Hamilton McKown Twombly explained

Hamilton McKown Twombly Sr.
Birth Date:August 11, 1849
Birth Place:Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Death Place:Madison, New Jersey
Occupation:Businessman
Children:Alice Twombly
Florence Adele Twombly
Ruth Twombly
Hamilton McKown Twombly, Jr.
Education:Harvard University

Hamilton McKown Twombly Sr. (August 11, 1849 – January 11, 1910) was an American businessman.[1]

Early life

Hamilton McKown Twombly Sr. was born on August 11, 1849, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and grew up in Boston. His parents were Alexander Hamilton Twombly (1804–1870) and Caroline (née McKown) Twombly (1821–1881). Twombly's siblings included Alexander Stevenson Twombly (1832–1907), Alice W. Twombly Jones (1848–1906), and Almina E. Twombly Sheldon (1851–1875). He attended and graduated from Harvard University in 1871.[1]

Career

Twombly worked as a financial advisor to William Henry Vanderbilt (1821–1885), President of the New York Central Railroad. He sat on the Boards of Directors of the Chicago and North Western Railway, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, and the New Jersey Shore Line Railroad. He also sat on the Boards of Trustees of the Guarantee Trust Company and the Mutual Life Insurance Company.[1]

In 1890, Abram Hewitt partnered with Edward Cooper and Hamilton M. Twombly in forming the American Sulphur Company. That company then entered into a 50/50 agreement with Herman Frasch and his partners to form the Union Sulphur Company[2]

Society life

In 1892, Twombly and his wife were both included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families led by Mrs. Astor, as published in The New York Times.[3] Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.[4]

In spring and fall, Twombly and his wife resided at Florham (a combination of "Florence" and "Hamilton") in Florham Park, New Jersey; it is now "Florham Campus" a building of Fairleigh Dickinson University.[5] [6] They summered at Vinland Estate in Newport, Rhode Island, and they wintered at 684 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan

He was a member of the Metropolitan Club, the Tuxedo Club, the Union Club of the City of New York, the City Club, the New York Yacht Club, the Transportation Club, Turf and Field and the Somerset Club of Boston.[1]

Personal life

In 1877, he married Florence Adele Vanderbilt (1854–1952),[7] a daughter of William Henry Vanderbilt and Maria Louisa Kissam.[8] They had four children:[1]

Twombly died on January 11, 1910, in Madison, New Jersey, after an extended illness.[15] [16] [17] According to his obituary,[1] his death was caused by "cancer and a broken heart" over the death of his son.[18] [19] His funeral took place at Saint Thomas Church in New York, with a sermon by David H. Greer (1844–1919), and the banker J. P. Morgan (1837–1913) was one of the pallbearers.[20] He was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.[20] He left the majority of his estate to his wife.[21] [22]

Notes and References

  1. News: H. M'K. TWOMBLY, CAPITALIST, DEAD; Brother-in-Law of W. K. Vanderbilt Never Recovered from Shock of His Son's Death. DIRECTOR OF MANY ROADS His Death Occurred at Florham Park, His Beautiful Estate and Model Farm, Near Morristown, N. J.. 24 August 2017. The New York Times. January 12, 1910.
  2. Book: Haynes . Williams . Brimstone, The Stone That Burns . 1959 . D. Van Norstrand Company, Inc. . Princeton . 32–39, 60.
  3. 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 UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE.. 5 October 2017. The New York Times. 16 February 1892.
  4. 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.
  5. http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ryr/id/1882 Southern Methodist University: Robert Yarnall Richie Photograph Collection: Florence Vanderbilt and Hamilton McKown Twombly's Florham estate, Madison, NJ
  6. Web site: Farleigh Dickinson University: Florham Campus: History of the Estate . 2013-09-02 . 2015-01-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150102093305/http://view.fdu.edu/?id=196 . dead .
  7. News: Times. Special To The New York. MRS. TWOMBLY DIES IN HOME HERE AT 941; Daughter of W. H. Vanderbilt Was .Last Surviving Grandchild of Commodore Vanderbilt. 24 August 2017. The New York Times. 13 April 1952.
  8. Web site: Hughes. Tyler. The Gilded Age Era: Florence Twombly Mansion New York City. The Gilded Age Era. 24 August 2017. 2 July 2012.
  9. News: DIED. Twombly. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 1896.
  10. News: FUNERAL OF ALICE TWOMBLY; Many Dances and Entertainments Given Up on Account of Her Death.. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. January 3, 1896.
  11. News: Mrs. William A.M. Burden Dies; Donor to Church and Schools. 20 September 2017. The New York Times. 19 November 1969.
  12. News: W.A.M. BURDEN DIES OF STRANGE MALADY; Chronic Recurrent Fever the Only Name Physicians Can Give It -- No Remedy. AN ATHLETE AT HARVARD Married Miss Twombly, Granddaughter of the Late W.H. Vanderbilt, in 1904.. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 3 February 1909.
  13. News: WORLD OF FASHION AT THE TWOMBLY WEDDING; William A.M. Burden Marries H. McK. Twombly's Daughter. FIFTH AVENUE IS CROWDED Ceremony at St. Thomas's Church -- Mr. and Mrs. Burden Will Go to the Far East on Honeymoon.. 19 September 2017. The New York Times. 13 April 1904.
  14. News: Times. Special To The New York. MISS RUTH TWOMBLY SUCCUMBS IN PARIS. 24 August 2017. The New York Times. 2 September 1954.
  15. News: HAMILTON McK. TWOMBLY ILL.; Said to be Suffering from Kidney Trouble and a Nervous Breakdown.. 24 August 2017. The New York Times. 3 December 1909.
  16. News: Times. Special To The New York. H. McK. Twombly to Remain in Country. 24 August 2017. The New York Times. 5 December 1909.
  17. News: H. McKay Twombly Still Alive.. 24 August 2017. The New York Times. 26 December 1909.
  18. News: H. McK. Twombly Dying. Might Not Live Till Daybreak, It Was Said at His Home Last Night . . December 25, 1909 .
  19. http://www.njpalisades.org/twombly.html "Twombly," Palisades Interstate Park Commission, Nov 2009
  20. News: H. McK. TWOMBLY'S FUNERAL.; J.P. Morgan a Palibearer at Services in St. Thomas's Episcopal Church.. 24 August 2017. The New York Times. 16 January 1910.
  21. News: Times. Special To The New York. $45,000 TRANSFER TAX PAID.; $35,000 Comes from H. McK. Twombly and $10,000 from L.H. Cadman Estates. 24 August 2017. The New York Times. 12 July 1910.
  22. News: H. McK. TWOMBLY'S WILL.; Mrs. Florence Twombly Gets Prac- tically All the Estate -- Is Soje Executrix. 24 August 2017. The New York Times. 19 January 1910.