Charles de Rham (October 22, 1822 – February 23, 1909) was an American merchant and clubman who was prominent in New York society.
Early life
Charles was born in New York City on October 22, 1822. He was one of four children born to
Henry Casimir de Rham
Henry Casimir de Rham (15 July 1785 – October 1873) was a Swiss–American merchant and diplomat.
Early life
Henry Casimir de Rham was born on 15 July 1785 in Giez, Switzerland. He was a son of Johann Christoph Wilhelm de Rham of Braunschweig ...
(1785–1873) and Maria Theresa ( Moore) de Rham (1784–1855). His father, who came to America in 1805, was a merchant and diplomat who was appointed one of the first two Swiss
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...
s to the U.S. in 1822.
His paternal grandparents were Johann Christoph Wilhelm de Rham and the former Anne ( Kinloch) de Rham (a daughter of Sir James
Kinloch, Bt. of Scotland).
His maternal grandparents were Jane (
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
) Moore and the well-known surgeon, Dr. William Moore (a brother of
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
Benjamin Moore). His was a first cousin of writer and real estate developer
Clement Clarke Moore
Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 – July 10, 1863) was an American writer, scholar and real estate developer. He is best known as author of the Christmas poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas."
Moore was Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature ...
.
Career
Charles became a partner in his father's firm, De Rham,
Iselin & Moore,
which was absorbed in 1881 by the firm of
Adrian Iselin & Co., however, "at no time in his life did he actively engage" in business.
He was a director of the Gebhard Fire Insurance Company.
According to his obituary, "he was of a retiring disposition, and at no time took an active part in public affairs, although he was one of the founders of the
Knickerbocker
A Knickerbocker is a person from Manhattan (New York City, before 1898). A modern synonym is “New Yorker”.
Knickerbocker or Knickerbockers may also refer to:
People
* Knickerbocker (surname), including a list of people with the surname, and ...
, and had been a member of the
Union Club.
Personal life
On May 30, 1849, de Rham was married to Laura Friedrich Schmidt at
Grace Church Grace Church may refer to:
Canada
* Grace Church on-the-Hill, Toronto
China
* Grace Church, Guanghan
Poland
* Grace Church, Teschen or Jesus Church, a Lutheran basilica in Teschen, Poland
United Kingdom
United States
* Grace Cathedral (disam ...
. Laura was a daughter of Eliza Ann ( Bache) Schmidt and John William Schmidt,
who served more than fifty years as
Consul-General
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
in New York for
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
,
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, and
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
.
Her paternal grandfather, Dr. Georg Schmidt, was court physician to
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
Louise
Louise or Luise may refer to:
* Louise (given name)
Arts Songs
* "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005
* "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984
* "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013
* "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929
*"Louise", by Clan of ...
of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, and her maternal grandfather, William Bache, was a son of
Theophylact Bache.
The de Rhams had a country home at
Cold Spring, New York
Cold Spring is a village in the town of Philipstown in Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 1,986 at the 2020 census. It borders the smaller village of Nelsonville and the hamlets of Garrison and North Highlands. The cen ...
, known as
Giez
Giez is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.
History
Giez is first mentioned in 1011 as ''Gies''.
Geography
Giez has an area, , of . Of this area, or 58.5% is used for agricultural purpo ...
(after the town of his father's birth in Switzerland), and would often stay in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
. Together, they were the parents of:
* Elise De Rham (1850–1879),
who married
John Jay Pierrepont, a grandson of
Hezekiah Pierrepont
Hezekiah Beers Pierrepont (1768–1838) was a merchant, farmer, landowner and land developer in Brooklyn and New York state. He restored the spelling of the family surname from "Pierpont" to "Pierrepont", its original French spelling.
Life and c ...
and
Peter A. Jay
Peter Augustus Jay (January 24, 1776 – February 20, 1843) was a prominent New York lawyer, politician and the eldest son of Founding Father and first United States Chief Justice John Jay.
Early life
Peter Augustus Jay was born at Liberty ...
(eldest son of
Founding Father
The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...
John Jay
John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...
), in 1876.
* Charles de Rham Jr. (1854–1933), who married Emily Hone Foster, a sister of
Frederic de Peyster Foster and
Giraud Foster
Giraud Foster (8 November 1850 – 22 September 1945) was a businessman and socialite notable during America's gilded age. An avid bridge player, equestrian and sailor, Foster accumulated a large fortune from coal and shipping. Like his wife t ...
, in 1880.
* Henry Casimir de Rham (1855–1916),
who married Anna Tayloe Warren, a daughter of George Bowers Warren, in 1885.
After her death in 1892, he married socialite Georgina Louise Berryman, a daughter of Charles Henry Berryman and Harriett (
Whitney Whitney may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta
* ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston
* ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...
) Berryman and sister to
Caroline Berryman Spencer
Caroline Suydam Berryman Spencer (December 28, 1861 – April 6, 1948) was a New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, socialite and the editor of ''Illustrated American''.
Early life
She was born as Caroline Suydam Berryman on December 28, 1861 ...
,
in 1895.
* William de Rham (1857–1881),
who died unmarried at
Pau, France.
His wife died in May 1899.
After a short illness, de Rham died of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
at his home, 24
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
(a large brownstone house at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and
9th Street where he had lived since 1849), on February 23, 1909.
After a funeral at Grace Church, he was buried at
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...
in Brooklyn.
Descendants
Through his son Charles, he was a grandfather of Henry Casimir de Rham (1882–1947) (who married Frances Appleton Dana, a daughter of
Richard Henry Dana III
Richard Henry Dana III (January 3, 1851 – December 16, 1931) was an American lawyer and civil service reformer.
Early life
Dana was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on January 3, 1851, the son of lawyer and politician Richard Henry Dana, Jr. ...
and granddaughter of
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
);
Frederic Foster de Rham (1883–1938);
Laura de Rham (1887–1906);
Charles de Rham (1888–1918) (who married
Jeanne King);
and Emily Clarisse de Rham (1902–1973) (wife of John Rutherfurd, a descendant of
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
John Rutherfurd
John Rutherfurd (September 20, 1760February 23, 1840) was an American politician and land surveyor. He represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 1791 to 1798.
Early life
John Rutherfurd was born on September 20, 1760 in New York C ...
).
Through his son Henry, he was a grandfather of Casimir de Rham (1896–1968),
who married Lucy Lathrop Patterson (a daughter of
Rufus L. Patterson Jr.);
William de Rham (1901–1957);
Marion Elise de Rham (1903–1991), who married Frederick Simonds Whitlock;
and
Cmdr.
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
Stephen Whitney de Rham (1905–1961).
References
External links
Charles de Rham Family Albumat the
GettyPhotograph of Charles de Rham 1864, at the
GettyPhotograph of Charles de Rham Jr. 1864, at the
Getty
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Rham, Charles
1822 births
1909 deaths
People from Manhattan
19th-century American merchants