débutantes

Miss Florence Emily Gilbert (b.1896) and Miss Kathryn (Kitty) Bache (1896–1979), performed in the suffrage opera, "Melinda and Her Sisters", by Mrs. O.H.P. (Alva) Belmont (1853-1933) and Miss Elsa Maxwell (1883-1963), in which society appeared to satirize society.

Miss Gilbert performed in "Love Letters" and "The Castle Dancers", and Miss Bache performed in "Love Letters", Sporting Sister", "Hello Song" and "Suffrage Parade".

The opera was performed February 18, 1916, in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Miss Florence Gilbert, a débutante daughter of Mrs. Cyril (Lilla Brokaw) Dugmore (1870-1939), and her first husband, the late Harry Bramhall Gilbert (1861-1911), was introduced to society in January, 1916, at a tea and dance for 1,000 at Sherry's. She married Sergeant Russell Evans Tucker, Jr., O.R.C. in 1918. As an aside, Florence Gilbert was a bridesmaid and Russell Tucker, Jr., an usher, at the wedding of Mary Duke and Anthony Biddle in July, 1915. There was no word on who caught the bouquet ;)

Miss Kathryn (Kitty) Bache [note correct spelling of first name], the débutante daughter of the Wall Street financier Jules Bache (1861-1944), was introduced to society in January, 1914, at a dance at Sherry's. She married the theatre producer, Gilbert Miller (1884-1969), in Paris, France, in 1927.

She was a supporter of American theatre who in 1941 helped found the New York branch of the Escholier Club. Columbia University's Kathryn Bache Miller Theatre was named in her honor. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]


 
There is another photograph of Florence Gilbert, and an illustration of Kathryn Bache in the Bain Collection on Flickr:

                             
                    Miss Florence Emily Gilbert                Miss Kathryn (Kitty) Bache
 

See also:

Thanks for the information and for connecting this photo with the probable context of the suffrage opera. We can add to the description when we next update it.

This photo ran in the Sunday (Portland) Oregonian on July 23, 1916 with the caption: "Florence Gilbert, daughter of Mrs. Dugmore, and Kathryn K. Bache, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jules Bache, are two of the society girls who will have parts in the suffrage play written by Mrs. Belmont." oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83045782/1916-07-23/ed-1/se...

Edith T. Gracie (Edith Temple Gracie) (1894-1918) the only daughter of Colonel Archibald Gracie IV (1858-1912), and Mrs. Constance Elise Gracie (née Schack) (1852-1937) was a survivor of the Titanic disaster in 1912 along with her mother and father.   One of her ancestors built Gracie Mansion which would later become the official residence of the mayor of New York City in 1942.

She was introduced to society in 1912, and in December 1917, married Captain Dunbar Adams (Dunbar Burchell Adams) (1891-1928), son of Mr. John Dunbar Adams (1849-1934) and Mrs. Susan Burchell Adams (1867-1937).

Edith died of pneumonia Dec 31, 1918, after being married one year. Her husband was in the service in France and unaware of her death. She was 24 years old. Her husband, Dunbar, died of pneumonia at the age of 37.
– Compiled [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]


There are 4 other photographs of Miss Edith T. A. Gracie in the Harris & Ewing Collection at the Library of Congress. So far I haven't found a reference to the initial "A", in the caption of "Edith T. A. Gracie".

A photograph of Dunbar Adams, c.1910, with Beatrice Woerz is in the Library of Congress Collection on Flickr. "Beatrice Woerz with Dunbar Adams c.1910"

After Colonel Archibald Gracie’s rescue from the sinking of the Titanic, by the SS Carpathia, he recognized that he had been an eyewitness to a major historical event, and began to immediately record the events of the sinking while still aboard the Carpathia, and at countless inquiries in the months following. He was not in a lifeboat with the "women and children", but later jumped into the Atlantic with a life preserver. He reportedly was haunted by the ordeal for the rest of his life. After his death, his completed manuscript "The Truth about the Titanic," was published, later republished as, "Titanic, A Survivor's Story." [1] [2] [3]

Edith Temple Gracie Adams, I think they swapped her maiden name and her married name.

According to information posted on Long Island Genealogy, The New York Times article "Titanic Survivor Dies", of January 2, 1919, reporting Edith Gracie and her mother as Titanic survivors is incorrect, "Col. Gracie was the only member of the Gracie family who was on the ship." From looking at additional attributed source material on that site, as well as a look at the Encyclopedia Titanica it appears that the Times was in error.

Miss Madge Raymond Lesher, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Lesher of Park Avenue, New York City, was introduced to society in 1915. A member of the Junior League, she was active in war relief work. She married Lieutenant Charles Singleton Bartow, Jr., U.S.N., also of New York City, on October 16, 1920. Mr. Bartow was a 1916 graduate of Columbia University. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]   Photograph by Aimé Dupont (Etta Greer Dupont), The "Photographer for Smart Society", New York. [6]  

Thanks so much for this detailed research. We'll add some of the information to the record the next time we update.