Forrest Fairchild Dryden (December26, 1864 – July20, 1932) was the president of Prudential Insurance Company of America (now
Prudential Financial) from 1912 until 1922. Prudential was founded by his father,
John F. Dryden
John Fairfield Dryden (August 7, 1839 – November 24, 1911) was the founder of the Prudential Insurance Company and a United States senator from New Jersey. He was known as the "father of industrial insurance".
Early life
Dryden was born ...
, who was also a
United States 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 ...
, representing New Jersey.
Early life
Dryden was born in
Bedford, Ohio
Bedford is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States located to the east of Cleveland. The population was 13,074 at the 2010 census. It is an eastern first ring suburb of Cleveland.
Geography
Bedford is located at . It is a first ring sub ...
on December26, 1864. He was the son of John Fairfield Dryden (1839–1911) and Cynthia Jennings (
née Fairchild) Dryden (1842–1916). His father, John F. Dryden was the founder and the president of
Prudential Insurance Company
Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both retail and institutional customers th ...
. His sister, Susan married
Anthony R. Kuser. Their son,
John Dryden Kuser
John Dryden Kuser also known as Dryden Kuser (September 24, 1897 – March 3, 1964) was a New Jersey politician and a member of an influential New Jersey family. He was the son of Colonel Anthony R. Kuser and grandson of Senator and Prudenti ...
, Dryden's nephew, was a state senator and
Brooke Astor
Roberta Brooke Astor (née Russell; March 30, 1902 – August 13, 2007) was an American philanthropist, socialite, and writer who was the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, established by her third husband, Vincent Astor, son of John ...
's first husband.
Dryden attended
Newark Academy
Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Coll ...
and later
Phillips Academy at Andover.
Career
He started working for Prudential Insurance Company in 1888. He became superintendent of the Prudential office in Elizabeth New Jersey in 1889. He joined the board of directors and assumed the duties as assistant secretary in 1890. Later that year he was selected to be secretary of the company. During his father's service as
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 ...
for New Jersey, Forrest Dryden acted as president of Prudential. Dryden was promoted to third vice president in 1903, second vice president in 1906 and vice president in 1911.
Upon his father's death in 1912, he succeeded him to become president of Prudential. He continued on as president of Prudential until his resignation in 1922 due to ill health, reportedly arising from his "examination before the
Lockwood Committee at the hands of
Samuel Untermyer
Samuel J. Untermyer (March 6, 1858 – March 16, 1940) was a prominent American lawyer and civic leader. He is also remembered for bequeathing his Yonkers, New York estate, now known as Untermyer Park, to the people of New York State.
Life
S ...
."
He was succeeded by Prudential's general solicitor and the then acting president, Edward Dickinson Duffield,
who had been with the firm since 1906.
Affiliations
Dryden was a member of the
New Jersey National Guard
The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of more than 6,000 Citizen-Soldiers. The New Jersey Army National Guard is currently engaged in multiple worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Germ ...
Essex Troop. During his time there, he was the chief commissary on the Major General Staff. He held the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was member of the New Jersey State Rifle Association. He was a member of the Newark Board of Trade. He was also a director of many organizations, including the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey, the Union National Bank of Newark, the South Jersey Gas, Electric and Traction Company and the United States Casualty Company of New York.
Personal life
In 1890, Dryden married Grace Marion Carleton (1865–1936), daughter of
Isaac N. Carleton, at her family home in
Bradford, Massachusetts.
Together, they were the parents of three children, including:
* John Fairfield Dryden II (1893–1947)
* Dorothy Dryden (b. 1899), who married Newcombe Chandler Baker in 1919.
* Elizabeth Dryden (1905–1963)
He died at his home in
Bernardsville, New Jersey
Bernardsville () is a borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is nestled in the heart of the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,707, , on July20, 1932, due to
heart disease.
Legacy
The Dryden family estate, known as Stronghold, was located in Bernardsville on Bernardsville Mountain. It became the home of Miss Gill's School in 1940 which later became known as
Gill St. Bernard's School
Gill St. Bernard's School is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory day school located in the Gladstone, New Jersey, Gladstone section of Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey, Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey, United States, serving s ...
in 1956. It is currently owned by fashion mogul
Marc Ecko
Marc Louis Ecko (né Milecofsky; August 29, 1972) is an American fashion designer, entrepreneur, and artist. He is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of fashion company Ecko Unlimited. He also founded ''Complex'' magazine in 2002.
Early ...
.
References
Further reading
* ''A History of the City of Newark New Jersey Vol. III'', 1913
* ''Scannell's New Jersey's First Citizens 1917–1918'', page 138
External links
*
Recent Stronghold Picturesfrom Landmark Studios
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dryden, Forrest F.
1864 births
1932 deaths
People from Bernardsville, New Jersey
Businesspeople from Newark, New Jersey
Newark Academy alumni
Phillips Academy alumni
Prudential Financial people