 His maternal grandparents were Edward Neufville Tailer, a prominent merchant and banker, and Agnes Suffern (the daughter of Thomas Suffern, an Irish immigrant who made a fortune importing Irish linens).His aunt, Agnes Suffern Tailer Burnett, was the wife of U.S. Attorney Henry Lawrence Burnett.Another aunt, Mary Tailer Livingston, was the mother of New York Assemblyman Robert Reginald Livingston, a descendant of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston.