James T. Lee Explained

James Thomas Lee
Birth Name:James Thomas Lee
Birth Date:2 October 1877
Birth Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Death Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Burial Place:Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:City College of New York
Columbia University
Columbia Law School
Occupation:Lawyer, banker, real estate developer
Parents:James Thomas Lee
Mary Theresa Norton
Children:3, including Janet
Relatives:Jackie Kennedy (granddaughter)
Lee Radziwill (granddaughter)
Janet Auchincloss Rutherfurd (granddaughter)

James Thomas Lee (October 2, 1877 – January 3, 1968) was an American lawyer, banker, and real estate investor. He was the maternal grandfather of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Lee Radziwill.

Early life

Lee was born in Manhattan on October 2, 1877. He was the only surviving son and eldest of ten children, six of whom lived to adulthood, born to Dr. James Lee (born 1852)[1] and Mary Theresa Lee, Norton (born),[2] both children of Irish Catholic immigrants. His father being born and raised in Newark, New Jersey to parents from County Cork and his mother was born to parents from County Tipperary and raised by her uncle in Troy, New York after being orphaned at a young age.[3] He met his wife when they were both teaching in Troy.[3] His father received his M.D. at Bellevue College in 1880 and became a doctor and later, district superintendent of New York City Public Schools.

In 1898, after a year spent studying violin, Lee enrolled in the City College of New York to study engineering. In two years, he had joined Delta Kappa Epsilon and was working as a law clerk earning $6-a-week. In 1901, he graduated from City College and then enrolled in a master's program at Columbia University in political science and economics. He graduated with an A.M. degree in 1902 and then began law school, graduating from Columbia Law School in 1903.

Career

After graduating law school and serving as a clerk, Lee then opened his own law practice. Aware of the impending construction of the Seventh Avenue Subway, he began buying property along the proposed route which tripled in value after the Subway became a fact.[4] By 1910, his career was focused primarily on real estate development, and was eventually responsible for building more than two hundred residential and commercial buildings.[5] His company, of which he was president, was the real-estate focused Shelton Holding Corporation.

By 1908, Lee and his partner, Charles R. Fleischmann, built the 12-story Peter Stuyvesant apartments at the corner of 98th and Riverside Drive, designed by William L. Rouse.[5]

In 1910, while living at 669 West End Avenue near 93rd Street,[5] he built 998 Fifth Avenue, another luxury cooperative that was designed by the McKim, Mead & White architectural firm and was across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Between 1913 and 1920, he built a series of office buildings near Grand Central Terminal, the Central Building on 45th Street, the Berkeley Building on 44th Street and the National Association Building on 43rd Street, all designed by Starrett & van Vleck.[5] In 1923, he built the Shelton Hotel (today the New York Marriott East Side) at 49th Street and Lexington Avenue, designed by Arthur Loomis Harmon, which at the time was the tallest hotel in the world at 24 stories.[5]

In 1928, he was elected to the board of the Chase National Bank and stayed with them until 1943 when he began serving as president and chairman of the board of the Central Savings Bank.

In 1929, he began building 740 Park Avenue, a luxury cooperative apartment building on Park Avenue between East 71st and 72nd Streets designed by Rosario Candela and Arthur Loomis Harmon[6] of Manhattan, New York City, which has been described as "the most luxurious and powerful residential building in New York City".[7] [8]

Personal life

On October 7, 1903, Lee was married to teacher Margaret Ann Merritt (1880–1943),[9] who had been born in New York City to Irish immigrants from County Clare, Thomas Merritt and Maria, Curry.[10] [11] Together, they were the parents of:

Lee joined East Hampton's Maidstone Club in 1925.[10]

His wife died unexpectedly, at age 63, at their daughter Marion's home in Hewlett Bay Park in February 1943.[9] She and her husband had been estranged for many years, but remained married. Lee died at his home, 580 Park Avenue in Manhattan, on January 3, 1968.[24] [25] After a funeral at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in Manhattan, he was buried alongside his parents at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, NY.[26]

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter, Marion, he was the grandfather of two girls, Joan Ryan (1929–1997), and Mary Lee Ryan (1931–2017), the wife of William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil, owner of Biltmore. He also had three grandsons through his daughter Margaret. Through his daughter Janet, he was the grandfather of three girls, First Lady of the United States Jacqueline Lee Bouvier (1929–1994), the wife of John F. Kennedy,[27] and Aristotle Onassis;[28] Caroline Lee Bouvier (1933–2019), the wife of Michael Temple Canfield, Prince Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł,[29] Herbert Ross; and Janet Jennings Auchincloss (1945–1985), who married Lewis Polk Rutherfurd.[30] He had one grandson through daughter Janet, named James Lee Auchincloss. Through his daughter Margaret Winifred, he was the grandfather of Anne C. d'Olier and Winifred Lee d'Olier, who married prominent investment banker Anthony Coats Brown in 1962.[31]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2022-05-01 . Dr. James Lee . 2024-08-13 . geni_family_tree . en-US.
  2. Web site: 2022-05-01 . Mary Teresa Norton . 2024-08-13 . geni_family_tree . en-US.
  3. News: Caroline Kennedy Descendant Of Troy Family. The Troy Record. Goodwin. Hilda. April 15, 1961. January 7, 2020.
  4. Book: Spoto . Donald . Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life . 2000 . St. Martin's Paperbacks . New York . 5 . 9780312246501 . registration . 18 March 2019.
  5. News: Gray . Christopher . Streetscapes/Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's Grandfather; Quality Developer With a Legacy of Fine Buildings . 15 March 2019 . . 12 March 1995.
  6. Web site: 740 Park Avenue. https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120854/http://www.emporis.com/building/740-park-avenue-new-york-city-ny-usa. dead. August 26, 2014. Emporis. Emporis GMBH. 19 June 2014. 2000–2014.
  7. Web site: Zeveloff, Julie. 740 Park Avenue: Inside The Most Powerful Apartment Building In New York. Business Insider. 19 June 2014. 29 December 2011.
  8. Gross, Michael. "Where the Boldface Bunk", The New York Times (March 11, 2004). Accessed October 8, 2007.
  9. News: Deaths . 18 March 2019 . . February 27, 1943 . 13.
  10. Book: Pottker . Jane . Janet and Jackie: The Story of a Mother and Her Daughter, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis . 2001 . . New York . 53 . 9780312266073 . 18 March 2019.
  11. News: From Kilmurry village to The White House. The Clare Champion. August 1, 2013. January 6, 2020.
  12. News: MRS. JOHN J. RYAN JR. . 19 March 2019 . . May 11, 1947 . 60.
  13. News: JOHN J. RYAN JR. . 19 March 2019 . . May 15, 1963 . 39.
  14. News: MARION LEE BRIDE OF JOHN J. RYAN; Ceremony in Church of St. Vincent Ferrer Performed by Very Rev. W. G. Moran, O. P. . 18 March 2019 . . January 21, 1927 . 8.
  15. News: Janet Lee Auchincloss Morris, 81 . 19 March 2019 . . July 24, 1989 . 11.
  16. News: JOHN BOUVIER 3D, BROKER, 66, DIES; Retired Investment Adviser Was a Member of Stock Exchange for 34 Years. 13 October 2017. The New York Times. 4 August 1957.
  17. News: JANET N. LEE BRIDE OF J.V. BOUVIER 3D; 500 Guests at Ceremony in St. Philomena's Church, East Hampton, L.I.. 13 October 2017. The New York Times. 8 July 1928.
  18. News: MRS. J. L. BOUVIER IS WED IN VIRGINIA; Becomes the Bride of Lieut. Hugh D. Auchincloss. U.S.N., at His Country Home. The New York Times. June 23, 1942. 24.
  19. News: Notes on People. 13 October 2017. The New York Times. 26 October 1979.
  20. News: d'OLIER . 19 March 2019 . . November 29, 1991 . 46.
  21. News: DINNER DANCE GIVEN FOR ENGAGED COUPLES Winifred Lee and Franklin D'Olier Jr. and Frances Frear and J.C. Ryan Honored. . 19 March 2019 . . April 16, 1936.
  22. News: MISS WINIFRED LEE PICKS ATTENDANTS Rev. Walter Moran Will Wed Her to Franklin D'Olier Jr. in Ceremony at Pierre. NUPTIALS SET FOR APRIL 17 Mrs. John J. Ryan Jr. and Mrs. John V. Bouvier 3d to Serve as Matrons of Honor. . 19 March 2019 . . April 1, 1936.
  23. News: MARGARET W. LEE BECOMES A BRIDE; Rev. Walter O. Moran, O. P., Marries Her to Franklin D'Olier Jr. at Pierre. ESCORTED BY HER FATHER Mrs. John J. Ryan Jr. and Mrs. John V. Bouvier 3d Matrons of Honor for Their Sister . 19 March 2019 . . April 18, 1936 . 12.
  24. News: JAMES T. LEE . 19 March 2019 . . January 4, 1968 . 67.
  25. News: James Lee, Jackie's Kin, Dies at 90 in New York City . 19 March 2019 . . January 5, 1968 . 25.
  26. News: JAMES T. LEE, 90, REALTY MAN, DIES Lawyer Was Early Investor in Luxury Apartments . 18 March 2019 . . January 4, 1968.
  27. News: Notables Attend Senator's Wedding; SENATOR KENNEDY WEDS IN NEWPORT. 13 October 2017. The New York Times. 13 September 1953.
  28. News: Times. Special To the New York. Aristotle Onassis Is Dead Of Pneumonia in France. 13 October 2017. The New York Times. 16 March 1975.
  29. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20064301,00.html "For Princess Lee Radziwill, It's the End of a Marriage"
  30. News: Janet Rutherfurd Dies at 39; Half-Sister of Mrs. Onassis. October 13, 2017. The New York Times. March 21, 1985.
  31. News: Father Escorts Winifred d'Olier At Her Wedding; Briarcliff Alumna Wed to Anthony C. Brown of Securities Firm . 19 March 2019 . . October 7, 1962 . 89.