Valentine Gill Hall Jr. (March 27, 1834 – July 17, 1880) was an American socialite, banker, and merchant who was the maternal grandfather of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Early life

Hall was born in New York City on March 27, 1834, to Irish immigrant Valentine Gill Hall Sr. and Susan Hall, Tonnelé. His younger sister, Margaret Tonnelé Hall, was married to Edward Philip Livingston Ludlow, the older brother of his wife, two years after his marriage in 1861. Another sister, Catherine Tonnelé Hall, was married to

Eugene Schieffelin Eugene Schieffelin (January 29, 1827 – August 15, 1906) was an American amateur ornithologist who belonged to the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society and the New York Zoological Society. In 1877, he became chairman of the American Acc ...

, and a brother, John Tonnelé Hall, was married to Catherine Cruger Delafield, daughter of

Rufus King Delafield Rufus King Delafield (November 18, 1802 – February 6, 1874) was an American banker and manufacturer. Early life Delafield was born at his father's residence, 16 Wall Street in New York City, on November 18, 1802, and named after Rufus King, the ...

, and niece of merchants Richard Delafield and

Edward Delafield Edward Delafield (May 7, 1794 – February 13, 1875) was an American physician, primarily known as an ophthalmologist, but also for his work in obstetrics and gynaecology. He was the co-founder (with John Kearney Rodgers) of the New York Eye Infi ...

. His maternal grandparents were Rebecca (née Waterbury) Tonnelé, and John Tonnelé Sr, a Frenchman. His uncle was John Tonnelé Jr., the farmer and politician who was a member of the New Jersey State Legislature, and his grandmother Rebecca was the daughter of Revolutionary War General David How Waterbury, Jr.

Career

His father and his maternal grandfather were business partners in the New York City wool merchant firm of Tonnelé & Hall, who were considered "the most extensive Wool dealers in the country" in 1842. Through their firm, Hall's father was able to build a large fortune, estimated at $250,000 in 1842, which included "considerable holdings in New York City real estate," from

14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...

18th Street 18th Street may refer to: Los Angeles * 18th Street gang, an Hispanic street gang Manhattan, New York City * 18th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line); a subway station serving the trains * 18th Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line), a ...

along

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

. After his grandfather retired, his uncle, John Tonnelé Jr. ran the business with his father, who retired in 1845 before age 50. Together, his uncle John and grandfather were worth $1,000,000 in 1842. Hall himself did not go into business but "lived the life of a leisured gentleman." He was a man of solemn dignity who attended theology school as a purported act of penitence for his youthful "sowing of wild oats." He devoted himself and his energy to religious study and became rather puritanical.

Personal life

On April 24, 1861, Hall was married to Mary Livingston "Molly" Ludlow in a marriage that "...united a member of a prominent New York merchantile family with Hudson River gentry". Mary was the daughter of Dr. Edward Hunter Ludlow, another business partner of Hall's father, and Elizabeth (née Livingston) Ludlow, the granddaughter of the 11th

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket wit ...

Edward Philip Livingston Edward Philip Livingston (November 24, 1779 in Kingston, Jamaica – November 3, 1843 in Clermont, New York) was an American politician. Early life He was the son of Philip Philip Livingston (1741–1787, son of Philip Livingston) and Sara (J ...

, and the great-granddaughter of

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Robert Livingston, of the Livingston family. After the death of her parents, Valentine brought the family to live at the Ludlow home in

Clermont, New York Clermont is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 1,965 at the 2010 census. The name of the town is French for "Clear Mountain", in reference to the mountain views in the town. The town is in the southwestern co ...

(five miles north of

Tivoli Tivoli may refer to: * Tivoli, Lazio, a town in Lazio, Italy, known for historic sites; the inspiration for other places named Tivoli Buildings * Tivoli (Baltimore, Maryland), a mansion built about 1855 * Tivoli Building (Cheyenne, Wyoming), a ...

), building a

Second Empire-style Second Empire architecture in Europe is an architectural style rooted in the 16th-century Renaissance, which grew to its greatest popularity in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth century. As the st ...

8,375-square-foot mansion called Oak Terrace on Woods Road (also known as "The Oaks" or "Oak Lawn") in 1872 next to the house of his brother-in-law, which overlooks the Hudson River and the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

. Together, Valentine and Mary were the parents of seven children: * Anna Rebecca Hall (1863–1892), who married Elliott Roosevelt (1860–1894), the son of

Theodore Roosevelt Sr. Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (September 22, 1831 – February 9, 1878) was an American businessman and philanthropist from the Roosevelt family. Roosevelt was also the father of President Theodore Roosevelt and the paternal grandfather of First Lady E ...

and brother of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, in 1883. * Elizabeth Livingston Hall (1865–1944), who married Stanley Mortimer (1855–1932), son of William Yates Mortimer and Elizabeth (née Thorpe) Mortimer and brother of

Richard Mortimer Richard Mortimer (April 24, 1852 – March 15, 1918) was an American real estate investor and society leader during the Gilded Age. Early life Mortimer was born in New York City on April 24, 1852. He was the son of William Yates Mortimer (1824– ...

, in 1890. * Valentine Gill Hall III (1867–1934), a champion tennis player. * Mary Livingston Hall (1869–1872), who died young. * Edward Ludlow Hall (1872–1932), also a champion tennis player, who married Josephine Booraen Zabriskie (1878–1912), daughter of Augustus Zabriskie, in 1898. * Edith Livingston Hall (1873–1920), who married William Forbes Morgan, Jr. (b. 1877), son of William Forbes Morgan and Ellie (née Robinson) Morgan, in 1904. * Maude Livingston Hall (1877–1952), who married polo player

Lawrence Waterbury Lawrence Waterbury II (March 31, 1877 – May 25, 1943) was an American champion polo player and society figure. Early life Larry, as he was referred to by friends, was born on March 31, 1877 in New York City. He was one of seven children born t ...

(1878-1943), son of James Waterbury and Katharine (née Furman) Waterbury, in 1900. They divorced in 1912. Hall died at their estate in the Hudson Valley, just north of Tivoli, at the age of 46, on July 17, 1880. He was buried in the Hall family vault at St. Paul's Episcopal Church Cemetery in

Tivoli, New York Tivoli is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population is 1,012, according to the 2020 census. The village, which was incorporated in 1872 from parts of Upper Red Hook Landing and Madalin, is the northernmost settlement ...

. His widow, who maintained various New York homes at 11 West 37th Street and 20 Gramercy Park (next door to Stuyvesant Fish at

19 Gramercy Park __FORCETOC__ 19 Gramercy Park South, also known as 86 Irving Place or the Stuyvesant Fish House, is a four-story row house located at the corner of Gramercy Park South ( East 20th Street) and Irving Place in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manha ...

), also died at their Hudson Valley estate on August 14, 1919, at the age of 77. The Hudson Valley home was owned by their daughter Maude, which Eleanor continued to visit into the 1950s.

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter Anna, he was the grandfather of

First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962), who married her fifth cousin

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

(later President of the United States); Elliott Roosevelt, Jr. (1889–1893), who died young; and Gracie Hall Roosevelt (1891–1941).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Valentine Jr. 1834 births 1880 deaths Socialites from New York City Livingston family