My mother was Madeline Harding, from Chicago, IL, the daughter of George F. Harding, Sr., heir of a large family fortune that grew out of the fact that his father Abner Clark Harding, had built the first railroad in Illinois. Abner Clark had been a general on the Union side in the Civil War and was the hero of Fort Donelson which he held against all comers throughout the war. Unfortunately, the eldest son was not a paragon of virtue, but as was the custom in some quarters, maintained a mistress with a separate household. He was also a political "boss" of the slum-side of Chicago and the slum landlord of the area. My grandmother Harding promptly sued him for divorce in a famous case that went all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States where she "won" after 20-some years, but it was a Pyrrhic victory as it took its toll on the innocent children.* But my mother did end up wwith quite a bit of valuable Illinois Bell Telephone stock which she cashed in and spent on my very spoiled Dad and us equally spoiled kids, spending very little on herself.
General Bruce Palmer