Study of the Hegemony of Parasitism - michaeljgoodnight.com

looking for a rich husband -- they began a relationship
which lasted for years. Donovan also courted Blanche
Lopez, of a wealthy tobacco family, who lived in
Rumson, N.J. He then returned to Buffalo (New York),
where he opened a law practice. He met Ruth Rumsey,
and abruptly dropped Blanche Lopez, never contacting
her again.
Ruth Rumsey was heiress of one of the richest families
in America. Her father, Dexter Rumsey, and her uncle
Bronson owned 22 of Bufflao's 43 square miles. In 1890,
Dexter Rumsey was worth $10 million. His wife was a
member of the wealthy Hazard family of Rhode Island,
who had owned one thousand slaves, and were the
largest slave owners in America. The Rumseys were
Masters of the Genesee Valley Hunt, the most exclusive
hunt club in the U.S. Dexter Rumsey died in 1906,
leaving his son and daughter 12 1/2% each of his fortune
in trust.
Bill Donovan's courtship of Ruth Rumsey was
complicated by the reappearance in Buffalo of Eleanor
Robson, now Mrs. August Belmont. She turned up at the
Studio Club, an acting group run by Katharine Cornell's
father, where Donovan had the juvenile lead. La Robson
requested that Donovan come to her suite in New York
each weekend for "drama lessons". Donovan then took
the long train ride to New York City each weekend,
causing considerable gossip in Buffalo, where he was
already widely known for his philandering. Nevertheless,
Ruth Rumsey had determined to marry him, probably