Lavinia Elizabeth Dimmick (1874-1946) was a descendant of the founders of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a chemical research and manufacturing company. She was the daughter of Irene Sophie du Pont (1845-1877) and Edward Clarence Dimmick (1843-1895), and the great-niece of Sophie M. du Pont (1810-1888). Dimmick was born on February 13, 1874. Her mother died in 1877, and her father married his late wife's sister Joanna Maria du Pont (1854-1901) in 1880. In 1897 Lavinia Dimmick traveled to England, where through friends she met Dr. Alfred Rée (1864-1933) of Manchester and Maclesfield, a manufacturing chemist who was ten years her senior. Dimmick's father died in the following year, and her stepmother took the entire family to England for an extended stay, during which she renewed her acquaintance with Dr. Rée. After a two year courtship, he came to the United States, where they were married on June 14, 1900. The couple returned to England and had eight children. Alfred Rée died on February 28, 1933 and Lavinia Dimmick on September 21, 1946.