Last American Duel: Edith Sibyl May

One of the last duels fought on American soil occurred in 1877. The subject was Ms. Edith May Randolph, who would become financier J.P. Morgan’s mistress. Let’s learn more about this woman, potentially the real-life woman behind the Gilded Age’s Susan Blane, whom all of Gilded Age Newport/Bar Harbor was warned to avoid.

Born in 1854, Edith Sibyl May came from a highly respected Baltimore and Washington D.C. family. Her father, Dr. John Frederick May, served as President Lincoln’s doctor at his death in 1865 and performed the autopsy on John Wilkes Booth.

Sources:

New England Historical Society, "William Whitney swaps a mistress", https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/william-whitney-swaps-a-mistress-with-j-p-morgan/

House Histree, "Hermann Oelrichs", https://househistree.com/people/hermann-oelrichs-1850-1906

House Histress, "Gordon Bennett", https://househistree.com/people/james-gordon-bennett-jr

Find a Grave, "Dr John Frederick May", https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37193740/john_frederick_may

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