November 16-23, 1916

On November 16, 1916, Kate Shippen Roosevelt was securing the shutters on her shingled farmhouse, packing trunks with freshly-aired linens and polished silver, stacking wooden barrels with her fine china and stabling her team of horses for the winter while  getting ready to say good-by to another splendid season spent in Hightstown, New Jersey at the family farm, “Merdlemouth.”

Hightstown, New Jersey

The quiet forest and lavish flower gardens surrounding her farm were reluctantly getting ready to wave good bye to Kate, her daughter Dorothy and two tiny grandsons, Langdon and Shippen. With the help of the farm’s caretakers, local residents, Mrs. McKnight and Mrs. Connor and her New York City staff, Bella and Maude transplanted to the farm for the day, the move back to New York was planned with the precision of a Swiss timepiece.

John Drew, with cane

Once back in the city Kate Roosevelt resumed her ritual of going to the theater then coming home to write her often unflattering review of the play and actors. Apparently the peaceful setting of “Merdlemouth” hadn’t tamed her tongue. “I back in New York.  I went to see John Drew in the play Pendennis. I thought it very dull and he was very poor.”

Georgie Drew Barrymore

These were surprisingly scathing remarks coming from a member of the Roosevelt Family. The actor, John Drew’s niece, the actress Ethel Barrymore, and Kate’s cousin, Teddy’s daughter, Alice Roosevelt, were best friends and often partners in crime. While running for president in 1904, the Republican candidate, Theodore Roosevelt, lamented that Alice and Ethel were getting more press than him and forbid his daughter to be seen in public with the free-spirited actress until after the election was over. Of course his wish was not his command in the case of his hot-headed daughter Alice and the president once complained, to his friend the author, Owen Wister, “I can either run the country or attend to Alice, but I cannot possibly do both.” This was after he threatened to throw her out the window.

Ethel Barrymore

John Drew’s sister, Georgiana, married Maurice Barrymore and their daughter, Ethel, helped populate the family dynasty. The aging actor once complained that he didn’t like playing “second fiddle to his preposterous nephew, Lionel Barrymore,” but as he grew older parts for John Drew were scarce and often stereotypical. Already sixty-three years-old when he played the part of the properly foppish Major Pendennis, newspaper reviews were much kinder than Kate and said it was “the best part he had played in years.”

The Roosevelt Family

Always the gentleman, like the role he played in ““Pendennis,”when he was dying in 1927, he asked family members surrounding his sick bed, to make sure his nurses were taken care of.  Hopefully Kate Roosevelt took a cue from the eccentric actor when it came to being kind to her long-suffering staff  who were seasonally shuttled between New York City and Hightstown, New Jersey.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One
The Farm at Merdlemouth
Sam Chapin Photo

Photo Two:
Hightstown, New Jersey
wiki

Photo Three:
John Drew
Public Domain

Photo Four:
Georgie Drew Barrymore
Sarony Photo, public domain, 1880

Photo Five:
Ethel Barrymore
wiki

Photo Six:
The Roosevelt Family:
Theodore and Edith and children:
Alice, Teddy, Archie, Kermit, Quentin and Ethel
Library of Congress

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week Ninety-Two appeared first on Woman Around Town.

November 23-30, 1916

Thanksgiving, 1916 found Kate Roosevelt breaking-in a kitchen maid. “New waitress, Ida Anderson, came.  She has cleaned the silver and I sent the Roosevelt Family “flat silver” and tea and coffee service to Dorothy.” Kate’s daughter, Dorothy Roosevelt Geer, was the recipient of the family heirlooms as well as a fine and pampered pedigree.

Servants

As the daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt’s late cousin, Hilborne Roosevelt, the young widow was born with her own silver spoon in her mouth that afforded her the opportunity to enjoy the life of a socialite in New York City in the early twentieth century. She was an only child. Dorothy and her mother, Kate Shippen Roosevelt were best of friends and often went to the theater, concerts and social events together and of course celebrated all of the holidays with each other. A live-in governess for Dorothy’s two sons, Langdon Jr. and Shippen Geer, Miss Gowans, made this gad -about life style possible.

Ruth Chatterton in “Out of the Kitchen”

With the fledgling Ida Anderson in the kitchen helping to prepare Thanksgiving dinner, Kate and Dorothy were able to partake in “Come Out of the Kitchen,” a play that Kate described as “Rather pretty and amusing.”  Based on the novel of the same name written by Alice Duer Miller it told the story of a reversal of fortune suffered by a formerly well-to-do southern family, the Dangerfields. When a wealthy investor from the north, played by Bruce McCrae, offers to lease the old Virginia plantation, he asks the family, that includes the beautiful Olivia Dangerfield, played by Ruth Chatterton and her siblings to stay on as cooks, housekeepers and butlers, offering them a reversal in roles as well. They were the ones used to having servants waiting on them.

Bruce McCrae

Staged at the George M. Cohan Theater on Broadway and 43^rd Street, it was a romantic comedy performed in three acts. The plot was right up Kate Roosevelt’s alley. Light enough for a laugh yet saturated with satirical innuendos, the play was also thought provoking involving the issue of slavery in the South.

After reading Kate Roosevelt’s glowing review, I wondered if she knew anything about the author, Alice Duer Miller.  A graduate of Barnard College, Miller actively influenced political opinion and her writings and poetry positively impacted the suffrage movement, a topic that Kate Roosevelt was not averse to voicing her own negative opinion on.

1916 Buick

Wrapping up the evening, Kate Roosevelt, wrote, “The new black and white taxis don’t come up as far as Broadway yet,” but she wasn’t worried about taking that mode of transportation that newspapers were boasting offered a luxurious, limousine-like ride for far less fares than the competition. Elmer McCue, her chauffeur, was waiting curbside. He was introduced in her diary as just another one of her employees. “Elmer McCue has been here in New York since Wednesday.  He is here to be our chauffeur and houseman and will drive our new four cylinder Buick equipped with winter top.”

The theme this Thanksgiving seemed to be servants, those working on Southern plantations and those employed at plush apartments in New York City.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Alice Duer Miller’s Poem Illustrated in Puck’s Magazine
public domain

Photo Two:
Servants
Library of Congress

Photo Three:
Ruth Chatterton in “Out of the Kitchen”
public domain, 1916

Photo Four:
Bruce McCrae the actor
Actor’s Birthday Book

Photo Five:
1916 Buick
wiki

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week Ninety-Three appeared first on Woman Around Town.

February 8-15, 1917

“To Colonial Dames meeting to arrange for war work.  A lot of talk and nothing accomplished.  Put up a flag in case of German-American war.”  That was Kate Roosevelt’s comment on February 9, 1917 and it sounded like she was not happy having wasted an afternoon that was ‘all talk and no action.”

Colonial Dames of New York, Reception Room, ca: 1930s

The Colonial Dames were not newcomers to war.  Steeped in history, the Colonial Dames’ roots go back to the Revolutionary War Era. It is composed of women who are descended from an ancestor who lived in British-owned America from 1607 to 1777 and was of service to the colonies by either holding office or  being in the military  One of the country’s most exclusive organizations, it was established in 1890 by Mrs. John King van Rensselaer and a group of her pedigreed pals when she suggested, “Let us found a patriotic society of women descended from Colonial ancestry.”

Grasping their genealogical charts, women with links to the original thirteen colonies lined up to be considered for membership.  Kate Shippen Roosevelt was one of the anxious applicants.

The Roosevelt name opened lots of gilded-gates for Kate, its name associated with President Theodore Roosevelt and his Dutch ancestors who made a fortune speculating in New York City real estate and importing plate glass from France, but the Shippens were no slouches when it came to a storied past.

Edward Shippen

Kate Shippen Roosevelt and her sister, Miss Ettie Shippen were shoe-ins when it came to being accepted as members of the New York City Branch of the Colonial Dames.  They are both listed in the register as “descent from Edward Shippen, President of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania.”

Edward Shippen (1729-1806) was born in Philadelphia, the son of a merchant who was active in the area’s economic and political life.  The large family spread out throughout the city, holding multiple public offices simultaneously.  Edward studied law under Tench Francis, Pennsylvania’s attorney general under British rule.  In 1753, he married his teacher’s daughter, Margaret Francis and the couple had nine children.  He became a member of Pennsylvania’s Provincial Council in 1770.

Through the years, the Shippens partook in the power their political affiliations offered but when the Revolutionary War broke out, they soon found themselves de-throned along with King George in America.  When the state of Pennsylvania was created at the end of the Revolutionary War in 1776, Edward Shippen lost his appointments as judge of the admiralty court and member of the governor’s council.

Peggy Shippen Arnold

Throughout the conflict Shippen managed to remain neutral, siding with neither the Tories or the Patriots.  When the British evacuated in 1778, Shippen took sides with the Colonists and resumed life as a jurist in Philadelphia.  His daughter, Peggy Shippen married Benedict Arnold.  When her husband was found to be a traitor, she returned to Philadelphia seeking refuge from wagging tongues in her family home.

Edward Shippen served as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania until his death in 1806.  Kate Shippen Roosevelt was his great-granddaughter, forever linking her name with several important historic figures other than the Roosevelts.

Colonial Dames New York City Headquarters

Completed in 1930, five years after Kate Roosevelt’s death, the New York Branch of the Colonial Dames is headquartered at 215 East 71^st Street in a home designed by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. to resemble the residence of an affluent citizen from the pre-revolutionary period.  The historic Van Cortlandt House in the Bronx serves as their museum.

I have been fortunate to see Kate Roosevelt’s diary, letters, newspaper clippings, photos, some of her clothing and furnishings and a few pieces of jewelry, now owned by her great-great granddaughter, Noel Geer Seifert, but have to wonder what happened to the  14 carat gold badge presented to members of the Colonial Dames.

Colonial Dames Badge

A 1901 registry lists the rules, membership eligibility and an initiation fee of $15.00.  Yearly dues were $5.00 and badges were numbered like one-of-a-kind masterpieces.  They are described as “Consisting of a round disc with a center of light blue enamel and the figure of a colonial dame in gold, modeled in relief.  Around the center of blue enamel shall be a circle of white enamel with the Society of Colonial Dame of America written in gold letters.  Surmounting this shall be the modeled figure of an eagle in gold and blue enamel stare representing the original thirteen colonies.  The badge of 14 carat gold and enamel should be worn suspended by a silk ribbon of blue and yellow from a gold bar on which is the name of the state.  The ribbon shall be one and one-half inch wide.  The badge shall be worn by members on all occasions.  It shall be worn conspicuously on the left breast. National officers may wear theirs suspended from the ribbon around the neck”

Well with all of these rules and regulations, the Colonial Dames certainly sound like they mean business and I was a bit surprised when Kate Roosevelt described the meeting she attended in 1917 as “getting nothing accomplished.” In her defense, she, along with the rest of the country was getting ready for war, with no time to waste!

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Cartoon
Library of Congress

Photo Two:
Colonial Dames of New York, Reception Room, ca: 1930s
215 East 71st Street
Library of Congress

Photo Three:
Edward Shippen
wiki

Photo Four:
Peggy Shippen Arnold
By Daniel Gardner

Photo Five:
Colonial Dames New York City Headquarters
215 East 71st Street
Library of Congress

Photo Six:
Colonial Dames Badge
Hillwood Museum

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Four appeared first on Woman Around Town.

February 15-22, 1917 

Throughout Kate Shippen Roosevelt’s diary she many times mentioned taking her grandsons, Langdon, Jr. and Shippen Geer to parks, museums, exhibits, school and dentist appointments. Their mother, Dorothy Roosevelt Geer, was a young widow with many cultural commitments and social soirees to attend.  She traveled in circles and went places that two little boys would not be interested in.  Dorothy never remarried, but certainly had her share of men friends and flirtations. Her husband, Langdon Geer passed away in 1915 from a blood clot on the brain, never having the opportunity to meet the newest addition to his family, Shippen Geer, born shortly after his death.

Maybe the boys were sad reminders of her husband or just too much responsibility for delicate Dorothy, but not for her mother, the multi-tasking matron, Kate Roosevelt.

On February 15, 1917, while Dorothy was away visiting her in-laws, the George Jarvis Geers in Milburn, New Jersey, leaving baby Shippen with his governess, Kate took the eldest, Langdon Geer, Jr. “To see the Aero Show at Grand Central Palace.”

Santo-Dumont Dirigible

The year 1917 was just beginning, but word of an impending war with Germany had been echoing throughout the country since 1914 and most everything happening the United States was related to revving-up to join the fight.

Fledgling flying machines, called aeroplanes were ready for war along with the rest of the country and their prowess was being promoted by Pan-American Aeronautics and the Aero Club of America with presentations such as the one Kate and Langdon, Jr. attended at the Grand Central Palace on Lexington Avenue between 46^th and 47^th Streets.

The Grand Central Palace provided the perfect staging for such an expansive show. For more than forty years, from 1911 until 1953, it was New York City’s principle exhibition hall, hosting events like: The International Flower Show; the Greater New York Poultry Exposition; the Westminster Kennel Club Show; the Sportsman and Vacation Show; the International Beauty Shop Owners Convention; the Frozen Foods Exposition; the International Textiles Convention and New York City’s Golden Anniversary Gala in 1948.

The Wright Brothers Kitty Hawk

Designed by architectural firms, Warren and Wetmore and Reed and Shaw in the Beaux Arts style, the Grand Central Palace rose thirteen-stories high and was so large that for a log-rolling competition in 1936, it had a pool installed in the first floor exhibit space.  The shows it produced brought in so much tourism, the area surrounding it was called “Hotel Alley.” Springing up in its shadow were hotels with the names, Winthrop; Lexington; Shelton (now the Marriott East Side); Montclair and Barclay.  The Waldorf-Astoria is the only original still standing. The cavernous four-floor exhibit space was able to duplicate an airplane hangar and at the 1917 exhibition there was space to hang from the ceiling the Wright Brothers historic plane, the “Kitty Hawk.”  It is now in the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution.

Santos-Dumont Flying Exhibition in France

Mixing business with pleasure, the exhibit that Kate took little Langdon to was said to be, “Not just an aeronautics show, not merely a display of aircraft, but part of the National Preparedness Movement.” Hosted by Pan-American Aeronautics, its mission was to promote patriotism as well as its place as the premier airplane manufacturer in the world.   To accomplish this they invited noted pilots to make guest appearances.  Alberto Santos-Dumont, one of the most famous aviators of the day came from France and with him the legend that the jeweler, Louis Cartier invented the wristwatch on his behalf.  In 1904 when the Frenchman, Santos-Dumont complained that it was difficult to check on his flight times using a pocket watch, Cartier presented him with a watch that allowed him to keep both hands on the controls while flying. Called “The Pilot Watch,” it is still sold by Cartier along with the Santos-Dumont Line of sunglasses.

Ruth Law landing in New York City, 1916

Ruth Law, a pioneer female aviator was one of the attractions.  In November, 1916, she broke the air speed record for flying non-stop from Chicago to New York.  Her fuel cut out while flying over Manhattan and she glided to a safe landing on Governor’s Island.

Newly-designed airplanes and ageless aviators made the show a big success.  The world was watching as the war unfolded.  The European conflict pushed ahead strides made in aviation and transportation was being transformed for commercial, private and war-time use.  “All eyes were on aviation.”

Caught up in the romance of flight were many young men and even some women.  The “Queen of Speed,” stunt pilot, Ruth Law protested when women were not allowed to fly military aircraft.  During World War I females were excluded from such duty, but not the sons of the former President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt.

Quentin Roosevelt

Archie, Ted, Kermit and Quentin Roosevelt all signed on for active duty.  Quentin, the youngest, had “flying fever” and on September 10, 1917 he was assigned to the 1^st Aero Squadron and was sent to France and the planes once on display in New York City became coffins for many, including Quentin Roosevelt.  The New York Times quoted on July 18, 1918, “The semi-official French news agency, Havas reported that Quentin Roosevelt had indeed been killed in an airborne fight and that an American patrol was working behind German lines to find the wreckage of his plane.  He appeared to be fighting up until the last moment.”

From a care-free outing with her five-year-old grandson in 1917 to a condolence call on her cousins, Theodore and Edith Roosevelt in 1918, Kate Roosevelt was growing into a formidable woman ready to put more on her plate than a leisurely lunch at the Colony Club.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Grand Central Palace
postcard, public domain

Photo Two:
Santo-Dumont Dirigible
wiki

Photo Three:
The Wright Brothers Kitty Hawk
Library of Congress

Photo Four:
Santos-Dumont Flying Exhibition in France
Public Domain

Photo Five:
Ruth Law landing in New York City, 1916
Library of Congress

Photo Six:
Quentin Roosevelt
public domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Five appeared first on Woman Around Town.

March 27-31, 1917 

“In the evening to see Lilac Time at the Theater Republic at 207 West 42^nd Street.” That was what was on the agenda for the last week of March, 1917 for Kate Shippen Roosevelt. The saying goes that “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb,” but not in Mrs. Roosevelt’s repertoire. As the month drew to an end, her remarks and social schedule were anything but docile. After announcing in her diary that she had attended a performance of the play, Lilac Time, she sliced into it with a cutting remark. “Dull, too much Jane Cowl.”

Jane Cowls, Publicity Photo

Based on a novel by Guy Fowler, Jane Cowl adapted the play in collaboration with Jane Murfin. On this evening, the sometimes actress, Jane Cowl was cast in the lead role, playing the part of a young French girl who falls in love with an American aviator during World War One. It had a sappy ending and maybe Kate Roosevelt was looking for something more realistic. It was March, 1917 and the impending war was not far from everyone’s mind, playwrights and newlyweds included.

Church of the Holy Communion

The following day, Kate Roosevelt wrote, “I to Ina Kissel’s wedding.” According to the New York Sun, the nuptials were scheduled to be celebrated in May, but the wedding date was pushed up to March because the groom, Harvard-graduate, Henry Taft Easton, had accepted a commission to go overseas and join the allies on the battlefield. The ceremony was held at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion on West 20^th Street and Sixth Avenue. Mrs. Roosevelt did not say anything more about the wedding or the reception held at the home of the bride’s father at 43 Park Avenue, but I was sure her feelings were nothing less than nostalgic. The Church of the Holy Communion was were many members of the extended Roosevelt Family worshipped, wed, and were waked. It was located just blocks away from where President Theodore Roosevelt was born at 28 East 20^th Street. Five years after her husband, the organ-maker, Hilborne Roosevelt died, his widow, Kate Roosevelt donated a Roosevelt Opus 493 to the church while it was undergoing alterations in 1891.

Hilborne Roosevelt died on December 30, 1886, just six days after his thirty-sixth birthday and the funeral was held on Sunday, January 2, 1887, at the Church of the Holy Communion.  According to newspaper accounts, “The church was filled with friends and employees of the Roosevelt Organ Works located on West 18^th Street.  The service was conducted by the rector with the assistance of the church choir.  The Symphony and Oratorio Societies, which Hilborne had been instrumental in founding offered to provide the funeral music. Walter Damrosch, the celebrated symphony conductor would have been honored to take part, but the family requested a simple service.

Hilborne Roosevelt Organ ca: 1882

There were no designated pall bearers and flowers were requested to be omitted. The only floral contribution was a bouquet of lilies of the valley placed on the rosewood casket with plain silver trimmings. This flower was the same variety worn by Hilborne, just three years earlier on his wedding day. He was buried at the family plot in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn besides his parents and grandparents.”   Cousin Theodore Roosevelt had just re-married and was in Rome, Italy at the time of Hilborne’s death. He sent his sincere condolences, “My very dear Kate, I will not intrude upon you by more than a line, to tell you how deeply Edith and I feel for you. May heaven help and guard you, my dear Kate.  Always, Theodore Roosevelt.” Theodore Roosevelt’s first wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt, is also buried in the Roosevelt Family plot at Greenwood Cemetery.

It is at times like these that I see Kate Roosevelt as more than a moneyed-matron, traveling in social circles that encompassed the J.P. Morgans, the Vanderbilts and the President of the United States. Widowed just three years into her marriage, and left with a young daughter to raise, Kate Roosevelt had to learn how to not only live in the lap of luxury, but to also to develop a backbone that would keep her there.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Greenwood Cemetery Entrance
Library of Congress

Photo Two:
Jane Cowls, Publicity Photo
Library of Congress

Photo Three:
Church of the Holy Communion
West 20th Street and Sixth Avenue
Museum City of New York

Photo Four:
Hilborne Roosevelt
Courtesy: Susan Geer D’Angelo and Noel Geer Seifert

Photo Five:
Hilborne Roosevelt Organ ca: 1882
Public Domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Eleven appeared first on Woman Around Town.

June  7-14, 1917

The jolly month of June, 1917 found Kate Shippen Roosevelt in many places.  From her small country farm in Hightstown, New Jersey to her ancestral home, “The Anchorage” located on the shore in Sea Bright, New Jersey, these destinations provided her diary with a different dateline each day, but, much like a homing pigeon, the one place that she always returned to was her grand apartment at 301 Lexington Avenue in the Murray Hill Section of Manhattan.  From here she entertained, discussed Roosevelt Family finances, chaired charity events, held rehearsals for amateur theatrical productions and often dined with her girl-hood chum, Florence Rhett, fondly referred to as “Folly.”  The two often accompanied each other to concerts, recitals and Broadway plays. Since Kate was a widow and “Folly” never married, the two “single ladies” often went out on the town together, sometimes to something extravagant but many times their outings were as simple as a drive in “Folly’s” motor.

Julia Marlowe in her motor car, ca. 1900

Florence Rhett could easily afford to own her own car, something rare for a woman in 1917.  She had been the governess/companion to J.P. Morgan’s three daughters and when he died in 1913 his last will and testament included a gift of $100,000 to Florence Rhett in gratitude for her years of service to his family, enough money to purchase an entire fleet of cars and keep up with her wealthy friend, Kate Roosevelt, former President Theodore Roosevelt’s cousin.

“Folly Rhett had a “tray” dinner with me at 301 Lexington Avenue.  We had a lovely drive in her motor up Riverside Drive and through Bronx Park then through Central Park.”  Two old friends enjoying a summer day in New York City was the scene painted in Kate Roosevelt’s diary on June 7, 1917.

The actress, Julia Marlowe

And speaking of friends, I wondered if they might have driven past the former home of their fellow Colony Club member and chum, the actress Julia Marlowe and reminisced about often seeing her behind the wheel of her open-air motor known as a “Victoria.”  The club, located on Park Avenue was a magnate for the upper crust, politically-connected, civic-minded, actresses and socially-active women in New York City.

Julia Marlowe was a Shakespearean actress who counted among her acclaimed contemporaries, Ethel Barrymore who many considered a bad influence on her friend, Alice Roosevelt, the president’s daughter.

Riverside Drive

Marlowe made her Broadway debut in 1895 and went on to appear in more than seventy productions there.  With the money from her theatrical successes she bought a townhouse known as “River Mansion” at 337 Riverside Drive in 1900 for $60,000. She sold the mansion in 1909 when she married her co-star, E.H. Sothern. The buyer was Lothar W. Faber, president of Eberhard-Faber Pencil Company.  The mansion went through several owners. It eventually became a boarding house and finally went back to being a private residence.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument

In 1917, when Kate Roosevelt and Folly Rhett were motoring along the meandering path along the park they most likely were reminded of its history.  The drive and south end of the park from West 72^nd Street to West 125^th Street was designed by noted landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead and his colleague, Charles Vaux in the 1870s with hopes it would rival ritzy Fifth Avenue.  The residential area was developed by the architect, Clarence F. True featuring rows of elegant mansions designed with elaborate cornices, ornate roofs and gables.

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument at 89^th Street was a tourist attraction and often crowded with visitors wanting to pay homage to the Union Soldiers who fought in the Civil War.  The white marble structure, known as the “Temple of Fame” was erected in 1902.

Visitors to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument

Their drive gave the two friends plenty of sights to see, memories to share and stories to tell.  One in particular that probably made the two sedate socialites shudder was the tale of Number 3 Riverside Drive. Built in 1896 by Philip and Maria Kleeberg, the eighteen-room limestone mansion was designed by society architect, Charles Pierrepont H. Gilbert in a style befitting its owner.  Kleeberg was a wealthy lace merchant who also invented the calculator.  He was successful in business but not his personal life.  In 1903, his wife, Maria excused herself as hostess of a dinner party and locked herself in her bedroom where she committed suicide by drinking carbolic acid.

The Kleeberg Mansion

When Kate and Flossy drove by the mansion that featured on its roof a marble cherub holding a basket of fruit they most likely admired its architecture but were appalled at the turn of events the home had been exposed to.  Since 1916, its owner, Dr. William Wellington Knipe had been running an experimental twilight sleep sanitarium from its hallowed halls.  Neighbors were appalled and filed a lawsuit.  They wanted him out and their peace and quiet restored.

Not ones to get involved with controversy, the ladies continued their drive, ending at the sedate surroundings of Central Park, another beautiful spot designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and Charles Vaux.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears every Thursday.

Opening Photo:
Riverside Drive
Ephemeral New York, public domain, postcard

Photo One:
Julia Marlowe in her motor, ca 1900
Corbis, public domain

Photo Two:
The actress, Julia Marlowe
Museum City of New York

Photo Three:
Riverside Drive
postcard, public domain

Photo Four:
Soldiers and Sailors Monument
postcard, public domain

Photo Five:
Visitors to Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Museum City of New York

Photo Six:
Kleeberg Mansion Riverside Drive
public domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred Twenty One appeared first on Woman Around Town.

June 14-21, 1917

“Shopping at Altman’s.”  That’s what Kate Roosevelt was doing on June 14, 1917. Altman’s was an exclusive department store located on Fifth Avenue just across the street from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, a spot that Kate and her spinster sister, Ettie Shippen frequently lunched at, after a morning of shopping.  It was a prestigious location indeed.  Located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 35^th Street, the immense shopping emporium stretched all the way back to Madison Avenue, just around the corner from Kate’s home at 301 Lexington Avenue.

Altman’s Department Store

This was where the store was located in 1917, but until 1906, it was a prominent part of the promenade known as the Ladies’ Mile, that included a row of exclusive retailers, stretching up Broadway from 9^th Avenue to 23^rd Street in Lower Manhattan.  Among Benjamin Altman’s neighbors on the Ladies’ Mile were R.H. Macy, Tiffany and Company, Brooks Brothers, A.T. Stewart and Siegal-Cooper.  Eventually these retailers followed their clientele and marched uptown to spots along fashionable Fifth Avenue and in 1906, Benjamin Altman did the same.

Benjamin Altman

The reclusive retailer chose the architectural firm of Trowbridge and Livingston to draw plans and on October 5, 1906 his new Italian palazzo clad in French limestone opened.  The New York Times reported, “The architecture is classic, in so far as it can be applied to a mercantile house.  The doorway and entrance columns are handsomely decorated, the store adds materially to the beauty of Fifth Avenue.”

The new Altman’s offered all the amenities a well-to-do shopper would expect and by 1910 it was obvious his clientele were clamoring for more.  The Record Guide reported on Altman’s new acquisition and plans for expansion, “With the improvement of the Madison Avenue block in the near future, Mr. Altman, while owning one of the most valuable blocks in the city for retail purposes will also have one of the largest stores.”  The resulting $1 million Italian Renaissance addition rose twelve stories.  It was reported that much of the upper floor space was dedicated to the comfort of Mr. Altman’s employees.  The store even offered continuing education for employees. Altman had left school at the age of twelve to work in the retail business with his father and as a result he was considerate of each and every one who worked in his store. Benjamin Altman was a bachelor. He died on October 7, 1913 in his mansion at 626 Fifth Avenue, a year before the addition to his store was complete. His funeral was held at Temple Emanu-El where he was eulogized as one of the city’s “great merchants.”

Tributes to Altman remembered the kindness he showed his employees. When his will was made public, no employee was left out. He bequeathed $10,000 each to his two secretaries and others received gifts in the amounts of no less than $1,000. His generosity totaled more than $1 million.

The plans for the addition included an “employee home” on the twelfth floor that provided airy lunchrooms, a company subsidized employee cafeteria and an entire medical suite staffed with a physician and nurses.

Staircase to upper floors, B. Altman’s Department Store

The eleventh floor included a recreation room for employees, especially for women and girls.  Newspapers reported, “It was to be furnished in a cozy fashion and would offer books and magazines.  The roof, too, was intended for fresh air breaks and a solarium and smoking room for men was on the drawing board.”

The New York Sun reported that the total cost for the enlarged Altman Store, together with the land was in the neighborhood of “Twelve million dollars.”

The Madison Avenue addition was completed in October, 1914 and doubled the size of the store. The comfort of its customers was also carefully taken care. A fifth floor writing room for women was furnished in blue velvet and matching carpeting and offered an information bureau, comfortable chairs and telephone booths.

Kate Roosevelt’s shopping spree at Altman’s was most likely more of an experience than just a quick trip to pick up a few necessities. By 1917, the store was showing lines produced by a major Paris dressmaker, Jeanne Paquin. The New York Times reported that “By the time the exhibit of French fashions at the Ritz-Carlton began, the hotel’s  ballroom was jammed with upward of 900 dress manufacturers, dressmakers, milliners, designers, saleswomen and models who it was whispered had come out to get points as to how the mannequins (French models) wore the frocks they displayed.” Just before the first model walked down the runway, it was announced that B. Altman’s had purchased the entire collection.

Mary Todd Lincoln

The store’s high-class clientele was evidenced by the items it sold.  A New-York Tribune article described an especially exquisite accessory, “A deep note of splendor is struck by beautifully colored ostrich fan, which is uncurled, but droopingly curved at the long ends.  Shades that are not often seen are found in these fans. They cost $40.00.” I wondered if Kate Roosevelt had purchased one, but remembering an outing she had several years ago at the Bronx Zoo, I thought not.  It was there she met the zoo’s first director, William Temple Hornaday, who was responsible for a tariff act that prohibited the importing of exotic bird feathers for use as decorations on women’s hats and accessories. Hornaday, a conservationist was a good friend of her cousin’s, former President Theodore Roosevelt and would have been disappointed in knowing that a relative purchased such an illegal extravagance.

Kate Roosevelt did not say what her purchases included.  She certainly was an important shopper and throughout the store’s history it boasted quite a few.  In 1861, Mary Todd Lincoln purchased at B. Altman’s, a 190-piece china service for the White House. It was Haviland china, produced in Limoges, France and cost $3,195.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Five Hours at Paquin, by Henri Gervex, 1906
Public domain

Photo Two:
Altman’s Department Store
Museum City of New York

Photo Three:
Benjamin Altman
metmuseum.org

Photo Four:
Staircase to upper floors, B. Altman’s Department Store
New York Public Library

Photo Five:
Mary Todd Lincoln
Mathew Brady Photograph
Public Domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Twenty-Two appeared first on Woman Around Town.

July 5-12, 1917 

July 5, 1917, the day after celebrating a patriotic July Fourth visiting troops stationed at Camp Dix in Wrightstown bound for warfare in the trenches of France and doing a drive-by to admire the ruins of Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother, Joseph’s estate in Bordentown, New Jersey, Kate Roosevelt was settling into life in the country.  Her farm, Merdlemouth, was the perfect spot to entertain family and friends, pick wild strawberries and serve afternoon tea.  It was perfect for the wealthy widow of President Theodore Roosevelt’s cousin, Hilborne Roosevelt, but not so for the stable of servants it took to run the small “gentleman’s” farm located in Hightstown, New Jersey not far from the campus of Princeton University and the state capital, Trenton. According the Kate’s diary entry, during the first week in July, she lamented about the family’s lack of loyal help. That included her daughter, Dorothy Roosevelt Geer who was also a wealthy widow trying to maintain life as a socialite and female “country squire.”

Household Help

The week’s diary entries are a testament to the domestically-challenged mother-daughter team. “Dorothy interviewing for new chauffeur. Edgar Archer announced that he was leaving.  He as well as Elmer McCue feel they are overworked and abused!” “Dorothy and I to Hightstown to do marketing and meet the new chauffeur whom we hope will turn-up. Olaf arrived. Nice boy, but not an expert chauffeur. Olaf couldn’t operate the Ford station wagon at all. In time he will learn to drive better, but is far from experienced now.” Elmer McCue is very impertinent. I dismissed him and Edgar. Sent Olaf, the new chauffeur, in with them to Hightstown. Had talk with Olaf. He consents to stay with us at lower wages and do extra work about the house and grounds and help in the garage with the motors.”

Soon after this tirade, Kate Roosevelt wrote, “Dorothy and I picked strawberries for canning in garden which is back of the farm house.  I to New York to see about a chauffeur for the city.  Spent night at 301 Lexington Avenue where Maud Blakely, the maid, is in charge for the summer. Augusta, the cook is coming back to Hightstown with me. To Lincoln Garage to see about hiring a new chauffeur. Enjoyed meeting George Nast. Hope he will stay on and also help out in Hightstown.”

Shrafft’s Shop Window

“Lunched at Shrafft’s. Quite good, not expensive.  Shopping. Very crowded.  Back to New York.  Olaf met us in the Buick at Princeton Junction. Olaf and George Nast to Englishtown to obtain chauffeur’s permits.  They must be licensed to drive my car.”  So far, Olaf had not been given a last name and I began to wonder if it was a bad omen for the young, inexperienced “jack-of-all trades.”

All the servants, chauffeurs, cooks, maids, laundresses, governesses and groundskeepers made it possible for Kate and Dorothy to idle away the days picking fruit on the farm and lunching at Shrafft’s in the city. I must admit I was a bit surprised that the small restaurant that was part of a chain that began as a candy store in Boston and began serving affordable meals in New York City in 1909 would be Kate Roosevelt’s cup of tea.  Ladies who Lunch by Jan Whitaker describes Shrafft’s as “Offering large, pleasant dining rooms in the better areas of town which often attracted ladies who were shopping. It was one of the first restaurants to welcome unescorted women.”  Its affordable and socially-acceptable lunch counter catered to the ever-growing cadre of female clerks working in the elegant department stores like Lord & Taylor, Arnold Constable, B. Altman, Bonwit Teller and Siegal Cooper that lined lower Broadway.

Siegel-Cooper Department Store on Ladies’ Mile, Lower Manhattan

The Shrafft’s described as “quite good” was most likely the one located at 54 West 23rd Street, right in the middle of Lower Manhattan’s famous Ladies’ Mile Shopping District. Offering the “gentility of a typical upper-class dining room, their menu included a light lunch consisting of salads, creamed cauliflower, fried eggplant, scrambled eggs in butter and of course their own brand of Shrafft’s ice cream, all served on linen tablecloths.

Speaking of linens, I couldn’t help but wonder if Kate and Dorothy ever found a laundress to take care of the mounds of embroidered tablecloths, monogrammed napkins, starched white blouses and children’s knickers that were piling up back at Merdlemouth.  As of last week no had applied for the “coveted” position.

From all of her writings I was beginning to see that running a small empire wasn’t easy, even for a member of the nearly “royal” Roosevelt Family.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Staff
National Library of Ireland

Photo Two:
Household Help
public domain

Photo Three:
Shrafft’s Shop Window
Library of Congress

Photo Four:
Siegel-Cooper Department Store on Ladies’ Mile, Lower Manhattan
Postcard, public domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Twenty Five appeared first on Woman Around Town.

July 19-26, 1917  

It was the middle of July 1917 and Kate Roosevelt was all over the map, figuratively and logistically. Since her diary entries from July 19 through July 26, 1917 span the globe, I decided that her readers might just want to savor every second spending a week with the wealthy widow.

So here is a sampling of her writing word-for-word:

July 19, 1917: “I and George Nash to New York to get him a chauffeur suit. Jean and Billy Kayser arrived in their motor around 7 in the evening.”

July 20, 1917: “During the Great War, passenger service never ceased entirely. Even the ten days the German Government had the audacity to forbid sailing from this side. During that time the French and English shipping lines sailed as usual and got safely through the submarine danger zone. After we declared war on Germany this form of shameful publicity coming from sailing lines was usual. It is certainly not true. Internal political reports in Germany going on but they will not diminish or impair the strength of the Kaiser, the court, the princes or the military powers. Nothing short of complete victory by the Allies and the downfall of the Kaiser will bring about a lasting world peace.”

July 21, 1917: “The Kaysers, Jean and Billy, left for Cedarhurst. A big row (fight) with Augusta the cook.” To Princeton to see the aviation men fly.”

Bessie Alexander

July 22, 1917: “Dorothy and the Smiths to the Big Brooke at Merdlemouth.  I to camp at Wrightstown, New Jersey. Home by way of Bordentown.”

July 23, 1917: “Olaf, the new chauffeur/handyman began to lay brick walk on back of terrace.”

July 24, 1917:  “To Sea Bright. Lop (Kate’s Sister, Georgina Shippen), seems desperately ill.”

July 25, 1917: “Women to movies in evening, except the cook, Augusta.”

Advertisement for Silent Film “The Lone Wolf”

July 26, 1917: “Dorothy and I to New York to see the movie, “Lone Wolf.” Very Good. Took little Langdon to McCreery’s for a haircut.”  Dorothy started for Sea Bright, New Jersey to stay with Bessie Alexander.”

For each episode of the Dowager’s Diary I usually take one or two comments made by Kate Roosevelt and go into the history of what was happening and why she was making note of certain people, places and events, but today I decided to do something different and share each diary entry verbatim.

White Star Line Advertisement

Kate’s first entry was meant to embarrass the Cunard and White Star Shipping Lines by discussing their false and misleading advertising that encouraged innocent people to risk their lives by traveling between New York and Europe in German U-boat infested waters. Looks like some of the Roosevelt talent for political rhetoric rubbed off and Kate was taking the two biggest shipping lines to task.

Sounds like the cook Augusta was at the boiling point. When the rest of the staff got the night off to go to the movies in Hightstown, Augusta was either punished or just stayed at home to sulk.

Outside Blair Hall, Princeton University

When she mentioned going to Princeton to see the aviation men fly, Kate Roosevelt was referring to the university and Princeton’s living-up to its patriotic potential. When World War One broke out in 1914 many Princetonians were moved and met the call of duty by persuading the university president, John G. Hibben to offer organized military training on the campus. Overseen by the Committee on War Courses, it was headed by General Leonard Wood, who along with his friend, Theodore Roosevelt, had volunteered to fight along with the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War.

Next it was back to New York and to the movies at the Broadway Theater to see a Lewis J. Selznick production, the silent movie, “Lone Wolf” and to take little Langdon for a haircut.  In the early 1900s, many large department stores like McCreery’s offered services in addition to a wide array of merchandise.

Sea Bright, New Jersey

Sea Bright was the next stop. There Kate paid a visit to her family home, The Anchorage, located along the Jersey Shore. As young girls, it was where she first met, Bessie Alexander, the widow of the famous portraitist, John White Alexander. Apparently Dorothy was going to spend a few days with an old-family friend, whose husband had painted her coming-out portrait in 1902.

A summer swirl of comings, goings, editorializing and socializing was par for the course and I could just imagine Kate Roosevelt returning to Merdlemouth, ready to take on the world and an unruly cook named Augusta.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Elliott and Frances Springs, 1918
Princeton Alumni Weekly, Princeton Historic Photo Collection

Photo Two:
Bessie Alexander
by John White Alexander

Photo Three:
Advertisement for Silent Film “The Lone Wolf”
wiki
internet archive

Photo Four:
White Star Line Advertisement
www.greatship.net, public domain

Photo Five:
Outside Blair Hall, Princeton University
Historic Photo Collection, Princeton University

Photo Six:
Sea Bright, New Jersey
author collection

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Twenty-Seven appeared first on Woman Around Town.

October 18-25, 1917

“Emlen Roosevelt here about possible sale of house.” That was Kate Roosevelt’s diary entry for October 19, 1917 and it made perfect sense to me.  Just the other day she had commented, “Lady Boardingham here to see house at 302 Lexington Avenue for a girl’s club. They did not take it as the first proposal was to rent for a year with a guarantee of sale afterwards. She wanted to rent with a promise of sale.”

Emlen Roosevelt

Emlen Roosevelt was Kate’s late-husband, Hilborne Roosevelt’s cousin and handled all of the family’s financial affairs. During his cousin, Theodore Roosevelt’s term as President of the United States, Emlem served as his financial secretary. He was president of Roosevelt and Sons, the banking firm founded by his father, James Alfred Roosevelt and a director of the Chemical Bank of New York. It seemed that whenever Kate had a question about her financial future, the sale of stock or real estate she called on cousin Emlen’s wise advice.

Morgan Home 219 Madison Avenue

The house that Kate commented on was where her late-mother, Georgina Morton Shippen, had lived and where the spinster Shippen sisters, Ettie, Lop, Sophie and Caroline, often camped-out when they weren’t making themselves at home at their sister Kate’s. Kate Roosevelt lived right across the street, at 301 Lexington Avenue. According to a street map of this area known as Murray Hill in New York City, these two residences are no longer there, but they certainly were located in a swanky section of the city surrounded by the homes of millionaires and socialites. Just around the corner at Madison and 36^th Street stood the J.P. Morgan mansion where Kate’s good friend, Florence Rhett, had been employed as companion to the banker’s three daughters, Louisa, Juliet, and Anne.

Morgan Home on Madison Avenue

In 1917 it was still a private home where J.P. Morgan’s widow, Frances Tracy Morgan, resided right next door to her late-husband’s famous library. J.P. Morgan died in 1913, but before his death he realized his life’s dream. He began collecting paintings, sculpture, tapestries, books, illuminated manuscripts, ancient artifacts and autographs when he was still a young and very wealthy young man and kept them in a locked treasure room in the basement of his home at 219 Madison Avenue until 1902 when he directed the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White to build him a library, “a magnificent structure, a gem,” to house his ever-expanding collection.

Morgan Library

The designers did not disappoint. Adjacent to his private residence, the Italian Renaissance-style palazzo that contained masterpieces was a masterpiece on its own. The large and grand library had thirty-feet high walls, lined floor to ceiling with bookcases fashioned of bronze and inlaid Circassian walnut. Two staircases concealed behind bookcases at the corner of the room allow access to the balconies that run along rim of the room. A pair of casement windows incorporating fragments of stained glass provide the room with celestial illumination.The mantelpiece is carved in Istrian marble and above it hangs a rare tapestry made in Brussels in 1545.

Belle de Costa Green

The library gave Morgan the space to encourage his collections to grow and the splendor to showcase them. In 1905, with the able assistance of Belle de Costa Greene, a young Princeton University librarian, he was able to make some astounding additions. Barely twenty years-old when J.P. Morgan hired her, Ms. Greene, while accompanying him on buying trips to Europe, helped him build one of America’s greatest libraries. On an excursion to London in 1908, she swept-up a collection of priceless prints in private negotiations with the owner, Lord Amherst, the night before they were to be privately auctioned off.

Frances Tracy Morgan

J.P. Morgan’s widow, Frances Morgan, lived in the brownstone mansion on the corner of Madison and 36^th Street until her death in 1924 (It was razed in 1928 to make room for the library annex). The home was originally part of a complex of three residences built in 1852 for the Phelps-Dodge-Stokes Families, copper-mining millionaires. In 1881, J.P. Morgan purchased the southern-most brownstone at 219 Madison Avenue. In 1903 he purchased the central brownstone and razed it to make a garden.

The Morgan House

Rolling right down the block, in 1904, the millionaire purchased the northern-most brownstone at 231 Madison on the corner of 37^th Street for his son, Jack Morgan. Containing forty-five rooms and twelve bathrooms, Jack Morgan lived there until he died in 1943.  That same year, his estate sold the mansion to the Lutheran Church for use as its American headquarters where they retained the integrity of the building both inside and out. In 1988 the Morgan Library purchased what was called “The Morgan House.” It is a rare example of a free-standing brownstone and has been designated a New York City Landmark.

Kate Roosevelt did not list the asking price for her mother’s home at 302 Lexington Avenue in her diary entry, but considering the neighborhood, I could only guess that it was worth a pretty penny.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
The Morgan Library
Library of Congress

Photo Two:
Emlen Roosevelt
wiki

Photo Three:
Morgan Home 219 Madison Avenue
Library of Congress

Photo Four:
Morgan Home on Madison Avenue
Library of Congress

Photo Five:
Morgan Library
Library of Congress

Photo Six:
Belle de Costa Green
Paul Cesar Helleu Paster, ca. 1913
wiki

Photo Seven:
Frances Tracy Morgan
Morgan Library and Museum
public domain

Photo Eight:
The Morgan House, home of Jack Morgan, 231 Madison Avenue
Morgan Library and Museum

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Thirty-Eight appeared first on Woman Around Town.

If CNN, today’s premier cable news channel, had been around one hundred years ago, I am sure Kate Roosevelt would have been one of the most outspoken members on its panel of political pundits. Reading her candid comments, written in her diary proves that she certainly had opinions on everything and everyone. On November 6, 1917 she wrote, “Election Day!  Overwhelming victory for Tammany in New York City.  They’re Democrats of course. Republicans have the state of New York. This outcome was evidently a deal between the worst elements in our worst political world.  John Purroy Mitchel, the best mayor New York City has ever had was defeated largely because he has maintained a strong, clean administration and exposed the horrors committed in Roman Catholic charitable institutions a couple of years ago.  Although he is a Roman Catholic (R.C.) himself, it’s a calamity just now to have been defeated, particularly now that Woman’s Suffrage in with Tammany, which means that the Roman Catholics will own New York City, body and soul.”

John Purroy Mitchel

Sounds like someone’s feathers were ruffled. As most of Kate Roosevelt’s followers know, she called Suffragettes, “soapbox militants” and thought Catholics and their rituals, “long-winded.” But it was nice to hear her say something nice about the former mayor, even though he was a Roman Catholic.

Homeless Children in Soup Line

John Purroy Mitchel was the ninety-fifth mayor of New York City. Elected in 1914 at the age of thirty-four, he was called the “Boy Mayor of New York City.” All of the Roosevelts held him in high-regard.  Kate’s cousin, former president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt endorsed him in his 1917 re-election bid with these words, “Mitchel has given us nearly as nearly an ideal administration of the New York City government as I have seen in my lifetime.” Following in the footsteps of reformers like Roosevelt, as mayor, John Mitchel worked to make city hall a place of decency and honesty, broke up “The Gangs of New York” and fought against the corrupt cronyism of Tammany Hall.

Educated by the Jesuits at Fordham, Mitchel was a staunch Catholic who really did “practice what he preached.” In addition to being Catholic, he was also of Irish descent and when faced with the controversy surrounding the Irish Catholic nuns who ran many of New York City’s Foundling Hospitals and the strict admission policies enforced by the city-run foundling hospitals, he literally “fought city hall.”

Sister Irene FitzGibbons with babies

In order to economize and control admission, the Department of Public Charity installed strict criteria on who and how mothers and babies were admitted to city-run orphanages. They also wanted to control how the Catholic Sisters of Charity ran their operation saying that the nuns were not educated or trained professionally, were out of touch with modern methods and hampered by tradition.

Before a pregnant woman was admitted to a city-run foundling hospital, her family background was investigated.  On source noted, “Babies have to prove they are citizens of New York City, who their parents are and that they are proper public charges before they get something to eat and a place to sleep.” Sometimes the father was brought to court. This process could take up to one month. Most expectant or new mothers refused to submit to this invasion of privacy, so they turned to the Sisters of Charity, who refused no one. They took in all who were rejected by the city.

Original Foundling Hospital East 12th Street, 1869

To continue this practice, the nuns had to refuse all public funding. Their policy was to comfort not interrogate and found that women of wealth needed this compassion as much as the impoverished. The city put the supervisor of the Catholic Foundling Hospitals, Sister Teresa Vincent through the ringer, compelling her to attend hours and hours of meetings and give heart-wrenching testimony. On May 23, 1917, the day she was to make yet another court appearance in defense of the Foundling’s admission policy, Sister Vincent died of heart failure. She made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of social justice. According to Habits of Compassion: Irish Catholic Nuns and the Origins of New York’s Foundling Hospital by Maureen Fitzgerald, “Three thousand people attended Sister Vincent’s funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and soon after, her supporter, Mayor Mitchel was voted out of office.” His successor, “Red Mike” Hylan fulfilled his campaign promise to continue to fill railcars known as “Orphan Trains” headed west with abandoned children from New York City.

Sister Irene with white crib

The Orphan Trains and the Foundling Hospital’s funneling of children to the mid-west was what John Mitchel exposed during his term as mayor. New York City’s Foundling Asylum was founded in 1869 by Sister Irene FitzGibbons, a Sister of Charity. Its first home was in a brownstone on East 12th Street where a white crib was installed inside an unlocked front door to welcome any and all abandoned babies. With no child welfare system in place in the city, newborns were often left on street corners, church entries and on the doorsteps of the wealthy. Most of them were eventually bundled up and carried to the care of the good sisters at the Catholic Foundling Asylum. As its population grew and the babies became children, it became necessary for them to be moved to permanent homes, many times on farms in the mid-west to make way for new arrivals.

Children Debarking Orphan Train

While Mayor Mitchel agreed with the admission policies of the Foundling Home, he did not agree with their process of eviction via the Orphan Trains where children were sent to an often-times frightening future of abuse and cheap labor.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Orphan Train Headed west
Public Domain

Photo Two:
John Purroy Mitchel
wiki

Photo Three:
Homeless Children in Soup Line
Library of Congress

Photo Four:
Sister Irene FitzGibbons with babies
foundlinghospital.org

Photo Five:
Original Foundling Hospital East 12th Street, 1869
Public Domain

Photo Six:
Sister Irene with white crib
public domain

Photo Seven:
Children Debarking Orphan Train
Public Domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Forty appeared first on Woman Around Town.

February 15-22, 1917 

Throughout Kate Shippen Roosevelt’s diary she many times mentioned taking her grandsons, Langdon, Jr. and Shippen Geer to parks, museums, exhibits, school and dentist appointments. Their mother, Dorothy Roosevelt Geer, was a young widow with many cultural commitments and social soirees to attend.  She traveled in circles and went places that two little boys would not be interested in.  Dorothy never remarried, but certainly had her share of men friends and flirtations. Her husband, Langdon Geer passed away in 1915 from a blood clot on the brain, never having the opportunity to meet the newest addition to his family, Shippen Geer, born shortly after his death.

Maybe the boys were sad reminders of her husband or just too much responsibility for delicate Dorothy, but not for her mother, the multi-tasking matron, Kate Roosevelt.

On February 15, 1917, while Dorothy was away visiting her in-laws, the George Jarvis Geers in Milburn, New Jersey, leaving baby Shippen with his governess, Kate took the eldest, Langdon Geer, Jr. “To see the Aero Show at Grand Central Palace.”

Santo-Dumont Dirigible

The year 1917 was just beginning, but word of an impending war with Germany had been echoing throughout the country since 1914 and most everything happening the United States was related to revving-up to join the fight.

Fledgling flying machines, called aeroplanes were ready for war along with the rest of the country and their prowess was being promoted by Pan-American Aeronautics and the Aero Club of America with presentations such as the one Kate and Langdon, Jr. attended at the Grand Central Palace on Lexington Avenue between 46^th and 47^th Streets.

The Grand Central Palace provided the perfect staging for such an expansive show. For more than forty years, from 1911 until 1953, it was New York City’s principle exhibition hall, hosting events like: The International Flower Show; the Greater New York Poultry Exposition; the Westminster Kennel Club Show; the Sportsman and Vacation Show; the International Beauty Shop Owners Convention; the Frozen Foods Exposition; the International Textiles Convention and New York City’s Golden Anniversary Gala in 1948.

The Wright Brothers Kitty Hawk

Designed by architectural firms, Warren and Wetmore and Reed and Shaw in the Beaux Arts style, the Grand Central Palace rose thirteen-stories high and was so large that for a log-rolling competition in 1936, it had a pool installed in the first floor exhibit space.  The shows it produced brought in so much tourism, the area surrounding it was called “Hotel Alley.” Springing up in its shadow were hotels with the names, Winthrop; Lexington; Shelton (now the Marriott East Side); Montclair and Barclay.  The Waldorf-Astoria is the only original still standing. The cavernous four-floor exhibit space was able to duplicate an airplane hangar and at the 1917 exhibition there was space to hang from the ceiling the Wright Brothers historic plane, the “Kitty Hawk.”  It is now in the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution.

Santos-Dumont Flying Exhibition in France

Mixing business with pleasure, the exhibit that Kate took little Langdon to was said to be, “Not just an aeronautics show, not merely a display of aircraft, but part of the National Preparedness Movement.” Hosted by Pan-American Aeronautics, its mission was to promote patriotism as well as its place as the premier airplane manufacturer in the world.   To accomplish this they invited noted pilots to make guest appearances.  Alberto Santos-Dumont, one of the most famous aviators of the day came from France and with him the legend that the jeweler, Louis Cartier invented the wristwatch on his behalf.  In 1904 when the Frenchman, Santos-Dumont complained that it was difficult to check on his flight times using a pocket watch, Cartier presented him with a watch that allowed him to keep both hands on the controls while flying. Called “The Pilot Watch,” it is still sold by Cartier along with the Santos-Dumont Line of sunglasses.

Ruth Law landing in New York City, 1916

Ruth Law, a pioneer female aviator was one of the attractions.  In November, 1916, she broke the air speed record for flying non-stop from Chicago to New York.  Her fuel cut out while flying over Manhattan and she glided to a safe landing on Governor’s Island.

Newly-designed airplanes and ageless aviators made the show a big success.  The world was watching as the war unfolded.  The European conflict pushed ahead strides made in aviation and transportation was being transformed for commercial, private and war-time use.  “All eyes were on aviation.”

Caught up in the romance of flight were many young men and even some women.  The “Queen of Speed,” stunt pilot, Ruth Law protested when women were not allowed to fly military aircraft.  During World War I females were excluded from such duty, but not the sons of the former President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt.

Quentin Roosevelt

Archie, Ted, Kermit and Quentin Roosevelt all signed on for active duty.  Quentin, the youngest, had “flying fever” and on September 10, 1917 he was assigned to the 1^st Aero Squadron and was sent to France and the planes once on display in New York City became coffins for many, including Quentin Roosevelt.  The New York Times quoted on July 18, 1918, “The semi-official French news agency, Havas reported that Quentin Roosevelt had indeed been killed in an airborne fight and that an American patrol was working behind German lines to find the wreckage of his plane.  He appeared to be fighting up until the last moment.”

From a care-free outing with her five-year-old grandson in 1917 to a condolence call on her cousins, Theodore and Edith Roosevelt in 1918, Kate Roosevelt was growing into a formidable woman ready to put more on her plate than a leisurely lunch at the Colony Club.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Grand Central Palace
postcard, public domain

Photo Two:
Santo-Dumont Dirigible
wiki

Photo Three:
The Wright Brothers Kitty Hawk
Library of Congress

Photo Four:
Santos-Dumont Flying Exhibition in France
Public Domain

Photo Five:
Ruth Law landing in New York City, 1916
Library of Congress

Photo Six:
Quentin Roosevelt
public domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Five appeared first on Woman Around Town.

March 27-31, 1917 

“In the evening to see Lilac Time at the Theater Republic at 207 West 42^nd Street.” That was what was on the agenda for the last week of March, 1917 for Kate Shippen Roosevelt. The saying goes that “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb,” but not in Mrs. Roosevelt’s repertoire. As the month drew to an end, her remarks and social schedule were anything but docile. After announcing in her diary that she had attended a performance of the play, Lilac Time, she sliced into it with a cutting remark. “Dull, too much Jane Cowl.”

Jane Cowls, Publicity Photo

Based on a novel by Guy Fowler, Jane Cowl adapted the play in collaboration with Jane Murfin. On this evening, the sometimes actress, Jane Cowl was cast in the lead role, playing the part of a young French girl who falls in love with an American aviator during World War One. It had a sappy ending and maybe Kate Roosevelt was looking for something more realistic. It was March, 1917 and the impending war was not far from everyone’s mind, playwrights and newlyweds included.

Church of the Holy Communion

The following day, Kate Roosevelt wrote, “I to Ina Kissel’s wedding.” According to the New York Sun, the nuptials were scheduled to be celebrated in May, but the wedding date was pushed up to March because the groom, Harvard-graduate, Henry Taft Easton, had accepted a commission to go overseas and join the allies on the battlefield. The ceremony was held at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion on West 20^th Street and Sixth Avenue. Mrs. Roosevelt did not say anything more about the wedding or the reception held at the home of the bride’s father at 43 Park Avenue, but I was sure her feelings were nothing less than nostalgic. The Church of the Holy Communion was were many members of the extended Roosevelt Family worshipped, wed, and were waked. It was located just blocks away from where President Theodore Roosevelt was born at 28 East 20^th Street. Five years after her husband, the organ-maker, Hilborne Roosevelt died, his widow, Kate Roosevelt donated a Roosevelt Opus 493 to the church while it was undergoing alterations in 1891.

Hilborne Roosevelt died on December 30, 1886, just six days after his thirty-sixth birthday and the funeral was held on Sunday, January 2, 1887, at the Church of the Holy Communion.  According to newspaper accounts, “The church was filled with friends and employees of the Roosevelt Organ Works located on West 18^th Street.  The service was conducted by the rector with the assistance of the church choir.  The Symphony and Oratorio Societies, which Hilborne had been instrumental in founding offered to provide the funeral music. Walter Damrosch, the celebrated symphony conductor would have been honored to take part, but the family requested a simple service.

Hilborne Roosevelt Organ ca: 1882

There were no designated pall bearers and flowers were requested to be omitted. The only floral contribution was a bouquet of lilies of the valley placed on the rosewood casket with plain silver trimmings. This flower was the same variety worn by Hilborne, just three years earlier on his wedding day. He was buried at the family plot in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn besides his parents and grandparents.”   Cousin Theodore Roosevelt had just re-married and was in Rome, Italy at the time of Hilborne’s death. He sent his sincere condolences, “My very dear Kate, I will not intrude upon you by more than a line, to tell you how deeply Edith and I feel for you. May heaven help and guard you, my dear Kate.  Always, Theodore Roosevelt.” Theodore Roosevelt’s first wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt, is also buried in the Roosevelt Family plot at Greenwood Cemetery.

It is at times like these that I see Kate Roosevelt as more than a moneyed-matron, traveling in social circles that encompassed the J.P. Morgans, the Vanderbilts and the President of the United States. Widowed just three years into her marriage, and left with a young daughter to raise, Kate Roosevelt had to learn how to not only live in the lap of luxury, but to also to develop a backbone that would keep her there.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Greenwood Cemetery Entrance
Library of Congress

Photo Two:
Jane Cowls, Publicity Photo
Library of Congress

Photo Three:
Church of the Holy Communion
West 20th Street and Sixth Avenue
Museum City of New York

Photo Four:
Hilborne Roosevelt
Courtesy: Susan Geer D’Angelo and Noel Geer Seifert

Photo Five:
Hilborne Roosevelt Organ ca: 1882
Public Domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Eleven appeared first on Woman Around Town.

June  7-14, 1917

The jolly month of June, 1917 found Kate Shippen Roosevelt in many places.  From her small country farm in Hightstown, New Jersey to her ancestral home, “The Anchorage” located on the shore in Sea Bright, New Jersey, these destinations provided her diary with a different dateline each day, but, much like a homing pigeon, the one place that she always returned to was her grand apartment at 301 Lexington Avenue in the Murray Hill Section of Manhattan.  From here she entertained, discussed Roosevelt Family finances, chaired charity events, held rehearsals for amateur theatrical productions and often dined with her girl-hood chum, Florence Rhett, fondly referred to as “Folly.”  The two often accompanied each other to concerts, recitals and Broadway plays. Since Kate was a widow and “Folly” never married, the two “single ladies” often went out on the town together, sometimes to something extravagant but many times their outings were as simple as a drive in “Folly’s” motor.

Julia Marlowe in her motor car, ca. 1900

Florence Rhett could easily afford to own her own car, something rare for a woman in 1917.  She had been the governess/companion to J.P. Morgan’s three daughters and when he died in 1913 his last will and testament included a gift of $100,000 to Florence Rhett in gratitude for her years of service to his family, enough money to purchase an entire fleet of cars and keep up with her wealthy friend, Kate Roosevelt, former President Theodore Roosevelt’s cousin.

“Folly Rhett had a “tray” dinner with me at 301 Lexington Avenue.  We had a lovely drive in her motor up Riverside Drive and through Bronx Park then through Central Park.”  Two old friends enjoying a summer day in New York City was the scene painted in Kate Roosevelt’s diary on June 7, 1917.

The actress, Julia Marlowe

And speaking of friends, I wondered if they might have driven past the former home of their fellow Colony Club member and chum, the actress Julia Marlowe and reminisced about often seeing her behind the wheel of her open-air motor known as a “Victoria.”  The club, located on Park Avenue was a magnate for the upper crust, politically-connected, civic-minded, actresses and socially-active women in New York City.

Julia Marlowe was a Shakespearean actress who counted among her acclaimed contemporaries, Ethel Barrymore who many considered a bad influence on her friend, Alice Roosevelt, the president’s daughter.

Riverside Drive

Marlowe made her Broadway debut in 1895 and went on to appear in more than seventy productions there.  With the money from her theatrical successes she bought a townhouse known as “River Mansion” at 337 Riverside Drive in 1900 for $60,000. She sold the mansion in 1909 when she married her co-star, E.H. Sothern. The buyer was Lothar W. Faber, president of Eberhard-Faber Pencil Company.  The mansion went through several owners. It eventually became a boarding house and finally went back to being a private residence.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument

In 1917, when Kate Roosevelt and Folly Rhett were motoring along the meandering path along the park they most likely were reminded of its history.  The drive and south end of the park from West 72^nd Street to West 125^th Street was designed by noted landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead and his colleague, Charles Vaux in the 1870s with hopes it would rival ritzy Fifth Avenue.  The residential area was developed by the architect, Clarence F. True featuring rows of elegant mansions designed with elaborate cornices, ornate roofs and gables.

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument at 89^th Street was a tourist attraction and often crowded with visitors wanting to pay homage to the Union Soldiers who fought in the Civil War.  The white marble structure, known as the “Temple of Fame” was erected in 1902.

Visitors to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument

Their drive gave the two friends plenty of sights to see, memories to share and stories to tell.  One in particular that probably made the two sedate socialites shudder was the tale of Number 3 Riverside Drive. Built in 1896 by Philip and Maria Kleeberg, the eighteen-room limestone mansion was designed by society architect, Charles Pierrepont H. Gilbert in a style befitting its owner.  Kleeberg was a wealthy lace merchant who also invented the calculator.  He was successful in business but not his personal life.  In 1903, his wife, Maria excused herself as hostess of a dinner party and locked herself in her bedroom where she committed suicide by drinking carbolic acid.

The Kleeberg Mansion

When Kate and Flossy drove by the mansion that featured on its roof a marble cherub holding a basket of fruit they most likely admired its architecture but were appalled at the turn of events the home had been exposed to.  Since 1916, its owner, Dr. William Wellington Knipe had been running an experimental twilight sleep sanitarium from its hallowed halls.  Neighbors were appalled and filed a lawsuit.  They wanted him out and their peace and quiet restored.

Not ones to get involved with controversy, the ladies continued their drive, ending at the sedate surroundings of Central Park, another beautiful spot designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and Charles Vaux.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears every Thursday.

Opening Photo:
Riverside Drive
Ephemeral New York, public domain, postcard

Photo One:
Julia Marlowe in her motor, ca 1900
Corbis, public domain

Photo Two:
The actress, Julia Marlowe
Museum City of New York

Photo Three:
Riverside Drive
postcard, public domain

Photo Four:
Soldiers and Sailors Monument
postcard, public domain

Photo Five:
Visitors to Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Museum City of New York

Photo Six:
Kleeberg Mansion Riverside Drive
public domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred Twenty One appeared first on Woman Around Town.

June 14-21, 1917

“Shopping at Altman’s.”  That’s what Kate Roosevelt was doing on June 14, 1917. Altman’s was an exclusive department store located on Fifth Avenue just across the street from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, a spot that Kate and her spinster sister, Ettie Shippen frequently lunched at, after a morning of shopping.  It was a prestigious location indeed.  Located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 35^th Street, the immense shopping emporium stretched all the way back to Madison Avenue, just around the corner from Kate’s home at 301 Lexington Avenue.

Altman’s Department Store

This was where the store was located in 1917, but until 1906, it was a prominent part of the promenade known as the Ladies’ Mile, that included a row of exclusive retailers, stretching up Broadway from 9^th Avenue to 23^rd Street in Lower Manhattan.  Among Benjamin Altman’s neighbors on the Ladies’ Mile were R.H. Macy, Tiffany and Company, Brooks Brothers, A.T. Stewart and Siegal-Cooper.  Eventually these retailers followed their clientele and marched uptown to spots along fashionable Fifth Avenue and in 1906, Benjamin Altman did the same.

Benjamin Altman

The reclusive retailer chose the architectural firm of Trowbridge and Livingston to draw plans and on October 5, 1906 his new Italian palazzo clad in French limestone opened.  The New York Times reported, “The architecture is classic, in so far as it can be applied to a mercantile house.  The doorway and entrance columns are handsomely decorated, the store adds materially to the beauty of Fifth Avenue.”

The new Altman’s offered all the amenities a well-to-do shopper would expect and by 1910 it was obvious his clientele were clamoring for more.  The Record Guide reported on Altman’s new acquisition and plans for expansion, “With the improvement of the Madison Avenue block in the near future, Mr. Altman, while owning one of the most valuable blocks in the city for retail purposes will also have one of the largest stores.”  The resulting $1 million Italian Renaissance addition rose twelve stories.  It was reported that much of the upper floor space was dedicated to the comfort of Mr. Altman’s employees.  The store even offered continuing education for employees. Altman had left school at the age of twelve to work in the retail business with his father and as a result he was considerate of each and every one who worked in his store. Benjamin Altman was a bachelor. He died on October 7, 1913 in his mansion at 626 Fifth Avenue, a year before the addition to his store was complete. His funeral was held at Temple Emanu-El where he was eulogized as one of the city’s “great merchants.”

Tributes to Altman remembered the kindness he showed his employees. When his will was made public, no employee was left out. He bequeathed $10,000 each to his two secretaries and others received gifts in the amounts of no less than $1,000. His generosity totaled more than $1 million.

The plans for the addition included an “employee home” on the twelfth floor that provided airy lunchrooms, a company subsidized employee cafeteria and an entire medical suite staffed with a physician and nurses.

Staircase to upper floors, B. Altman’s Department Store

The eleventh floor included a recreation room for employees, especially for women and girls.  Newspapers reported, “It was to be furnished in a cozy fashion and would offer books and magazines.  The roof, too, was intended for fresh air breaks and a solarium and smoking room for men was on the drawing board.”

The New York Sun reported that the total cost for the enlarged Altman Store, together with the land was in the neighborhood of “Twelve million dollars.”

The Madison Avenue addition was completed in October, 1914 and doubled the size of the store. The comfort of its customers was also carefully taken care. A fifth floor writing room for women was furnished in blue velvet and matching carpeting and offered an information bureau, comfortable chairs and telephone booths.

Kate Roosevelt’s shopping spree at Altman’s was most likely more of an experience than just a quick trip to pick up a few necessities. By 1917, the store was showing lines produced by a major Paris dressmaker, Jeanne Paquin. The New York Times reported that “By the time the exhibit of French fashions at the Ritz-Carlton began, the hotel’s  ballroom was jammed with upward of 900 dress manufacturers, dressmakers, milliners, designers, saleswomen and models who it was whispered had come out to get points as to how the mannequins (French models) wore the frocks they displayed.” Just before the first model walked down the runway, it was announced that B. Altman’s had purchased the entire collection.

Mary Todd Lincoln

The store’s high-class clientele was evidenced by the items it sold.  A New-York Tribune article described an especially exquisite accessory, “A deep note of splendor is struck by beautifully colored ostrich fan, which is uncurled, but droopingly curved at the long ends.  Shades that are not often seen are found in these fans. They cost $40.00.” I wondered if Kate Roosevelt had purchased one, but remembering an outing she had several years ago at the Bronx Zoo, I thought not.  It was there she met the zoo’s first director, William Temple Hornaday, who was responsible for a tariff act that prohibited the importing of exotic bird feathers for use as decorations on women’s hats and accessories. Hornaday, a conservationist was a good friend of her cousin’s, former President Theodore Roosevelt and would have been disappointed in knowing that a relative purchased such an illegal extravagance.

Kate Roosevelt did not say what her purchases included.  She certainly was an important shopper and throughout the store’s history it boasted quite a few.  In 1861, Mary Todd Lincoln purchased at B. Altman’s, a 190-piece china service for the White House. It was Haviland china, produced in Limoges, France and cost $3,195.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Five Hours at Paquin, by Henri Gervex, 1906
Public domain

Photo Two:
Altman’s Department Store
Museum City of New York

Photo Three:
Benjamin Altman
metmuseum.org

Photo Four:
Staircase to upper floors, B. Altman’s Department Store
New York Public Library

Photo Five:
Mary Todd Lincoln
Mathew Brady Photograph
Public Domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Twenty-Two appeared first on Woman Around Town.

July 5-12, 1917 

July 5, 1917, the day after celebrating a patriotic July Fourth visiting troops stationed at Camp Dix in Wrightstown bound for warfare in the trenches of France and doing a drive-by to admire the ruins of Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother, Joseph’s estate in Bordentown, New Jersey, Kate Roosevelt was settling into life in the country.  Her farm, Merdlemouth, was the perfect spot to entertain family and friends, pick wild strawberries and serve afternoon tea.  It was perfect for the wealthy widow of President Theodore Roosevelt’s cousin, Hilborne Roosevelt, but not so for the stable of servants it took to run the small “gentleman’s” farm located in Hightstown, New Jersey not far from the campus of Princeton University and the state capital, Trenton. According the Kate’s diary entry, during the first week in July, she lamented about the family’s lack of loyal help. That included her daughter, Dorothy Roosevelt Geer who was also a wealthy widow trying to maintain life as a socialite and female “country squire.”

Household Help

The week’s diary entries are a testament to the domestically-challenged mother-daughter team. “Dorothy interviewing for new chauffeur. Edgar Archer announced that he was leaving.  He as well as Elmer McCue feel they are overworked and abused!” “Dorothy and I to Hightstown to do marketing and meet the new chauffeur whom we hope will turn-up. Olaf arrived. Nice boy, but not an expert chauffeur. Olaf couldn’t operate the Ford station wagon at all. In time he will learn to drive better, but is far from experienced now.” Elmer McCue is very impertinent. I dismissed him and Edgar. Sent Olaf, the new chauffeur, in with them to Hightstown. Had talk with Olaf. He consents to stay with us at lower wages and do extra work about the house and grounds and help in the garage with the motors.”

Soon after this tirade, Kate Roosevelt wrote, “Dorothy and I picked strawberries for canning in garden which is back of the farm house.  I to New York to see about a chauffeur for the city.  Spent night at 301 Lexington Avenue where Maud Blakely, the maid, is in charge for the summer. Augusta, the cook is coming back to Hightstown with me. To Lincoln Garage to see about hiring a new chauffeur. Enjoyed meeting George Nast. Hope he will stay on and also help out in Hightstown.”

Shrafft’s Shop Window

“Lunched at Shrafft’s. Quite good, not expensive.  Shopping. Very crowded.  Back to New York.  Olaf met us in the Buick at Princeton Junction. Olaf and George Nast to Englishtown to obtain chauffeur’s permits.  They must be licensed to drive my car.”  So far, Olaf had not been given a last name and I began to wonder if it was a bad omen for the young, inexperienced “jack-of-all trades.”

All the servants, chauffeurs, cooks, maids, laundresses, governesses and groundskeepers made it possible for Kate and Dorothy to idle away the days picking fruit on the farm and lunching at Shrafft’s in the city. I must admit I was a bit surprised that the small restaurant that was part of a chain that began as a candy store in Boston and began serving affordable meals in New York City in 1909 would be Kate Roosevelt’s cup of tea.  Ladies who Lunch by Jan Whitaker describes Shrafft’s as “Offering large, pleasant dining rooms in the better areas of town which often attracted ladies who were shopping. It was one of the first restaurants to welcome unescorted women.”  Its affordable and socially-acceptable lunch counter catered to the ever-growing cadre of female clerks working in the elegant department stores like Lord & Taylor, Arnold Constable, B. Altman, Bonwit Teller and Siegal Cooper that lined lower Broadway.

Siegel-Cooper Department Store on Ladies’ Mile, Lower Manhattan

The Shrafft’s described as “quite good” was most likely the one located at 54 West 23rd Street, right in the middle of Lower Manhattan’s famous Ladies’ Mile Shopping District. Offering the “gentility of a typical upper-class dining room, their menu included a light lunch consisting of salads, creamed cauliflower, fried eggplant, scrambled eggs in butter and of course their own brand of Shrafft’s ice cream, all served on linen tablecloths.

Speaking of linens, I couldn’t help but wonder if Kate and Dorothy ever found a laundress to take care of the mounds of embroidered tablecloths, monogrammed napkins, starched white blouses and children’s knickers that were piling up back at Merdlemouth.  As of last week no had applied for the “coveted” position.

From all of her writings I was beginning to see that running a small empire wasn’t easy, even for a member of the nearly “royal” Roosevelt Family.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Staff
National Library of Ireland

Photo Two:
Household Help
public domain

Photo Three:
Shrafft’s Shop Window
Library of Congress

Photo Four:
Siegel-Cooper Department Store on Ladies’ Mile, Lower Manhattan
Postcard, public domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Twenty Five appeared first on Woman Around Town.

July 19-26, 1917  

It was the middle of July 1917 and Kate Roosevelt was all over the map, figuratively and logistically. Since her diary entries from July 19 through July 26, 1917 span the globe, I decided that her readers might just want to savor every second spending a week with the wealthy widow.

So here is a sampling of her writing word-for-word:

July 19, 1917: “I and George Nash to New York to get him a chauffeur suit. Jean and Billy Kayser arrived in their motor around 7 in the evening.”

July 20, 1917: “During the Great War, passenger service never ceased entirely. Even the ten days the German Government had the audacity to forbid sailing from this side. During that time the French and English shipping lines sailed as usual and got safely through the submarine danger zone. After we declared war on Germany this form of shameful publicity coming from sailing lines was usual. It is certainly not true. Internal political reports in Germany going on but they will not diminish or impair the strength of the Kaiser, the court, the princes or the military powers. Nothing short of complete victory by the Allies and the downfall of the Kaiser will bring about a lasting world peace.”

July 21, 1917: “The Kaysers, Jean and Billy, left for Cedarhurst. A big row (fight) with Augusta the cook.” To Princeton to see the aviation men fly.”

Bessie Alexander

July 22, 1917: “Dorothy and the Smiths to the Big Brooke at Merdlemouth.  I to camp at Wrightstown, New Jersey. Home by way of Bordentown.”

July 23, 1917: “Olaf, the new chauffeur/handyman began to lay brick walk on back of terrace.”

July 24, 1917:  “To Sea Bright. Lop (Kate’s Sister, Georgina Shippen), seems desperately ill.”

July 25, 1917: “Women to movies in evening, except the cook, Augusta.”

Advertisement for Silent Film “The Lone Wolf”

July 26, 1917: “Dorothy and I to New York to see the movie, “Lone Wolf.” Very Good. Took little Langdon to McCreery’s for a haircut.”  Dorothy started for Sea Bright, New Jersey to stay with Bessie Alexander.”

For each episode of the Dowager’s Diary I usually take one or two comments made by Kate Roosevelt and go into the history of what was happening and why she was making note of certain people, places and events, but today I decided to do something different and share each diary entry verbatim.

White Star Line Advertisement

Kate’s first entry was meant to embarrass the Cunard and White Star Shipping Lines by discussing their false and misleading advertising that encouraged innocent people to risk their lives by traveling between New York and Europe in German U-boat infested waters. Looks like some of the Roosevelt talent for political rhetoric rubbed off and Kate was taking the two biggest shipping lines to task.

Sounds like the cook Augusta was at the boiling point. When the rest of the staff got the night off to go to the movies in Hightstown, Augusta was either punished or just stayed at home to sulk.

Outside Blair Hall, Princeton University

When she mentioned going to Princeton to see the aviation men fly, Kate Roosevelt was referring to the university and Princeton’s living-up to its patriotic potential. When World War One broke out in 1914 many Princetonians were moved and met the call of duty by persuading the university president, John G. Hibben to offer organized military training on the campus. Overseen by the Committee on War Courses, it was headed by General Leonard Wood, who along with his friend, Theodore Roosevelt, had volunteered to fight along with the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War.

Next it was back to New York and to the movies at the Broadway Theater to see a Lewis J. Selznick production, the silent movie, “Lone Wolf” and to take little Langdon for a haircut.  In the early 1900s, many large department stores like McCreery’s offered services in addition to a wide array of merchandise.

Sea Bright, New Jersey

Sea Bright was the next stop. There Kate paid a visit to her family home, The Anchorage, located along the Jersey Shore. As young girls, it was where she first met, Bessie Alexander, the widow of the famous portraitist, John White Alexander. Apparently Dorothy was going to spend a few days with an old-family friend, whose husband had painted her coming-out portrait in 1902.

A summer swirl of comings, goings, editorializing and socializing was par for the course and I could just imagine Kate Roosevelt returning to Merdlemouth, ready to take on the world and an unruly cook named Augusta.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Elliott and Frances Springs, 1918
Princeton Alumni Weekly, Princeton Historic Photo Collection

Photo Two:
Bessie Alexander
by John White Alexander

Photo Three:
Advertisement for Silent Film “The Lone Wolf”
wiki
internet archive

Photo Four:
White Star Line Advertisement
www.greatship.net, public domain

Photo Five:
Outside Blair Hall, Princeton University
Historic Photo Collection, Princeton University

Photo Six:
Sea Bright, New Jersey
author collection

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Twenty-Seven appeared first on Woman Around Town.

October 18-25, 1917

“Emlen Roosevelt here about possible sale of house.” That was Kate Roosevelt’s diary entry for October 19, 1917 and it made perfect sense to me.  Just the other day she had commented, “Lady Boardingham here to see house at 302 Lexington Avenue for a girl’s club. They did not take it as the first proposal was to rent for a year with a guarantee of sale afterwards. She wanted to rent with a promise of sale.”

Emlen Roosevelt

Emlen Roosevelt was Kate’s late-husband, Hilborne Roosevelt’s cousin and handled all of the family’s financial affairs. During his cousin, Theodore Roosevelt’s term as President of the United States, Emlem served as his financial secretary. He was president of Roosevelt and Sons, the banking firm founded by his father, James Alfred Roosevelt and a director of the Chemical Bank of New York. It seemed that whenever Kate had a question about her financial future, the sale of stock or real estate she called on cousin Emlen’s wise advice.

Morgan Home 219 Madison Avenue

The house that Kate commented on was where her late-mother, Georgina Morton Shippen, had lived and where the spinster Shippen sisters, Ettie, Lop, Sophie and Caroline, often camped-out when they weren’t making themselves at home at their sister Kate’s. Kate Roosevelt lived right across the street, at 301 Lexington Avenue. According to a street map of this area known as Murray Hill in New York City, these two residences are no longer there, but they certainly were located in a swanky section of the city surrounded by the homes of millionaires and socialites. Just around the corner at Madison and 36^th Street stood the J.P. Morgan mansion where Kate’s good friend, Florence Rhett, had been employed as companion to the banker’s three daughters, Louisa, Juliet, and Anne.

Morgan Home on Madison Avenue

In 1917 it was still a private home where J.P. Morgan’s widow, Frances Tracy Morgan, resided right next door to her late-husband’s famous library. J.P. Morgan died in 1913, but before his death he realized his life’s dream. He began collecting paintings, sculpture, tapestries, books, illuminated manuscripts, ancient artifacts and autographs when he was still a young and very wealthy young man and kept them in a locked treasure room in the basement of his home at 219 Madison Avenue until 1902 when he directed the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White to build him a library, “a magnificent structure, a gem,” to house his ever-expanding collection.

Morgan Library

The designers did not disappoint. Adjacent to his private residence, the Italian Renaissance-style palazzo that contained masterpieces was a masterpiece on its own. The large and grand library had thirty-feet high walls, lined floor to ceiling with bookcases fashioned of bronze and inlaid Circassian walnut. Two staircases concealed behind bookcases at the corner of the room allow access to the balconies that run along rim of the room. A pair of casement windows incorporating fragments of stained glass provide the room with celestial illumination.The mantelpiece is carved in Istrian marble and above it hangs a rare tapestry made in Brussels in 1545.

Belle de Costa Green

The library gave Morgan the space to encourage his collections to grow and the splendor to showcase them. In 1905, with the able assistance of Belle de Costa Greene, a young Princeton University librarian, he was able to make some astounding additions. Barely twenty years-old when J.P. Morgan hired her, Ms. Greene, while accompanying him on buying trips to Europe, helped him build one of America’s greatest libraries. On an excursion to London in 1908, she swept-up a collection of priceless prints in private negotiations with the owner, Lord Amherst, the night before they were to be privately auctioned off.

Frances Tracy Morgan

J.P. Morgan’s widow, Frances Morgan, lived in the brownstone mansion on the corner of Madison and 36^th Street until her death in 1924 (It was razed in 1928 to make room for the library annex). The home was originally part of a complex of three residences built in 1852 for the Phelps-Dodge-Stokes Families, copper-mining millionaires. In 1881, J.P. Morgan purchased the southern-most brownstone at 219 Madison Avenue. In 1903 he purchased the central brownstone and razed it to make a garden.

The Morgan House

Rolling right down the block, in 1904, the millionaire purchased the northern-most brownstone at 231 Madison on the corner of 37^th Street for his son, Jack Morgan. Containing forty-five rooms and twelve bathrooms, Jack Morgan lived there until he died in 1943.  That same year, his estate sold the mansion to the Lutheran Church for use as its American headquarters where they retained the integrity of the building both inside and out. In 1988 the Morgan Library purchased what was called “The Morgan House.” It is a rare example of a free-standing brownstone and has been designated a New York City Landmark.

Kate Roosevelt did not list the asking price for her mother’s home at 302 Lexington Avenue in her diary entry, but considering the neighborhood, I could only guess that it was worth a pretty penny.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
The Morgan Library
Library of Congress

Photo Two:
Emlen Roosevelt
wiki

Photo Three:
Morgan Home 219 Madison Avenue
Library of Congress

Photo Four:
Morgan Home on Madison Avenue
Library of Congress

Photo Five:
Morgan Library
Library of Congress

Photo Six:
Belle de Costa Green
Paul Cesar Helleu Paster, ca. 1913
wiki

Photo Seven:
Frances Tracy Morgan
Morgan Library and Museum
public domain

Photo Eight:
The Morgan House, home of Jack Morgan, 231 Madison Avenue
Morgan Library and Museum

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Thirty-Eight appeared first on Woman Around Town.

If CNN, today’s premier cable news channel, had been around one hundred years ago, I am sure Kate Roosevelt would have been one of the most outspoken members on its panel of political pundits. Reading her candid comments, written in her diary proves that she certainly had opinions on everything and everyone. On November 6, 1917 she wrote, “Election Day!  Overwhelming victory for Tammany in New York City.  They’re Democrats of course. Republicans have the state of New York. This outcome was evidently a deal between the worst elements in our worst political world.  John Purroy Mitchel, the best mayor New York City has ever had was defeated largely because he has maintained a strong, clean administration and exposed the horrors committed in Roman Catholic charitable institutions a couple of years ago.  Although he is a Roman Catholic (R.C.) himself, it’s a calamity just now to have been defeated, particularly now that Woman’s Suffrage in with Tammany, which means that the Roman Catholics will own New York City, body and soul.”

John Purroy Mitchel

Sounds like someone’s feathers were ruffled. As most of Kate Roosevelt’s followers know, she called Suffragettes, “soapbox militants” and thought Catholics and their rituals, “long-winded.” But it was nice to hear her say something nice about the former mayor, even though he was a Roman Catholic.

Homeless Children in Soup Line

John Purroy Mitchel was the ninety-fifth mayor of New York City. Elected in 1914 at the age of thirty-four, he was called the “Boy Mayor of New York City.” All of the Roosevelts held him in high-regard.  Kate’s cousin, former president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt endorsed him in his 1917 re-election bid with these words, “Mitchel has given us nearly as nearly an ideal administration of the New York City government as I have seen in my lifetime.” Following in the footsteps of reformers like Roosevelt, as mayor, John Mitchel worked to make city hall a place of decency and honesty, broke up “The Gangs of New York” and fought against the corrupt cronyism of Tammany Hall.

Educated by the Jesuits at Fordham, Mitchel was a staunch Catholic who really did “practice what he preached.” In addition to being Catholic, he was also of Irish descent and when faced with the controversy surrounding the Irish Catholic nuns who ran many of New York City’s Foundling Hospitals and the strict admission policies enforced by the city-run foundling hospitals, he literally “fought city hall.”

Sister Irene FitzGibbons with babies

In order to economize and control admission, the Department of Public Charity installed strict criteria on who and how mothers and babies were admitted to city-run orphanages. They also wanted to control how the Catholic Sisters of Charity ran their operation saying that the nuns were not educated or trained professionally, were out of touch with modern methods and hampered by tradition.

Before a pregnant woman was admitted to a city-run foundling hospital, her family background was investigated.  On source noted, “Babies have to prove they are citizens of New York City, who their parents are and that they are proper public charges before they get something to eat and a place to sleep.” Sometimes the father was brought to court. This process could take up to one month. Most expectant or new mothers refused to submit to this invasion of privacy, so they turned to the Sisters of Charity, who refused no one. They took in all who were rejected by the city.

Original Foundling Hospital East 12th Street, 1869

To continue this practice, the nuns had to refuse all public funding. Their policy was to comfort not interrogate and found that women of wealth needed this compassion as much as the impoverished. The city put the supervisor of the Catholic Foundling Hospitals, Sister Teresa Vincent through the ringer, compelling her to attend hours and hours of meetings and give heart-wrenching testimony. On May 23, 1917, the day she was to make yet another court appearance in defense of the Foundling’s admission policy, Sister Vincent died of heart failure. She made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of social justice. According to Habits of Compassion: Irish Catholic Nuns and the Origins of New York’s Foundling Hospital by Maureen Fitzgerald, “Three thousand people attended Sister Vincent’s funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and soon after, her supporter, Mayor Mitchel was voted out of office.” His successor, “Red Mike” Hylan fulfilled his campaign promise to continue to fill railcars known as “Orphan Trains” headed west with abandoned children from New York City.

Sister Irene with white crib

The Orphan Trains and the Foundling Hospital’s funneling of children to the mid-west was what John Mitchel exposed during his term as mayor. New York City’s Foundling Asylum was founded in 1869 by Sister Irene FitzGibbons, a Sister of Charity. Its first home was in a brownstone on East 12th Street where a white crib was installed inside an unlocked front door to welcome any and all abandoned babies. With no child welfare system in place in the city, newborns were often left on street corners, church entries and on the doorsteps of the wealthy. Most of them were eventually bundled up and carried to the care of the good sisters at the Catholic Foundling Asylum. As its population grew and the babies became children, it became necessary for them to be moved to permanent homes, many times on farms in the mid-west to make way for new arrivals.

Children Debarking Orphan Train

While Mayor Mitchel agreed with the admission policies of the Foundling Home, he did not agree with their process of eviction via the Orphan Trains where children were sent to an often-times frightening future of abuse and cheap labor.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Orphan Train Headed west
Public Domain

Photo Two:
John Purroy Mitchel
wiki

Photo Three:
Homeless Children in Soup Line
Library of Congress

Photo Four:
Sister Irene FitzGibbons with babies
foundlinghospital.org

Photo Five:
Original Foundling Hospital East 12th Street, 1869
Public Domain

Photo Six:
Sister Irene with white crib
public domain

Photo Seven:
Children Debarking Orphan Train
Public Domain

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Forty appeared first on Woman Around Town.

December 14-21, 1917

Christmas was just around the corner for Kate Roosevelt and her New York City social circle, but utmost on their minds during the holiday season of 1917 was what was going on in other corners of the world. This year there would be no celebrating in Europe as World War One was putting on its own display of revelry. Soldiers were being gassed, trenches on the battlefield were winding their way all over Europe and fatherless orphans were begging for food and shelter.

During this time, every daily entry was accompanied with an equally-informative newspaper clipping and commentary by the now “amateur war correspondent” Kate Roosevelt. On the side or in the margin of her diary, in her own words and sprawling handwriting she captioned each report.“General Pershing’s men have had their first experience in the trenches.”

General John Pershing

In early December, 1917, General John Pershing warned Secretary of War, Newton Baker, that with the collapse of the Russian Front, the Germans would be able to take over the Western Front by the Spring of 1918. He blamed his gloomy forecast on inefficiency and corruption on the part of the United States Government. At war since April, 1917, the United States had only four infantry divisions in France and they were all deficient in training, equipment and staffing techniques and ultimately unable to stop a German victory.

Trenches in France

Pershing was not a big fan of the rudimentary trench warfare being implemented by the Allies, France, and Britain. He thought open warfare would win the war, but when American soldiers balked at being human cannon fodder, he re-considered and used trench warfare for the first time. Kate’s diary documents this strategy with a clipping of United States soldiers entrenched with French Troops wearing French helmets for protection.

The long, narrow and muddy foxholes provided damp and cold quarters for the soldiers, requiring special uniforms that would keep out the snow and sleet that rained down on the foxholes during the winter months.

General Pershing in Trench Coat

While doing research on trenches, I began to think that quite possibly the classic “trench coat” might have had its origins in World War One. According to a website, www.hespokestyle, “Military -inspired and ultra-classic, the trench coat is one piece of outerwear that will never go out of style.”

Ad for Trench Coats

Although the trench coat rose to fashion-fame during World War One, its material, gabardine was invented in the late 1800s by Thomas Burberry. The now-famous, men’s haberdasher saw a need for a waterproof fabric that was less smelly and sweaty than the rubberized, cotton then available and so created a new fabric in which individual threads were rubberized, rather than the entire cloth. Called gabardine, the cotton material was waterproof and breathable. Kate Roosevelt knew a bit about waterproof material. Her late son-in-law, Langdon Geer, was the American representative for the British Cravanette Company, that sold a similar waterproof product used in men’s suits and coats. When her cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, amassed his troops known as the Rough Riders to go into battle during the Spanish-American War, he ordered a water-proof uniform made of Cravanette from Brooks Brothers.

American Soldier in Trench Coat

During World War One, the military recognized this miracle material known as gabardine and began using it. Prior to World War One, most battles were fought at close range and bright uniforms were essential in identifying comrades and also made them colorful targets. As warfare changed, armies realized their soldiers needed to blend into their backgrounds and the color khaki provided the perfect camouflage.

The trench coat became popular with British soldiers and officers who had been wearing serge, wool topcoats. Heavy when dry, when they got wet these topcoats weighed-down soldiers in soaking wool, making it impossible to maneuver in muddy trenches.

Gabardine replaced wool and soldiers’ topcoats became known as trench coats. Designed with wide lapels, a double-breasted closure and belt, the epaulets were added during World War One to display rank. Military mythology suggests that D-rings were used to hang grenades from.

Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.

Photo One:
Soldiers in Trenches Wearing Waterproof Trench Coats
Keystone View, Public Domain

Photo Two:
General John Pershing
U.S. Military Library Photo

Photo Three:
Trenches in France
Wiki

Photo Four:
General Pershing
Wiki

Photo Five:
Ad for Trench Coats
Public Domain

Photo Six:
American Soldier in Trench Coat
Author Collection

The post The Dowager’s Diary – Week One Hundred and Forty-Six appeared first on Woman Around Town.