lived until their deaths in 1924 and 1936 respectively. With Lewis Brodstone, she gave the city land and funds for a hospital in memory of their mother; the text of the dedicatory plaque was written by Willa Cather
Willa Cather
Willa Seibert Cather was an American author who achieved recognition for her novels of frontier life on the Great Plains, in works such as O Pioneers!, My Ántonia, and The Song of the Lark. In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours , a novel set during World War I...
, who had known the Brodstones during her youth in Red Cloud, Nebraska
Red Cloud, Nebraska
Red Cloud is a city in and the county seat of Webster County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,131 at the 2000 census.-History:The region of present-day Red Cloud was intermittently occupied and used as hunting grounds by the Pawnees until 1833. In that year, a treaty was signed in...
. After Lewis's death, she gave Superior two blocks as a bird sanctuary and children's park in his memory. She sent Christmas gifts to the school children of the city, and contributed a large collection of relics of her early life, of her travels, and of her time in England to the Superior museum.
Lord Vestey died in 1940. On May 23, 1941, Lady Vestey died during a Nazi bombing raid. Her ashes were sent to Superior for interment, making her the only member of the British nobility who is buried in Nebraska.
Legacy
In honor of Lady Vestey, Superior holds an annual Victorian Festival every Memorial DayMemorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
weekend. The city bills itself as the "Victorian Capital of Nebraska".