Jacob Wendell Explained
Jacob Wendell III (April 13, 1869 – April 22, 1911) was an American actor who performed on Broadway.
Early life
Jake Wendell, as he was known, was born in New York City on April 13, 1869. He was the youngest son of Jacob Wendell Jr. (1826–1898) and Mary Bertodi (Barrett) Wendell. His parents, who both came from wealthy families, married in Boston in 1854, about a year after his father had moved from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and joined the firm of J.C. Howe & Co.[1] His elder brothers were Harvard professor Barrett Wendell (father of Barrett Wendell Jr.),[2] Gordon Wendell, and philanthropist and athlete Evert Jansen Wendell.[3]
His paternal grandparents were Jacob Wendell Sr. and Mehitable Rindge (Rogers) Wendell.[4] The first Wendell, Evert Jansen, left the Netherlands in 1640 and settled in Albany, New York.[5] Jake's maternal grandparents were Boston merchant Nathaniel Augustus Barrett and Sally (Dorr) Barrett. Both the Barrett and Dorr families had deep roots in colonial America, with the Dorrs making their fortune in the fur trade.[1]
He graduated from Harvard University in 1901,[6] shortly after his father's death in 1898 from which he "received a comfortable fortune." He first attracted attention as an amateur athlete, then as an actor in the Hasty Pudding Club where "many critics of undergraduate drama declared that 'Jake' Wendell was the best amateur actor in the country."
Career
After graduation from Harvard, he moved to New York and appeared in amateur efforts of The Strollers and the Comedy Club. After successfully playing many different roles, he was urged to join the opening of The New Theatre stock company. His first performance with the company was in Antony and Cleopatra and his second was that of the dog in Maurice Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird, for which "brought him instant success."
In the Players', "Wendell found a place as a leading spirit of their hearth-fire gatherings, which were entertained by the hour with his droll yarns. He was a leading spirit in arranging the Actors' Fund Fair, and assisted in many other professional entertainments."
After suffering a nervous breakdown and a long period of ill-health, Wendell developed pneumonia and died shortly before he was to appear in the leading role in What the Doctor Ordered at the Astor Theatre.[7]
Personal life
In April 1895, Wendell was married to Marian Fendall (1870–1949),[8] the daughter of Maj. Philip Richard Fendall III and Anne Catherine (Tredick) Wendell. Her paternal grandfather was Philip Richard Fendall II (son of Mary Lee and Philip Richard Fendall I).[9] They lived in his family's townhouse in New York City and spent time at "Frostfields", his wife's country house in New Castle,[10] on the outskirts of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[11] [12] Before his early death, they were the parents of four children:[13]
- Jacob Wendell IV (1896–1963), who married Eileen Victoria Carr (1900–1983), a daughter of Philip Carr of London, in 1923.[14]
- Reginald Lee Fendall Wendell (1898–1928), who died, unmarried, at Highclere Castle.[15]
- Anne Catherine Tredick Wendell (1900–1977), who married Henry Herbert, Lord Porchester, son of George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon and Almina Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon, in 1922.[16] [17] Upon his father's death in 1923, Henry became the 6th Earl of Carnarvon and Catherine became Countess of Carnarvon.[18] After they divorced in 1936,[19] Catherine married Geoffrey Seymour Grenfell in 1938.[20] He died in action in 1940 during World War II,[21] [22] and she married Don Stuart Momand in 1950.[23]
- Philippa Fendall Wendell (1905–1974), who married Randolph Stewart, 12th Earl of Galloway in 1924.[24]
Following a collapse on stage in Trenton, New Jersey the week prior, Wendell died of pneumonia at his home, 186 East 35th Street in Manhattan, on April 22, 1911.[25] He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx. After his death, his widow moved to London to live with a cousin, also occupying a large country home at Sandridgebury, Sandridge, Hertfordshire. She died in London in December 1949.[8]
Descendants
Through his daughter Catherine, he was a grandfather of Henry Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon and through his daughter Philippa, he was a grandfather of Randolph Stewart, 13th Earl of Galloway.[13]
Legacy
After his death, the Jacob Wendell Scholarship was established at Harvard in his honor.[26]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Mrs. Jacob Wendell (Mary Barrett, 1832–1912) . nyhistory.org . . 11 May 2022.
- Web site: EMINENT SCHOLAR AND WELL-KNOWN PROFESSOR DEAD Barrett Wendell '77 . www.thecrimson.com . . 11 May 2022 . February 9, 1921.
- Web site: Wendell Family Correspondence, 1801-1896 – MS088 . portsmouthathenaeum.org . . 11 May 2022 . 18 October 2017.
- Book: The New England Historical & Genealogical Register and Antiquarian Journal . 1868 . S.G. Drake . 427 . 11 May 2022 . en.
- Small, Miriam Rossiter. Oliver Wendell Holmes. Twayne's United States authors series, 29. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1962. . p. 20
- News: Times . Special to The New York . JACOB WENDELL'S WILL.; Most of the Estate Left to His Widow -- Bequests for Harvard College and Other Institutions. . 11 May 2022 . . 16 March 1901.
- News: ASTOR'S PLAY POSTPONED.; Jacob Wendell, Jr., Cast in Principal Role, Stricken with Pneumonia. . 10 May 2022 . . 20 April 1911.
- News: £7,150 ESTATE Equal Shares for Three . 10 May 2022 . . 31 January 1950 . 16.
- News: A DAY'S WEDDINGS.; Wendell -- Fendall. . 10 May 2022 . . 17 April 1895.
- Book: DeWitt . Dennis J. . Arthur H. Vinal / Edmund March Wheelwright and the Chestnut Hill Pumping Station: Fifth expanded edition . 2016 . Metropolitan Waterworks Museum . 978-1-5193-1023-1 . 95–96 . 11 May 2022 . en.
- Web site: Frostfields (New Castle) - Summer estate of the Wendell family. Demolished. Former site of Camp Langdon in WWII. Presently site of Great Island Common. . athenaeum.pastperfectonline.com . . 11 May 2022.
- News: Pecci . Alexandra . 'Downton Abbey' has some Portsmouth roots . 11 May 2022 . . November 10, 2012 . en.
- Book: Carnarvon . The Countess Of . Lady Catherine and the Real Downton Abbey . 12 September 2013 . Hodder & Stoughton . 978-1-4447-6214-3 . 11 May 2022 . en.
- News: JACOB WENDELL WEDS MISS EILEEN CARR; Couple Were Married at St. Mark's Church, London--Reception at Bride's Home. . 11 May 2022 . . 18 April 1923.
- News: TIMES . Wireless to THE NEW YORK . REGINALD LEE WENDELL.; Brother of Countess Carnarvon Dies at 29 Following a Collapse. . 11 May 2022 . . 18 July 1928.
- News: TO WED LORD PORCHESTER.; Engagement of Miss Catherine Wendell of New York Announced. . 10 May 2022 . . 1 June 1922.
- News: COUNTESS CARNARVON NOW HAS A DAUGHTER; Second Child Is Born to Former Catherine Wendell, Wife of Lord Potchester. . 10 May 2022 . . 5 March 1925.
- News: Times . the New York Times Company special Cable To the New York . COUNTESS CARNARVON ILL.; Former Catherine Wendell of New York Has Appendicitis Operation. . 10 May 2022 . . 7 December 1926.
- News: LORD CARNARVON DIVORCED; Former Catherine Wendell of New York Wins Decree in Britain. . 10 May 2022 . . 23 April 1936.
- News: LADY CARNARVON MARRIED; Former Catharine Wendell Wed to Geoffrey Grenfell . 10 May 2022 . . 22 September 1938.
- News: County Town Echoes . 10 May 2022 . Bucks Examiner . 21 March 1941 . 6.
- News: £37,443 WILL Estate of Lt.-Cmdr. G. S. Grenfell . 10 May 2022 . Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic . 18 October 1941 . 6.
- Book: Charles. Mosley. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, vol 1. 699. London. 107th. 2003. 0971196621.
- News: TIMES . Special Cable to THE NEW YORK . Philippa Wendell Will Also Wed an Earl; Elder Sister Is Wife of Earl of Carnarvon . 10 May 2022 . . 12 July 1924.
- News: JACOB WENDELL, JR., IS DEAD.; Actor and Harvard Graduate Dies of Pneumonia -- Acted in "The Blue Bird." . 10 May 2022 . . 23 April 1911.
- News: Wins Jacob Wendell Scholarship. . 11 May 2022 . . 6 December 1932.
