Edward Neufville Tailer Explained

E. N. Tailer
Birth Name:	Edward Neufville Tailer
Birth Date:	July 20, 1830
Birth Place:	New York City, New York, U.S.
Death Place:	New York City, New York, U.S.
Parents:	Edward Neufville Tailer Ann Amelia Bogert
Relatives:	Earl E. T. Smith (grandson) Robert Reginald Livingston (grandson)
Signature:	Signature of Edward Neufville Tailer (1830–1917).png

Edward Neufville Tailer (July 20, 1830  - February 15, 1917) who was a New York merchant and banker, and a prominent member of New York Society during the Gilded Age.^[1]

Early life

Tailer was born on July 20, 1830, in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. He was the son of New York merchant Edward Neufville Tailer (1797–1873) and Ann Amelia (née Bogert) Tailer (1802–1883).^[2] His younger brothers included lawyer Henry Austin Tailer, who was born in 1833,^[3] and William Hallett Tailer, who was born in 1842. His father "retired with a fortune in 1837."^[4]

His grandfather was Edward Neufville Tailer, Sr. and they were all descendants of Sir William Tailer, a colonial governor of Massachusetts.^[5]

Tailer was educated at the well known "Penquest's French school" located on Bank street.^[4]

Career

In December 1848, he began his career with the firm of Little, Alden & Co.^[6] on Broad Street. In the early part of his career, he was associated with the firms of W. & S. Phipps & Co. of Boston and New York as well as Fanshaw, Milliken & Townsend, Reimer & Meche, and Sturges, Shaw & Co., as a buyer and salesman.^[4]

He eventually founded the successful importing and commission house of Winzer & Tailer (later known as E.N. & W.H. Tailer & Co.).^[4] The firm was a prominent dry goods merchant, importing cloth company located in New York City.^[7] In his travels, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean more than forty times.^[4]

He was also a director of several banks, including The German-American Bank and The Northern Dispensary. He retired from business in 1893.

Beginning in 1848, when he was just 18 years old,^[2] Tailer kept a daily diary of social matters and other events.^[1] Annually, he bound these diaries and kept them in his library. Upon his death, his son Thomas inherited the diaries.^[8]

Society life

Tailer was a member of the controversial "Four Hundred" of New York Society, as dictated by Mrs. Astor and Ward McAllister and published in The New York Times on February 16, 1892.^{[9] [10]} Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.^[11] In 1874, he joined the Patriarchs, a group of the city's elite men that was established by McAllister. He succeeded James Alexander Hamilton.^[4]

He was a member of the vestry of Ascension Church. He was a member of the Union Club of the City of New York, the Union League Club, the Tuxedo Club, the Country Club, Westchester Polo Club, and Merchants' Clubs and The New England Society and St. Nicholas Society.^{[4] [12]}

Personal life

Tailer was married to Agnes Suffern (1830–1917),^[13] the daughter of Thomas Suffern,^[14] an Irish immigrant who made a fortune importing Irish linens.^[15] They lived in a house at 11 Washington Square North built in 1834 by her father, and traveled extensively around Europe.^[2] Together, they were the parents of:^[16]

• Agnes Suffern Tailer (1858–1932),^[17] who married Henry Lawrence Burnett (1838–1916) in 1882 at the Church of the Ascension.^[18]
• Mary Tailer (1863–1944),^{[19] [20]} who married Robert Reginald Livingston (1858–1899) of Northwood,^[21] the brother of architect Goodhue Livingston and grandson of Lt. Governor Edward Philip Livingston, in 1884.^[22]
• Thomas Suffern Tailer (1866–1928),^[23] who married Maude Louise Lorillard (1876–1922),^[24] the daughter of Pierre Lorillard IV,^[25] in 1893.^[26] They divorced,^{[27] [28]} and he married Harriet Stewart Brown (1884–1953), daughter of Baltimore banker Alexander Brown, in 1909. After his death, his widow married C. Ledyard Blair.^[29]
• Laura Suffern Tailer (1869–1887), who died young.
• Frances Bogert "Fannie" Tailer (1884–1953),^[30] who married Sydney Johnston Smith (1868–1949), a cotton broker and sportsman,^[15] in 1896.^[14] They divorced in 1909 and she married C. Whitney Carpenter (1884–1954) in 1916.^[31] They also divorced.^[32]

Tailer died in New York City on February 15, 1917.^[33] He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.^[34] His wife died shortly thereafter on March 17, 1917, reportedly overcome by grief for the loss of her husband.^[13]

Descendants

Through his daughter Mary, he was a grandfather of Assemblyman Robert Reginald Livingston Jr.^[20] Through his daughter Frances, he was a grandfather of Earl Edward Tailer Smith (1903–1991), a diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Cuba as well as the mayor of Palm Beach, Florida.^[32]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tailer, Edward Neufville. newyorkdiaries.com. New York Diaries (1609-2009). 3 November 2017.
2. Book: Henkin. David M.. City Reading: Written Words and Public Spaces in Antebellum New York. 1998. Columbia University Press. 9780231107440. 130. 3 November 2017. en.
3. Book: Yale University Class of 1896. Decennial Record of the Class of 1896, Yale College. 1907. De Vinne Press. 599. 19 May 2018. en.
4. Book: Hall. Henry. America's Successful Men of Affairs: The city of New York. 1895. New York Tribune. 639. 19 May 2018. en.
5. Book: Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. Genealogical Record of the Saint Nicholas Society: Advanced Sheets, First Series. 1902. Society. 61. 3 November 2017. en.
6. Book: Luskey. Brian P.. On the Make: Clerks and the Quest for Capital in Nineteenth-Century America. 2011. NYU Press. 9780814753101. 37. 19 May 2018. en.
7. News: O'Reilly. Edward. "With a happy open smile": An New Yorker's 1859 Visit to the Vatican. 19 May 2018. New-York Historical Society. 22 September 2015.
8. News: Art Works to Mrs. Tailer – Retired Merchant's Son Gets His 48 Volume Scrapbook . 2021-12-05 . . 11 . 6 March 1917 . Newspapers.com.
9. News: McAllister. Ward. The Only Four Hundred – Ward M'Allister Gives Out the Official List – Here Are the Names, Don't You Know, On the Authority of Their Great Leader, You Understand, and Therefore Genuine, You See. 2021-12-05 . . 5 . 16 February 1892. en.
10. Book: King. Moses. Notable New Yorkers of 1869-1899: A Companion Volume to King's Handbook of New York City. 1899. Moses King. 568. 19 September 2017. en.
11. Book: Keister. Lisa A.. Getting Rich: America's New Rich and How They Got That Way. 2005. Cambridge University Press. 9780521536677. 36. 20 October 2017. en.
12. Book: Reynolds. Cuyler. Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation. 1914. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. 1333. 19 May 2018. en.
13. News: Mrs. A. S. Tailer Dead – Social Leader Expires in the House She Spent Her Life . 2021-12-05 . . 11 . 19 March 1917 . Newspapers.com.
14. Book: Folpe. Emily Kies. It Happened on Washington Square. 2002. JHU Press. 9780801870880. 142. 3 November 2017. en.
15. Book: Patterson. Jerry E.. The First Four Hundred: Mrs. Astor's New York in the Gilded Age. 2000. Random House. 9780847822089. 229. 19 May 2018. en.
16. News: Mrs. Agnes S. Tailer's Will – Estate Divided Among Her Daughters and Brother . 2021-12-05 . . 12 . 11 April 1917 . Newspapers.com.
17. News: Mrs. H. L. Burnett. 3 November 2017. . 15 . 12 December 1932 . subscription.
18. News: Miscellaneous City News – A Brilliant Wedding – Marriage of Gen. Herry L. Burnett to Miss Agents S. Tailer . 2021-12-05 . . 8 . 1 February 1882 . Newspapers.com.
19. News: Mrs. Livingston Hostess – Gives a Dance for Her Son, R. R. Livingston, and Fiancee, Miss Dean . 2021-12-05 . . 15 . 17 February 1922 . Newspapers.com.
20. News: Mrs. Livingston, 82, Nursery Advocate – Member of Noted Family Dies – Ex-Delegate Had Served on Democratic State Group. 6 June 2017. . 23 . 19 October 1944 . subscription.
21. Book: Dutchess County Historical Society. Year Book of the Dutchess County Historical Society. 1928. The Society. 67. 19 May 2018. en.
22. Book: Burke. Arthur Meredyth. The Prominent Families of the United States of America. 1908. Genealogical Publishing Com. 9780806313085. 38. 19 May 2018. en.
23. News: T. Suffern Tailer Buried – Many Residents of Newport Attend the Funeral Services. 19 May 2018. . 16 . 28 December 1928 . subscription.
24. News: Mrs. M. L. Baring Dies in London . 2021-12-05 . . 17 . 4 April 1922 . Newspapers.com.
25. News: How Mr. Lorillard Divided His Estate – Bequest of Rancocas to a Woman Arouses His Family – Clubmen Talk of a Contest – Tuxedo Property Guarded by Strict Provisions – The Widow's Annuity – The Will Disposes of $4,000,000 . 2021-12-05 . . 10 . 14 July 1901 . Newspapers.com.
26. News: Wedded Before Many Friends; Miss Maud Lorillard Becomes Mrs. T. Suffern Tailer. Dr. Satterlee Performs a Simple Ceremony in Calvary Church—Wedding Breakfast at the Lorillard Residence—Showered with Rice as They left the House—One Hundred Thousand Dollars' Worth of Presents—To Spend a Few Months at the World's Fair and Then to go Abroad . . 10 . April 16, 1893 . 2021-12-05 . Newspapers.com.
27. News: Separation Reported of Suffern Tailers – Wife Probably Will Ask Divorce, His Secretary Says in Washington. 28 February 2017. . 29 . 5 November 1933 . subscription.
28. News: Mrs. T. Suffern Tailer Obtains Her Divorce – Wife of Clubman and Whip Granted a Decree in North Dakota – She Went to the Western State for the Purpose, Charging Desertion – History of Their Troubles . 2021-12-05 . . Salem, North Dakota . 1 . 15 August 1902 . Newspapers.com.
29. https://www.nytimes.com/1949/02/08/archives/3-ledyard-blair-cofounder-of-blair-cq-here-was-nachtsman-and-former.html "C. Ledyard Blair, Banker, 82, Dead"
30. News: Mrs. Taller Carpenter. 19 May 2018. . 15 . January 2, 1953 . subscription.
31. News: Mrs. F. T. Smith a Bride – Weds C. W. Carpenter, Jr., at Home of Her Brother, T. Suffern Taller . 2021-12-05 . . 9 . 30 May 1916 . Newspapers.com.
32. News: Mrs. F. Tailer Carpenter Estate Split Between Sons. 19 May 2018. Newport Daily News. 13 January 1953. 5. en.
33. News: Edward N. Tailer Dead – Retired Merchant Was Member of an Old New York Family. 2021-12-05 . . 11 . 16 February 1917 . Newspapers.com.
34. News: An Old New Yorker . 2021-12-05 . . E2 . 18 February 1917 . Newspapers.com.