James Coats Auchincloss (January 19, 1885 – October 2, 1976) was an American businessman and

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politician who represented northern coastal region of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in the

United States 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1943–1965. His district consisted of Monmouth County, Ocean County, and the part of Middlesex County south of the

Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its Drainage basin, watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Rar ...

Early life

Auchincloss was born in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

on January 19, 1885. He was one of eight children, seven sons and one daughter, born to Edgar Stirling Auchincloss (1847–1892) and Maria LeGrange (

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 re ...

Sloan) Auchincloss (1847–1929), who married in 1872. Among his uncles were Hugh Dudley Auchincloss (father of Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr.) and John Winthrop Auchincloss (grandfather of Louis Auchincloss). His maternal aunt Sarah Auchincloss (d. 1887) married

Sir James Coats, 1st Baronet The Coats Baronetcy, of Auchendrane in the parish of Maybole in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 7 December 1905 for James Coats, Director of J. and P. Coats Ltd, sewing cotton manufacture ...

of the Scottish thread-manufacturing family (and his namesake), and they were the parents of Sir

Stuart Coats Sir Stuart Auchincloss Coats, 2nd Baronet (20 March 1868 – 15 July 1959) was a British politician and Member of Parliament for Wimbledon (UK Parliament constituency), Wimbledon from 1916 to 1918 and then East Surrey (UK Parliament constituency), ...

, 2nd Baronet and British

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. His maternal grandparents were Mary (née Elmendorf) Sloan and New York State Senator Samuel Sloan, who served as president of the

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

for 26 years. He attended the Cutler School in

; and

Groton School Groton School (founded as Groton School for Boys) is a private college-preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts. Ranked as one of the top five boarding high schools in the United States in Niche (2021–2022), it is affiliated ...

in Groton, Massachusetts. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1908.

Career

From 1908 until 1940, he engaged in financial and stock brokerage business with Auchincloss, Joost & Company located at 60 Broadway in New York City. He was a governor of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

from 1921 to 1938 (after buying his seat on the Exchange on January 27, 1910, for $92,000, the highest price paid up to that time). He was also the founder, treasurer, president, and chairman of the board of the New York Better Business Bureau. From 1909 to 1913, Auchincloss served in the Seventh Regiment of the

New York National Guard The New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs (NYS DMNA) is responsible for the state's New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Guard and the New York Naval Militia. It is headed by Adjutant General of New ...

and as Deputy Police Commissioner of New York City. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as captain, Military Intelligence.

Political career

He was a member of the Rumson, New Jersey, borough council from 1930 to 1937, and served as the borough's mayor from 1938 to 1943. Auchincloss was elected as a Republican to the

Seventy-eighth United States Congress The 78th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1943, ...

, as well as the ten succeeding Congresses serving from January 3, 1943, until January 3, 1965. Auchincloss voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

, and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1964 to the

Eighty-ninth Congress The 89th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1965, ...

. While in Congress, he founded the

Capitol Hill Club The National Republican Club of Capitol Hill, commonly known as the Capitol Hill Club, is a private club for Republicans in Washington, D.C. History It was established in 1951 by former New Jersey Congressman James C. Auchincloss, who with 100 ...

Washington, D.C. ) , 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, ...

, in 1951.

Personal life

On October 23, 1909, he was married to Lee Frances Alexander (1888–1959) by the Rev. Dr. Endicott Peabody at the Chapel of the Intercession in New York. Lee, a 1909 graduate of

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

, was a daughter of Dr. Welcome T. Alexander and Aimee G. (née Thayer) Alexander. Together, they resided at various residences, including first at 772

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...

in New York and then in Rumson, New Jersey, and were the parents of: * James Douglas Auchincloss (1913–2000), who married Lily van Ameringen (1922–1996) in 1956. They divorced in 1979. * Gordon Auchincloss (1917–1998), who became a writer, director and communications executive. After her death in 1959, he married Vera Rogers Brown, a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. David T. Brown of Chicago, on November 18, 1960. He died at a nursing home in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, on October 2, 1976, aged 91. After a funeral service at the

Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) church in New York City. The church, on Fifth Avenue at 7 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, has approximately 2,200 members and is one of the larger PCUSA congregations. The ...

, he was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery,

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Notes

References

External links

Political Graveyard bio for James C. Auchincloss
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Auchincloss, James C. 1885 births 1976 deaths Politicians from Manhattan United States Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from New York City Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Groton School alumni Politicians from Alexandria, Virginia People from Rumson, New Jersey Yale University alumni Auchincloss family Mayors of Rumson, New Jersey Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey 20th-century American politicians Businesspeople from Alexandria, Virginia 20th-century American businesspeople United States Army officers New York National Guard personnel