J. Horace Harding Explained

Birth Name:James Horace Harding
Birth Date:13 July 1863
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation:Financier
Parents:William White Harding
Catherine Badger Hart
Children:Charles Barney Harding
Catherine Harding Tailer
Laura Barney Harding
William Barclay Harding
Relations:Jesper Harding (grandfather)

James Horace Harding (July 13, 1863 – January 4, 1929) was an American banker, financier and art collector.

Early life

Harding was born on July 13, 1863, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a son of publisher William White Harding and Catherine Badger (née Hart) Harding.[1] Among his siblings was sister Jessie Harding (wife of Alfred Hennen Morris), and brothers Edward Harding and William G. Harding, who Horace provided support for in his will.

His paternal grandparents were Maria (née Wilson) Harding and Jesper Harding, who had owned The Pennsylvania Inquirer and National Gazette.[2] After his grandfather retired from publishing in 1859, his father became publisher and changed the paper's name to The Philadelphia Inquirer. His uncle, George Harding, became a patent lawyer and argued several cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. His maternal grandparents were James Hankinson Hart and Catherine Louise (née Badger) Hart.[1]

Career

Harding entered the banking field when he was twenty years old. After his 1898 marriage, he entered the New York banking investment firm of Charles D. Barney & Co. The firm was founded by Barney in 1873 after his father-in-law's firm, Jay Cooke & Company went under during the Panic of 1873. Upon Barney's retirement in 1907, Harding ran the business under the same name, as senior partner, with Henry E. Butler, Jay Cooke III (his wife's cousin who was the former Republican National Committeeman),[3] and Charles S. Phillips.[4] In 1919, he stepped down as senior partner and became a special partner. In 1938, Charles D. Barney & Co. and Edward B. Smith & Co. merged to form Smith, Barney & Co.[5]

In November 1923, he succeeded Burns D. Caldwell (former president of Wells Fargo & Company) as chairman of the board of the American Express Company, having been closely associated with George C. Taylor during the founding of the company and being a member of the board of the executive committee ever since. Harding also served as a director of the American Exchange Irving Trust Company, the American Gas and Electric Company, the Cerro de Pasco Copper Company, the Continental Can Company, the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey, the Southern Pacific Company, the United States Industrial Alcohol Company, the Ann Arbor Railroad, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, the New York, Ontario and Western Railway, the Wabash Railway, the New York Municipal Railways System, and was a trustee of the American Surety Company.

Personal life

In 1898, Harding was married to Dorothea Elizabeth Allen Barney (1871–1935). She was a daughter of Charles D. Barney and Laura (née Cooke) Barney, a daughter of Philadelphia financier Jay Cooke.[6] They were the parents of four children:[7]

Harding died of influenza on January 4, 1929, at 955 Fifth Avenue, his townhouse in Manhattan (later replaced by a Rosario Candela designed apartment building).[17] [18] [19] After a funeral at St. Bartholomew's Church on Park Avenue, he was buried at Saint Paul's Episcopal Churchyard in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. He left his fortune to his family.[20] His widow died in 1935.[21]

Art collection

Harding "was long interested in art and devoted considerable of his time to the work of the Frick collection,"[17] and served as a trustee of the art that was bequeathed to New York City by his friend, Henry Clay Frick.[22] [23] In 1912, the Hardings returned to New York from Liverpool aboard the Mauretania after touring Egypt with Frick. Frick, who was supposed to sail with them, relinquished his berth at the last moment and decided to stay in London where he purchased two Paolo Veronese canvases, Allegory of Virtue and Vice and Allegory of Wisdom and Strength, for which Frick paid Knoedler & Co $200,000.[24]

They owned the Portrait of Mrs. Freeman Jr. by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Portrait of Margaretta Henrietta, Lady Hepburn (wife of Sir George Buchan-Hepburn) by Sir Henry Raeburn,[25] St. Paul by Doménikos Theotokópoulos (known as El Greco), and Miss Julia Mott by Thomas Gainsborough[26] In 1916, Harding purchased the 1810 portrait of Victor Guye by Francisco de Goya. In 1941, this painting, and others from his collection were sold in 1941 by his children via Parke-Bernet.[27] The Goya portrait was bought by William Nelson Cromwell for the National Gallery of Art.[28]

In 1927, he commissioned Oswald Birley to make a portrait of President Plutarco Elías Calles of Mexico, which he presented to the Mexican government.[17]

Legacy

Harding supported the development of Long Island's roadways and was a proponent of Robert Moses' parkway plan. He personally commissioned engineering studies to promote the construction of a highway from Queens Boulevard to Nassau County, in order to provide better access to Oakland Country Club, where he was a member and avid golfer. The road was built during Mayor Jimmy Walker's administration and was opened in 1928 as Nassau Boulevard.[29]

In 1917, he paid $100,000 for the construction of Harding Road, to connect Broad Street in Red Bank with Ridge Road in Rumson, in Monmouth County, New Jersey.[30] [31] He was also a member of the board of governors of the Long Branch Hospital since 1914.[32]

In May 1929, four months after Harding's death, the road was named Horace Harding Boulevard in his honor. In 1939, the New York City Council proposed renaming Horace Harding Boulevard to Worlds Fair Boulevard due to the New York World's Fair, but Mayor Fiorello La Guardia refused to remove the name of his friend.[33] Today, it is the section between Queens Boulevard and the Queens-Nassau county line of the Long Island Expressway and is known as New York State Route 25D.[34]

He was also the namesake of the Horace Harding Hospital in Elmhurst, Queens (later renamed St. John's Hospital before it closed in March 2009)[35] [29] and Horace Harding Playground, located in the Queens neighborhood of Rego Park.[36] There is also a bas-relief bust of Harding on a three-sided parcel of land at the intersection of Harding Road and Ridge Road in Little Silver, near Thornton, Harding's summer home in Rumson, New Jersey.[37]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hart . Thomas . A Record of the Hart Family of Philadelphia: with a genealogy of the family, from its first settlement in America; augmented by notes of the Collateral Branches, 1735-1920 . 1920 . 122 . 8 July 2020 . en.
  2. News: A Big Society Event.; Alfred H. Morris of West Chester Married to Miss Jessie Harding. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. May 1, 1889. en.
  3. News: Changes in Corporations.; Jay Cooke Succeeds J. Horace Harding on New Haven Board. . 13 July 2020 . . 16 January 1929.
  4. News: Broker Charles D. Barney to Retire. . 9 July 2020 . . 18 June 1907.
  5. News: Two Wall St. Firms to Be Merged Soon; Edward B. Smith & Co. and Chas. D. Barney & Co. Will Join Forces About Jan. 1 Both Big Underwriters Consolidated Concern Will Be Called Smith, Barney & Co. Organized in Philadelphia Purpose of Merger Founded in Philadelphia . 13 July 2020 . . 10 December 1937.
  6. Book: Hutto . Richard Jay . Their Gilded Cage: The Jekyll Island Club Members . 2006 . Indigo Custom Publishing . 978-0-9770912-2-5 . 70 . 8 July 2020 . en.
  7. Book: Preston . Eugene Dimon . Genealogy of the Barney family in America . 1990 . Barney Family Historical Association . 112 . 8 July 2020 . en.
  8. News: Treaster . Joseph B. . Charles Barney Harding, a Financier, Is Dead at 80; A Distinguished Family Chairman in '40 and '41 . 8 July 2020 . . 3 November 1979.
  9. News: Obituary 2. 28 February 2017. The New York Times. 4 April 1922.
  10. News: Miss Harding Weds L. Suffern Tailer; Granddaughter of the Late C.D. Barney Is a Bride at St. Bartholomew's. Capt. Mathis Weds Here Aviator and Miss MacConnell Are Married in Church of Transfiguration--Miss Katz a Bride. . 13 July 2020 . . 7 April 1921.
  11. News: Times . Special Cable to The New York . Britain Mourns Loss of Great Financier; Revelstoke's Services for Nation Were Many--Restored the Firm of Baring Brothers. Well Posted on America. Was Privy Concilor. Compared to J.P. Morgan. Was Member of Privy Council. Brothers Served in War. An Oarsman at Eton. . 13 July 2020 . . 20 April 1929.
  12. Book: Costello, Peter . Liam O'Flaherty's Ireland . 1996 . Wolfhound Press . 9780863275500 . 12.
  13. News: Times . Special to The New York . Heiress Quits Stage As Identity is Known; Laura Harding Had Taken Maid's Role in Play at a Chicago Theatre. . 13 July 2020 . . 18 October 1929.
  14. Book: Mann . William J. . Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn . 2007 . . 978-1-4299-2197-8 . 149 . 13 July 2020 . en.
  15. News: Constance Fox Wed to W.B. Harding; Ceremony in Italian Garden of the Ambassador Arranged to Represent a Chapel. Mgr. Lavelle Officiates Bridal Procession Passes Through Floral Lane--Choir of St. Patrick's Cathedral Sings. Father Escorts the Bride The Bridal Attendants. Reception in Ballroom. . 10 July 2020 . . 31 May 1929.
  16. News: William Barclay Harding Dead; Chairman of Smith, Barney, 60; He Helped Realign Structure of Many Corporations Interested in Aviation . 10 July 2020 . . 1 July 1967.
  17. News: J. Horace Harding, Banker, Dies at 65; Director in Many Corporations Had Been Ill Only Since New Year's Night. Influential in Finance He Aided Plans for Beautification of Long Island--Trustee of Frick Art Collection. . 13 July 2020 . . 5 January 1929.
  18. Web site: J. Horace Harding Residence - New York City . www.nycago.org . 13 July 2020.
  19. News: Apartment to Rise at 955 5th Avenue; 15-Story Structure Planned as Residence of Late J. Horace Harding Is Purchased . 13 July 2020 . . 10 August 1937.
  20. News: J.H. Harding Left Fortune to Family; Banker's Will Gives Residue to Widow After $1,300,000 Trusts for Children. Munger Estate $1,500,000 Jersey Importer Bequeaths More Than $900,000 to Charity-- Sister Receives Balance. H.C. Munger Will Aids Charity. Funds Left for Jersey Hospitals. J.W. Kay Estate Put at $1,587,891. . 13 July 2020 . . 19 January 1929.
  21. News: Mrs. J. H. Harding, 63, Arts Patroness, Dies; Widow of Former Chairman of Board of American Railway Express Company. . 13 July 2020 . . 24 February 1935.
  22. Web site: Portrait of a Prelate with a Book . arcade.nyarc.org . . 13 July 2020 . 1519.
  23. Book: Harding . J. Horace . The collection of the late J. Horace Harding [held at] 654 Madison Avenue, New York City. ]. catalog.hathitrust.org . 13 July 2020.
  24. Web site: Veronese's Allegories: Virtue, Love, and Exploration in Renaissance Venice April 11 through July 16, 2006 . www.frick.org . The Frick Collection

    Exhibitions

    . 13 July 2020.
  25. Web site: Sir Henry Raeburn, R.A. (1756-1823), Portrait of Margaretta Henrietta, Lady Hepburn, three-quarter-length, seated, in a white dress and a green shawl, her left arm resting on a table . www.christies.com . . 13 July 2020 . en.
  26. News: Mrs. Harding Left $2,400,542 Estate; $55,000 Painting by Reynolds in Collection of Widow of Frick Art Trustee. Her $1,662,855 Gift Taxed W.D. Hutton, Broker, Bequeathed $104,242, and Miss Elsie Earle $59,771. . 13 July 2020 . . 25 February 1936.
  27. Book: Galleries . Parke-Bernet . Important Art Property from the Collection of the Late J. Horace Harding ...: Public Sale, March 1 ... . 1941 . . 13 July 2020 . en.
  28. Web site: Victor Guye . www.nga.gov . . 13 July 2020.
  29. News: Scotchie . Joe . Horace Harding: More Than A Big Wheel . 13 July 2020 . Long Island Weekly . 15 September 2019.
  30. Web site: Where Have I Seen This? . www.redbankgreen.com . Red Bank Green . 13 July 2020 . 7 April 2011.
  31. Book: Gabrielan . Randall . Rumson: Shaping a Superlative Suburb . 2003 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-0-7385-2398-9 . 13 July 2020 . en.
  32. News: J. HORACE HARDING DEAD. Rumson Road Resident Was A Prominent Financier . 13 July 2020 . . 1929 . 14.
  33. News: Boulevard Keeps Name; Mayor Balks at Redesignation of Horace Harding Highway . 13 July 2020 . . 8 December 1938.
  34. News: Who The Heck Was Horace Harding? . 13 July 2020 . Bayside-Douglaston, NY Patch . 16 August 2011 . en.
  35. News: NEW HOSPITAL DEDICATED; Horace Harding in Queens Is First Built Here Since War . 13 July 2020 . . 30 March 1947.
  36. Web site: Horace Harding Playground Highlights . www.nycgovparks.org . . 13 July 2020.
  37. News: Horace Harding Home to Be Sold . 13 July 2020 . . 12 September 1937.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "J. Horace Harding".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.