Editing Madeleine Astor (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Katherine and Madeleine circa 1908.jpg|left|thumb|180px|Katherine (left) and Madeleine Force.]]

Madeleine Talmage Force was born on June 19, 1893, in [[Brooklyn, New York]], the younger daughter of [[William H. Force|William Hurlbut Force]] (1852–1917) and the former Katherine Arvilla Talmage (1863–1930). Madeleine's elder sister [[Katherine Emmons Force]] was a real estate businesswoman and socialite. Through her father, she had [[French people|French]] ancestry and was a great-niece of builder Ephraim S. Force (1822 – March 12, 1914).<ref name=Ephraim>{{cite web|title=E. S. FORCE DIES AT 92|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/03/12/101917768.pdf|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 12, 1914}}</ref> Her mother had [[Dutch people|Dutch]] ancestry.

William Force was a member of a well-established business family. He owned the successful shipping firm William H. Force and Co., and his father had been prosperous in the manufacturing industry. In 1889, Force married Katherine Talmage, the granddaughter of former Brooklyn mayor Thomas Talmage. The Forces were part of Brooklyn high society, while William Force was a member of numerous prestigious clubs in the city.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/cu31924092229347|title=The Eagle and Brooklyn: the record of the progress of the Brooklyn daily eagle|last1=Howard|first1=Henry Ward Beecher|last2=Jervis|first2=Arthur N.|date=1893|publisher=Brooklyn : The Brooklyn daily eagle|others=Cornell University Library|pages=379}}</ref> He also owned an art collection. Like the Astor family, the Forces were members of the Episcopal Church. Madeleine's maternal grandfather was [[New York State Assembly]]man [[Tunis V. P. Talmage]] and her great-grandfather, [[Thomas G. Talmage]], was [[Mayor of Brooklyn]].<ref name="TVPTObit">{{Cite news|date=29 November 1909|title=Tunis Van Pelt Talmage|volume=70|page=3|work=[[The Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|issue=330|location=New York, N.Y.|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/55381605|via=[[Brooklyn Public Library]] Historical Newspapers}}</ref> She is also distantly related to [[Benjamin Tallmadge|Col. Benjamin Tallmadge]], who served directly under George Washington in the American War of Independence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Talmadge |first=Arthur White |url=http://archive.org/details/talmadgetallmadg00intalm |title=The Talmadge, Tallmadge and Talmage genealogy; being the descendants of Thomas Talmadge of Lynn, Massachusetts, with an appendix including other families |date=1909 |publisher=New York, The Grafton press |others=Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center}}</ref>

Madeleine was educated at Miss Ely's School and then for four years at [[Spence School|Miss Spence's School]], on West 48th Street in Manhattan. According to one report, she was "counted an especially brilliant pupil" at this school. She and her sister were also taken abroad by their mother and toured Europe several times. When she was introduced to New York social life, she was immediately adopted by the Junior League, a clique of debutantes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1911-08-03/ed-1/seq-8/|title=Eighteen-Year Old Madaline Force Has Difficult Task Ahead|date=August 3, 1911|newspaper=The Washington Times|access-date=October 21, 2019|pages=8|issn=1941-0697}}</ref> She appeared in several New York society plays and attracted quite a following. She was known to be a very competent horsewoman and enjoyed yachting. One report said she was bright and good with drawing-room conversation.<ref name=":0" />