Charles Henry Marshall Jr. (February 19, 1838 – July 2, 1912) was an American businessman, art collector and philanthropist who was prominent in society during the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and We ...

Early life

Marshall was born on February 19, 1838 in

Easton, New York Easton is a town in southwestern Washington County, New York, United States along the county's western boundary. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 2,259 at the 2000 census. The town adopted Eng ...

. He was the son of Capt. Charles Henry Marshall (1792–1865) and Fidelia (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Wellman) Marshall (1800–1840). His siblings were Mary Marshall (the wife of William Allen Butler and mother of Howard Russell Butler), Fidelia Wellman Marshall, Malvina Marshall (who married Daniel Sidney Appleton), and Helen Marshall (wife of

William Stanley Haseltine William Stanley Haseltine (June 11, 1835 – February 3, 1900) was an American painter and draftsman who was associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting, the Hudson River School and Luminism. Early life and education Born in Philade ...

). His father was a businessman and merchant who fought in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

and became the proprietor of Black Ball Packet Line. Marshall graduated from

Columbia College Columbia College may refer to one of several institutions of higher education in North America: Canada * Columbia College (Alberta), in Calgary * Columbia College (British Columbia), a two-year liberal arts institution in Vancouver * Columbia In ...

in 1858.

Career

Marshall was a businessman and merchant who ran the firm of Charles H. Marshall and Co. He also had holdings in transatlantic steamship companies and various insurance companies. He served as a director of the Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Company of New York, the Hanover National Bank, the Hanover Safe Deposit Company, the

Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company The Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company was a mutual insurance company which offers personal, marine, commercial property, and casualty insurance.Atlantic Mutual Companies, ''Meeting the Challenges of Our Time: 2001 Annual Report,'' 2001. It is p ...

and a trustee of the Seamen's Bank for Savings. In 1887, he was appointed

Commissioner of Docks and Ferries The Commissioner of Docks of New York City was the head of the Department of Docks created by the New York State Legislature's 1870 revision of the New York City Charter, which returned numerous powers to the city government that had previously ...

by New York Mayor

Abram Hewitt Abram Stevens Hewitt (July 31, 1822January 18, 1903) was an American politician, educator, ironmaking industrialist, and lawyer who was mayor of New York City for two years from 1887–1888. He also twice served as a U.S. Congressman from and ...

and served as a member of the subcommittee of Seventy on the Improvement of the City Waterfront.

Society life

In 1892, Marshall and his wife were included in

Ward McAllister Samuel Ward McAllister (December 28, 1827 – January 31, 1895) was a popular arbiter of social taste in the Gilded Age of late 19th-century America. He was widely accepted as the authority as to which families could be classified as the cream o ...

's " Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in ''

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 ...

''. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom. Marshall was also an avid art collector, was a member of the

Metropolitan Club The Metropolitan Club of New York is a private social club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded as a gentlemen's club in 1891 for men only, but it was one of the first major clubs in New York to admit women, t ...

, the Union Club, the Century Club, the Riding Club, the Round Table Club of New York and the

Cobden Club The Cobden Club was a society and publishing imprint, based in London, run along the lines of a gentlemen's club of the Victorian era, but without permanent club premises of its own. Founded in 1866 by Thomas Bayley Potter for believers in Free ...

of London.

Personal life

On April 30, 1888, Marshall was married to Josephine Mozier Banks (1860–1933). Josephine, who was born in

Middletown, Rhode Island Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,075 at the 2020 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown". History Vario ...

, was the second daughter of Dr. James Lenox Banks and Isabella (née Mozier) Banks. She was also a niece of bibliophile and philanthropist

James Lenox James Lenox (August 19, 1800 – February 17, 1880) was an American bibliophile and philanthropist. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and in 1895 became part of the New York Public Library. Early ...

. Together, they maintained a home at 6 East 77th Street in New York City and were the parents of: * Evelyn Isabella Marshall (1889–1979), who married banker and publisher

Marshall Field III Marshall Field III (September 28, 1893 – November 8, 1956) was an American investment banker, publisher, racehorse owner/breeder, philanthropist, grandson of businessman Marshall Field, heir to the Marshall Field department store fortune, ...

(1893–1956) in 1915. They divorced in 1930, and in 1937 she married Diego Suarez Costa (1888–1974), counselor to the Colombian delegation to the United Nations in 1937 who later became the press attaché and minister counselor for Chile in Washington, D.C. from 1948 until 1952. * Charles Henry "Buddie" Marshall III (1891–1952), who married Alice Ford Huntington, a daughter of

Bob Huntington Robert Palmer Huntington Jr. (January 15, 1869 – March 12, 1949) was an American tennis player. He was the grandson of New York born Indiana pioneer Judge Elisha Mills Huntington. Architectural career Huntington joined the architectural firm ...

and sister of Helen Huntington (the first wife of

Vincent Astor William Vincent Astor (November 15, 1891 – February 3, 1959) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and member of the prominent Astor family. Early life Called Vincent, he was born in New York City on November 15, 1891. Astor was the el ...

). They divorced and in 1932, he married Brooke (née Russell) Kuser (1902–2007). Brooke, the daughter of John H. Russell Jr. (16th

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

), was divorced from New Jersey State Senator John Dryden Kuser. Brooke's son from her first marriage, Anthony Dryden Marshall, adopted the Marshall surname. After Charles' death, Brooke became the third wife of

in 1953. Marshall died from an acute aneurysm at his apartment, at 44 Rue de Villejust in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, on July 2, 1912.

Descendants

Through his daughter Evelyn, he was the grandfather of Barbara Field (1918–1984), Bettine Field,

Marshall Field IV Marshall Field IV (June 15, 1916September 18, 1965) was the owner of the ''Chicago Daily News'' from 1956 to 1965. Early life and education Marshall Field IV was born in New York City on June 15, 1916, to Evelyn (née Marshall) Field and Marsha ...

(1916–1965), the owner of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

''. Through his son Charles, he was the grandfather of Peter Marshall and Helen Huntington Marshall (1918–2007), who married conductor

Ernest Schelling Ernest Henry Schelling (July 26, 1876 – December 8, 1939) was an American pianist, composer, and conductor, and music director. He was the conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 1935 to 1937. Biography He was born in Belvidere, ...

and, after Schelling's death, cellist

János Scholz János Scholz (December 20, 1903 – June 3, 1993) was a Hungarian-born American cellist and art collector. Early life Scholz was born in 1903 in Sopron, Hungary. He graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Career Scholz ...

Legacy and honors

*The

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost constr ...

was named in his honor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Charles Henry 1838 births 1906 deaths Columbia College (New York) alumni People included in New York Society's Four Hundred American art collectors Businesspeople from New York City People from Easton, New York Philanthropists from New York (state) 19th-century American businesspeople