Theodore Frelinghuysen (New York socialite) explained

Theodore Frelinghuysen
Birth Date:17 April 1860
Birth Place:Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Death Place:New York City, U.S.
Resting Place:St. Mary's-in-Tuxedo Episcopal Church Cemetery, Tuxedo Park, New York, U.S.
Parents:Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen
Matilda Elizabeth Griswold
Spouse:
    Children:2
    Relations:Frederick Frelinghuysen (brother)
    George Frelinghuysen (brother)

    Theodore Frelinghuysen (April 17, 1860 – January 30, 1928) was an American clubman and member of the Frelinghuysen family who was prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age.

    Early life and education

    Frelinghuysen was born in Newark, New Jersey, on April 17, 1860. He was the youngest of six children born to Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (1817–1885)[1] and Matilda Elizabeth Griswold (1817–1889). His father was a lawyer who served as a U.S. Senator and later as Secretary of State under President Chester A. Arthur.[2] His siblings included:[3] Matilda Griswold Frelinghuysen,[4] who married Henry Winthrop Gray,[5] a prominent merchant;[3] [6] Charlotte Louisa Frelinghuysen;[7] Frederick Frelinghuysen,[8] who married Estelle B. Kinney;[9] George Griswold Frelinghuysen,[10] who married Sara Linen Ballantine, granddaughter of Peter Ballantine;[11] and Sarah Helen Frelinghuysen (1856–1939), who married Judge John Davis, and after his death, Brig. Gen. Charles Laurie McCawley.[12]

    His paternal grandparents were Frederick Frelinghuysen and Mary (née Dumont) Frelinghuysen. His grandfather died when his father was just three years old, so his father was adopted by his uncle, Theodore Frelinghuysen. Both grandfather and adopted grandfather were sons of Frederick Frelinghuysen, the eminent lawyer who was one of the framers of the first New Jersey Constitution, a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, a member of the Continental Congress, and a member of the United States Senate.[2] His maternal grandfather George Griswold,[3] was a merchant in New York City who "made an immense fortune in the time of the clipper trade with China."[13]

    Career

    Frelinghuysen was the Treasurer of the J. & P. Coats Ltd.,[14] a large British thread company that was run by his father-in-law Sir James Coats and located at 347 Broadway in New York City. Upon his marriage in 1885 to Alice Coats, his mother and father-in-law wanted him to be brought into Auchincloss Brothers as an equal partner. The American firm was run by the younger brothers of Alice's mother, John Winthrop Auchincloss and Hugh Dudley Auchincloss Sr. (the father of Hugh Auchincloss). When they said no, their refusal ended the Auchincloss relationship with the Coats firm and nearly bankrupt John.[15]

    In 1906, he became a director as well as financier of the Brunswick Refrigeration Co., a consolidation of the New Brunswick Refrigeration Company and Union Refrigeration Company which had merged.[16] The other directors included W. Campbell Clark, head of Clark Thread Company and A. M. Coats, president of the Coats Thread Company.[16] Frelinghuysen retired from business in 1910.

    Society life

    In 1892, was Frelinghuysen included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times.[17] Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.[18] [19]

    Frelinghuysen was a member of the Metropolitan Club, the Knickerbocker Club, the Union Club of the City of New York, the Harvard Club of New York, the Merchants' Club, the Country Club, the Lawyers' Club and the Suburban Riding and Driving Club. He was also a philanthropist who donated to the Floating Hospital and Seaside Hospital Fund in 1897.[20]

    Personal life

    On August 25, 1885, Frelinghuysen was married to Alice Dudley Coats (1861–1889) in Newport, Rhode Island.[21] Alice was the daughter of Sir James Coats, 1st Baronet and Lady Sarah Auchincloss, an American.[15] The wedding was attended by former President Chester Arthur.[21] Her brothers included Sir Stuart Coats, 2nd Baronet, and Alfred Mainwaring Coats (1869–1942), who married Elizabeth Barnewall (1867–1940) (niece of Louisa Barnewall Van Rensselaer).[22] They lived at 25 West 15th Street near Stuyvesant Square. Together, Theodore and Alice were the parents of:[23]

    After Alice's death in 1889, he married Elizabeth Mary "Lily" (née Thompson) Cannon (1871–1967),[27] the widow of Henry Le Grand Cannon,[3] on June 2, 1898, at Grace Episcopal Church in New York City by Bishop Henry C. Potter.[28] At the wedding, his ushers were R. Livingston Beeckman and William Cutting Jr. and his best-man was Elisha Dyer Jr.[28] Lily was a daughter of William G. Thompson and descendant of Elijah Brush, both Mayors of Detroit and had two children, a boy and girl, from her first marriage.[28] After their marriage, they lived at her home, 60 Fifth Avenue and maintained a winter residence in Palm Beach, Florida, known as "Southways,"[29] and another house at Tuxedo Park, New York.

    Frelinghuysen died of heart disease on January 30, 1928, at his residence, 66 East 55th Street in Manhattan.[30] Previous to East 55th Street, he had been living at the Hotel Plaza in New York.[30] His widow lived at their Palm Beach home until her death in 1967, at the age of 97, when she was referred to as "a grand dame of a bygone era."[27]

    Descendants

    Through his son Frederick, he was the step-grandfather of Lilla Fisk, who married Harry Payne Bingham Jr.[31] and George C. Rand in 1956;[32] [33] and Felicia Fisk,[34] who married Albert B. Dewey, the brother of U.S. Representative Charles S. Dewey.[35]

    References

    Notes

    Sources

    Notes and References

    1. News: Death of Mr. Frelinghuysen.; the Career of President Arthur's Secretary of State.. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. 21 May 1885.
    2. Web site: FRELINGHUYSEN, Frederick Theodore - Biographical Information. bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. 30 January 2018.
    3. Book: Lee. Francis Bazley. Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey .... 1910. Lewis historical Publishing Company. 14. 30 January 2018. en.
    4. News: MRS. M.G.F. GRAY OF OLD FAMILY DIES; Daughter of F. T. Frelinghuysen, Once Secretary of State-Funeral Today.. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. 25 March 1926.
    5. News: DIED. Gray. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. 15 October 1906.
    6. News: In Bonds of Matrimony; Marriage of Mr. Gray and Miss. Frelinghuysen. a Quiet Ceremony at the Homestead of the Bride's Family. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. 17 May 1889.
    7. News: Charlotte Frelinghuysen. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. 19 July 1930.
    8. News: Frederick Frelinghuysen. Ex-President of Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company Dies . Frelinghuysen was President of the Benefit Life Insurance Company in Newark for ... to become President of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company. ... . . January 2, 1924 . May 30, 2007.
    9. News: Frederick Frelinghuysen's Engagement. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. 7 July 1902.
    10. News: G.G. FRELINGHUYSEN DIES AT AGE OF 84; Son of Arthur's Secretary Of State Was Lawyer Here for Half century. KIN OF NOTED GENERAL Parent, Great-Uncle, Cousin All Served New Jersey in the United States Senate.. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. April 22, 1936. en.
    11. News: G.G. Frelinghuysen Dies. Son of Arthur's Secretary Of State Was Lawyer . . April 22, 1936 .
    12. News: MRS. S.H. M'CAWLEY, WASHINGTON HOSTESS; Grandmother of Senator Lodge Dies in Home at Capital. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. 20 February 1939.
    13. News: MRS. F. T. FRELINGHUYSEN. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. 4 February 1889.
    14. Book: United States Congressional Serial Set. 1895. U.S. Government Printing Office. 440. 7 March 2018. en.
    15. Book: Gelderman. Carol W.. Louis Auchincloss: A Writer's Life. 2007. University of South Carolina Press. 9781570037115. 8. 7 March 2018. en.
    16. REFRIGERATOR CONSOLIDATION. Electrical World. February 3, 1906. 295. 7 March 2018. McGraw-Hill. en.
    17. 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. en.
    18. 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.
    19. Book: Homberger. Eric. Mrs. Astor's New York: Money and Social Power in a Gilded Age. 2004. Yale University Press. 0300105150. 199, 289n.99. 6 March 2018. en.
    20. Book: St John's Guild (New York N.Y.). Report of St. John's Guild, New York City. 1897. The Guild. 52. 7 March 2018. en.
    21. News: Married at Newport.; Miss Coats and Mr. Frelinghuysen.. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. 26 August 1885.
    22. Book: Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, of Great Britain and Ireland, for ...: Including All the Titled Classes. 1923. S. Low, Marston & Company. 193. 6 March 2018. en.
    23. Book: Buck. Albert Henry. The Bucks of Wethersfield, Connecticut, and the Families with which They are Connected by Marriage: A Biographical and Genealogical Sketch. 1909. Stone Printing and Manufacturing Company. 121. 9780598992178. 7 March 2018. en.
    24. News: Mrs. Duncan Douglas. 7 March 2018. The New York Times. 18 September 1958.
    25. News: MRS. WATSON LEAVES $1,000,000 ESTATE; Property of Society Leader Goes to Relatives and After Them to Charity. GIVES FAMILY HEIRLOOMS Husband and Children Share Equally in the Division Under Testator's Will.. 7 March 2018. The New York Times. 8 December 1914.
    26. News: MRS. FISK TO WED F. T. FRELINGHUYSEN; Their Troth Reveals Divorce of Fiance and Former Wife, Who Was Mai Watson, FLORIDA DECREE GRANTED Fiancee Is Widow of C. N. Fisk, Who Was Killed at Hunt Meet of Meadow Brook Hounds in 1923.. 7 March 2018. The New York Times. 12 May 1927.
    27. News: Elizabeth Frelinghuysen, 97, Of Jersey Political Family. 7 March 2018. The New York Times. 13 June 1967.
    28. News: WEDDINGS OF EARLY JUNE; Mrs. H. Le Grand Cannon and Theodore Frelinghuysen Are Married at Grace Chantry. BISHOP POTTER OFFICIATES The Rev. Percy S. Grant Assists Him -- Prominent Society People Among the Guests. 7 March 2018. The New York Times. 3 June 1898.
    29. News: Columbia. David Patrick. Ecole de Beaux Palm Beach. 7 March 2018. New York Social Diary. 1 October 2009. en.
    30. News: THEO. FRELINGHUYSEN DIES IN HIS 68TH YEAR; Member of Old New Jersey Family Was Son of Secretary of State in Arthur Cabinet.. 30 January 2018. The New York Times. January 31, 1928.
    31. News: LILLA FISK ENGAGED TO H.P. BINGHAM JR.; She Is Daughter of Mrs. F.T. Frelinghuysen -- Cousin Is Ambassador Grew.. 7 March 2018. The New York Times. 1 April 1935.
    32. News: BELINDA BINGHAM BECOMES FIANCEE; Westbury Girl Will Be Wed to Pliny Jewell 3d, Who Studies at Harvard. 7 March 2018. The New York Times. 1 December 1957.
    33. News: Mrs. Lilla Bingham Is Remarried Here. 7 March 2018. The New York Times. 14 September 1956.
    34. News: TROTH MADE KNOWN OF MISS FELICIA FISK; She Will Become the Bride of Albert B. Dewey of Chicago. 7 March 2018. The New York Times. 30 April 1940.
    35. News: DIED. FRELINGHUYSEN--Frederick T.. 7 March 2018. The New York Times. April 11, 1967. en.

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