This is the story of New York’s socialite, Emilie Grigsby and her mansion paid for by an early form of a ‘sugar daddy’ and it tells how millionaires lived in those days. Born and raised as the upper middle class, her family’s financial wealth went into decline and her mother had to resort to unnecessary means to provide for the family.
Her mother was successful in her business and managed to raise a fine young woman. She captivated everyone at high society parties with her knowledge on American and European history. Having a fair complexion, golden reddish hair and a small waist (the 1800s definition of beauty).
The house was right smack in Manhattan, the land of skyscrapers today, but back then there were numerous mansions. The house was 5 stories high, long but not deep and had beautiful interiors that would’ve cost $500,000 in today’s money.
