Anna Livingston Reade Morton ( Street; May 18, 1846 – August 14, 1918) was the second wife of United States
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Levi P. Morton
Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as United States ambassador to France, as a U.S. representative from New York, and as the 31st Governor of Ne ...
and
Second Lady of the United States
The second gentleman or second lady of the United States (SGOTUS or SLOTUS respectively) is the informal title held by the spouse of the vice president of the United States, concurrent with the vice president's term of office. Coined in contrast ...
from 1889 to 1893. She was known as Anna Street Morton.
Early life
Anna Livingston Reade Street was born on May 18, 1846 in
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
, the daughter of William Ingram Street (died 1863) and Susan Watts ( Kearney) Street (1819–1893).
Her paternal grandfather was
Randall S. Street, a lawyer and member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
. Her uncle was
Alfred Billings Street, a lawyer and prominent poet. Her maternal grandparents were Ann (née Reade) Kearney and Robert Kearney. Through her grandmother Ann, the daughter of
Catherine Livingston and John Reade, she was a descendant of
Robert Livingston the Elder
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
, 1st Lord of
Livingston Manor
Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain.
History
Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the colonial Province of New York granted ...
.
Career
After they married, her husband became a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
in 1879, serving until 1881 when he was appointed the
United States Minister to France
The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations we ...
by President
James A. Garfield
James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...
in 1881. Morton was U.S. Minister until May 14, 1885 and Anna was noted for as a highly cultivated French scholar.
During her husband's term as
Vice President of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
under President
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...
, she was
Second Lady of the United States
The second gentleman or second lady of the United States (SGOTUS or SLOTUS respectively) is the informal title held by the spouse of the vice president of the United States, concurrent with the vice president's term of office. Coined in contrast ...
from 1889 to 1893 and often handled entertaining duties for the administration due to
First Lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...
Caroline Harrison
Caroline Lavinia Harrison (; October 10, 1832 – October 25, 1892) was an American music teacher and the first lady of the United States from 1889 until her death. She was married to President Benjamin Harrison, and she was the second first l ...
's illness and ultimate death. During this time, the Mortons lived on
Scott Circle
Scott Circle is an area in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. that is centred on the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, and 16th Street, N.W.
Originally a neighborhood recreational area, unlike Dupont Circle where poli ...
in
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
and Mrs. Morton "became the leader of society in Washington, and there was never a more brilliant and popular leader than she. It was her innate graciousness, her innate tact, and her kindness of heart . . . which won her admiration and respect of all".
After the Mortons left Washington, Levi became the Governor of New York and Anna served as the
First Lady of New York from 1895 to 1896.
Personal life
In 1873, Anna was married to Levi Parsons Morton (1824–1920), just two years after the death of his first wife, Lucy Young Kimball, in 1871. Together, Anna and Levi had five daughters and a son together. A son, Lewis died at the age of four months in London, and daughters Lena and Alice predeceased their mother.
* Edith Livingston Morton (1874–1964), who married
William Corcoran Eustis
William Corcoran Eustis (July 20, 1862 – November 24, 1921) was a captain in the United States Army and the personal assistant to General John J. Pershing during World War I. He was chairman of the inauguration committee for the first inaug ...
(1862–1921), son of
George Eustis, Jr.
* Lena Kearney Morton (1875–1905)
* Helen Stuyvesant Morton (1876–1952), who married Paul Louis Marie Archambaud, Boson de Talleyrand-Périgord (1867–1952), a son of the
Charles Guillaume Frédéric, Boson de Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince de Sagan.
* Lewis Parsons Morton (1877–1878), who died young.
* Alice Morton (1879–1917),
who married
Winthrop Chanler Rutherfurd (1862–1944),
son of
Lewis Morris Rutherfurd
Lewis Morris Rutherfurd (November 25, 1816 – May 30, 1892) was an American lawyer and astronomer, and a pioneering astrophotographer.
Early life and work
Rutherfurd was born in Morrisania, New York to Robert Walter Rutherfurd (1788–1852) a ...
.
* Mary Morton (1881–1932), who adopted two children, Lewis Peter Morton and Mirian Morton.
She died at her home, "Ellerslie" in
Rhinebeck, New York
Rhinebeck is a village (New York), village in the Rhinebeck (town), New York, town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeepsie– ...
, on August 14, 1918 at the age of 72.
["Mrs. Levi P. Morton Dies At Home in Rhinecliff, N.Y.", ''Boston Daily Globe'', Thursday, August 15, 1918, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Of America.]
Philanthropy
In December 1904, the Mortons anonymously gave $600,000 to the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. In January 1905, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' revealed that the Mortons were the givers, including funds for the purchase of an organ in memory of their daughter Lena who died in Paris the June previous.
References
Sources
*
External links
Descendants of Robert Livingston, 1st Lord of Livingston Manor and Alida Schuyler*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Anna
1846 births
1918 deaths
Second Ladies of the United States
First Ladies and Gentlemen of New York (state)
Morton family (United States)
Livingston family
Schuyler family