Most people encounter the name Adelaide Breevort Close while looking up someone else entirely — her famous mother, her actress half-sister, or a well-known niece. She was not a public celebrity herself. But her name shows up consistently across genealogy databases, estate histories, and family records tied to some of the most recognized names in American social history.
This article covers who Adelaide was, her confirmed biographical details, and why her name appears under several different surnames in historical records. It also explains her connections to Marjorie Merriweather Post, Dina Merrill, William T. Close, and actress Glenn Close — and how her branch of the family still touches institutions like Hillwood Museum today.
Who Adelaide Breevort Close Was
Adelaide Breevort Close was born on July 26 or 27, 1908 — sources differ slightly on the exact date — in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut. She died on December 31, 1998, in or near Woodbine in Carroll County, Maryland. She was 90 years old.
Genealogical records list her under several names: Adelaide Breevort Close, Adelaide Brevoort Hutton, and Adelaide Brevoort Close Riggs. The spelling of her middle name also varies slightly — Breevort in some records, Brevoort in others. These are minor inconsistencies common in older genealogical data, not separate individuals.
Adelaide was not a public figure in the traditional sense. Most of what is confirmed about her comes from obituaries, genealogy platforms like Geni and Ancestry, and historical estate records. That context matters when reading about her — the details are real but limited.
Her Parents: Edward Bennett Close and Marjorie Merriweather Post
Adelaide’s father was Edward Bennett Close, a New York attorney and businessman. Her mother was Marjorie Merriweather Post — one of the most prominent American socialites and philanthropists of the 20th century.
Marjorie was the daughter of C. W. Post, the founder of Post Cereals. She inherited that fortune and went on to play a major role in building General Foods Inc., which grew into one of the largest food companies in the United States. She was also known for her extraordinary real estate holdings, art collecting, and philanthropic work.
Adelaide was the eldest child of the marriage between Edward Close and Marjorie Post. She grew up surrounded by significant inherited wealth. That included time spent at Hillwood, her mother’s celebrated estate in Brookville, on Long Island’s North Shore. It was a world of grand houses and high social standing, though Adelaide herself would later choose a quieter life.
Her Siblings and the Famous Names in Her Family Tree
Understanding Adelaide’s place in the family tree requires knowing who her siblings and half-siblings were. This is the main reason most people search for her.
Her Full Sister
Eleanor Post Close, also known later as Eleanor Post Hutton, was Adelaide’s full sister. Like Adelaide, she was a daughter of both Edward Bennett Close and Marjorie Merriweather Post. A photograph from 1915, now held in Wikimedia Commons, shows the two sisters together, captioned as daughters of Edward B. Close and Marjorie Merriweather Post.
Her Half-Sister: Dina Merrill
After Marjorie divorced Edward Close, she married financier E. F. Hutton. Their daughter was Nedenia Marjorie Hutton, who became known publicly as actress Dina Merrill. Dina appeared in films and television over several decades and was also known for her philanthropy. She was Adelaide’s half-sister through their shared mother.
Her Half-Brother: William T. Close — and the Glenn Close Connection
This is the connection that most surprises casual readers. Dr. William T. Close was also a half-brother to Adelaide, though from her father Edward Bennett Close’s side of the family. William became a physician and author, widely respected for his humanitarian medical work in Zaire during the 1970s.
Dr. William T. Close was the father of actress Glenn Close. That makes Adelaide a half-aunt to Glenn Close through their family connection. This is why Adelaide’s name appears on genealogy trees attached to the actress — she sits just one generation back in that extended family line.
Adelaide also had a half-brother named Edward Bennett Close Jr. from her father’s side.
Why Her Name Appears Under Three Different Surnames
One of the most common points of confusion for anyone researching Adelaide is the multiple surnames attached to her in different records. Here is a straightforward explanation of how that happened.
She was born Adelaide Breevort Close, carrying her father’s surname. When her mother later married E. F. Hutton, Adelaide adopted the Hutton name socially — a common practice at the time within blended families of that social class. By the time she married Thomas Wells Durant around 1927, she was recorded as Adelaide Brevoort Hutton.
Later in life, she married Augustus Riggs, and records from that period list her as Adelaide Close Riggs or Adelaide Brevoort Riggs. She is buried beside Augustus Riggs at Oak Grove cemetery, according to Find a Grave records.
Think of it this way: three surnames across a long life, each attached to a different chapter — birth family, stepfather’s household, and marriage. The same person throughout.
Life Beyond the Family Name: Horses, Farming, and Maryland
While her mother Marjorie was known for high-profile social events, grand estates, and Washington D.C. philanthropy, Adelaide followed a different path. She settled into a rural life in Maryland centered on land, horses, and farming.
Her obituary describes her as “one of the great supporters of Maryland’s thoroughbred horse breeding and racing industry.” She reportedly rode horses until she was 77 years old. She lived on a property called Happy Retreat, a 540-acre farm located near Daisy, West Friendship, and Lisbon in Howard County, Maryland.
That lifestyle — quiet, land-based, equestrian — stood in contrast to the glamour most people associate with the Post family name. It reflects how children of famous and wealthy parents sometimes build lives that look very different from those of their parents.
The Hillwood Connection and Her Residence at LIU Post
Adelaide’s ties to grand estates did not disappear entirely. Her early life was shaped by her mother’s Hillwood property in Brookville, New York. Around 1928, a residence was built next to Hillwood specifically for Adelaide — then known as Adelaide Brevoort Hutton.
That house still stands today. It is now part of Long Island University’s Post campus (LIU Post) and serves as the university’s admissions office. Visitors to the campus who learn its history discover that a building now processing student applications was once a private family home built for a daughter of Marjorie Merriweather Post.
It is a small but tangible piece of how private wealth from that era transitioned into public and institutional use over the decades.
Her Children and the Ongoing Hillwood Legacy
Adelaide had three daughters: Marjorie Durant Waller, Ellen MacNeille Charles, and Melissa MacNeille Cantacuzene. These names appear consistently across her obituary and genealogical sources.
Of her children, Ellen MacNeille Charles is the most publicly noted. She has been involved with Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens in Washington, D.C. — the property her grandmother Marjorie Merriweather Post donated to become a public museum. Ellen has served in a leadership role with Hillwood’s foundation, helping to carry forward the preservation of her grandmother’s legacy.
That connection matters. Adelaide herself may not have pursued public recognition, but through her daughter, her branch of the family has remained part of the ongoing story of one of Washington’s most visited historic house museums.
For anyone researching American family philanthropy or the history of Hillwood, resources like First Business Point offer useful context on how family legacies intersect with institutions.
Why Limited Information Exists About Her
It is worth being clear about something: detailed personal information about Adelaide is genuinely scarce. Unlike her mother Marjorie or her half-sister Dina Merrill, Adelaide did not have a public career that generated news coverage, interviews, or biographies.
What exists comes from genealogy platforms, estate histories, and a small number of obituary references. That is enough to build an accurate picture of who she was and where she fits in American family history — but not enough to claim more than the records support.
She was a private person who happened to be born into one of the most prominent families in 20th-century America. That context makes her name appear on many family trees, even if her own story stayed largely out of the spotlight.
A Quiet Life Within a Famous Family
Adelaide Breevort Close lived for 90 years, from a wealthy Connecticut household in 1908 to a working farm in Maryland at the end of the century. She was a daughter of Marjorie Merriweather Post, a full sister to Eleanor Post Close, a half-sister to Dina Merrill and William T. Close, and
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