Known socially as "Mrs. William Foster Rowland," her name demanded respect and was prominently featured in New York papers.

She was raised under privileged circumstances by always being in the company of prominent Brooklyn families, hotel guests, jockeys, and yachtsmen.

[6][7] In fact, she was noted for her outstanding performance of elocution with the Prima Donna of the Stockholm Grand Opera, Ms. Bertha Wichman.

[8] Essie's first husband was John Wick, a prominent New York businessman who ran one of the largest and most successful stove manufacturing businesses in the country[9]—a technology that was at the time cutting edge.

John suffered from pulmonary troubles and the couple decided to move South to Greenville, SC for a better climate 1901.

[10] Essie and John quickly became entrenched in the upper class of Greenville, South Carolina where they lived in a suite of rooms in Mansion House.

From DC, Essie's brother Thomas DeWitt Osborn brought her and Lill back to New York.

Not shorter than a year later, tragedy struck Essie's life again when Thomas was killed in a trolley collision with his horse-drawn carriage.

[12] Following the deaths of her father, husband, and brother, Essie focused on raising Lill and continuing her involvement in social causes.

She supported the suffragette movement, access to education for disadvantaged children, and social organization of women through clubs.