[2] His elder brother, William Lewis Herndon Arthur, was born in December 1860, named after Ellen's father, and died in July 1863[4][5] from convulsions[2] or swelling of the brain.

"[4] Feeling as if they had "taxed" William's brain with "intellectual demands",[2][6] they pampered their second son, who "led a life that closely resembled that of European royalty.

There, Ellen held musical recitals, dinners and other parties at home to support her husband's professional and political ambitions.

[4] His parents' marriage was not particularly happy; Ellen Arthur had difficulty managing her husband's "late hours and high living".

[1][11] Regarding his father's reaction to his wife's death, "It was said that something graver, softer, kindlier, was observable in the character of her husband, aft the falling of that heavy blow.

[13] Author Annette Atkins theorizes that Chester Alan Arthur II may have developed a "rosebud gathering", or live for the moment attitude about life due to his mother's early death at the age of 42.

[7][nb 2] He was called "the Prince of Washington" for the way he made the most of being the son of the President, such as attending receptions and using the presidential yacht.

[14] While at the College of New Jersey (today's Princeton) during his father's presidency Arthur would take the train to Washington, D.C., and party "into the wee hours".

When Ellen became engaged, she told her brother that he was not losing her and that getting married hadn't altered the extent to which she loved him.

[14][20][21] He was able to travel to every major European city and "enjoy a gentleman's life" due to his inheritance from his father.

"[22] He married wealthy divorcée Myra Townsend Fithian Andrews on May 10, 1900, at the English American Episcopal Church and at a civil ceremony in Vevey, Switzerland.

[3][14][23] While in Europe he enjoyed the company of "female admirers", the cuisine, and horses, particularly "driving horse-drawn carriages throughout the French countryside."

[3] Myra gave birth to a daughter, named Ellen for Arthur's mother and sister, but she did not survive.

[21] They lived on income from investments, including Arthur's interest in the 250,000-acre cattle ranch, Trinchera Estate.

In addition to raising cattle, the company mined gold, cut timber, and created a game park reserve for antelope, elk, and bison.

When Vice President Theodore Roosevelt visited Colorado Springs in 1901, he had dinner at the Arthurs' home, Edgeplain, and attended a polo match.

[14][24] Arthur and Spencer Penrose built a Cheyenne Mountain clubhouse, based upon the "gourmet, culinary" Rabbit Club in Philadelphia in 1914.