Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen Sr. (March 12, 1869 – February 8, 1948) represented

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 ...

as a Republican in the

United States Senate 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 pow ...

from 1917 to 1923.

Early life and family

He was born in Raritan, New Jersey, on March 12, 1869, to Frederick Frelinghuysen (1818-1891) and Victoria Bowen (1830-1914). His father was a lawyer who studied under

Richard Stockton Field Richard Stockton Field (December 31, 1803 – May 25, 1870) was an Attorney General of New Jersey, a United States senator from New Jersey and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Edu ...

. He came from a historic New Jersey political family. His paternal grandparents were

John Frederick Frelinghuysen John Frederick Frelinghuysen (March 21, 1776 – April 10, 1833) was an American general and lawyer. Biography John Frelinghuysen was born in Millstone, then in the Province of New Jersey, on March 21, 1776 to Frederick Frelinghuysen and Ger ...

(1776–1833), a lawyer and

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

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 bega ...

, and his second wife, Elizabeth Mercereau Van Vechten. His great-grandparents were

Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (August 4, 1817May 20, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician from New Jersey who served as a U.S. Senator and later as United States Secretary of State under President Chester A. Arthur. Early life and e ...

(1753-1804), lawyer, soldier, and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from

, and his first wife, Gertrude Schenck (1752/53-1794).

Career

After fighting in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

and starting an insurance business, Frelinghuysen was elected to the state

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1905 and became president of that body in 1909. He held several statewide offices before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1916. He was New Jersey's first directly elected senator following ratification of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution in 1913. While in the Senate, he frequented the

Chevy Chase Club Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United State ...

and would often golf with his fellow Senators

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

Stephen B. Elkins Stephen Benton Elkins (September 26, 1841January 4, 1911) was an American industrialist and politician. He served as the Secretary of War between 1891 and 1893. He served in the United States Congress as a Delegate from the Territory of New Mexi ...

, and Eugene Hale. In 1921, President

signed the

Knox–Porter Resolution The Knox–Porter Resolution () was a joint resolution of the United States Congress signed by President Warren G. Harding on July 2, 1921, officially ending United States involvement in World War I. The documents were signed on the estate of Jo ...

, officially ending America's involvement in World War I at Frelinghuysen's estate in Raritan, New Jersey. The President stayed on the estate until at least July 4. After a failed reelection bid in 1922, Frelinghuysen returned to the insurance business. In 1938, after considering a run for one of the United States Senate seats in New Jersey, Frelinghuysen declined to run. Instead, he put his support behind fellow Republican, former Senator

W. Warren Barbour William Warren Barbour (July 31, 1888November 22, 1943) was an American Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 1931 to 1937 and again from 1938 until his death in office in 1943. He was also a bus ...

, for the Republican nomination. Barbour eventually won the Senate seat and served until his death in 1943.

Personal life

Frelinghuysen married Emily Macy Brewster. Together they had three children: *Victoria Frelinghuysen (1907–2002), who married John Grenville Bates Jr. *Emily Frelinghuysen, who married H. Edward Bilkey until his death in 1950 and later married Dr. Ross A. McFarland of the Harvard School of Public Health. *

Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Jr. Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen Jr. (August 11, 1912 – January 8, 2005) was the author of ''Passages to Freedom'', about his escape from a prison camp in Italy during World War II. Early life Frelinghuysen was born in East Hampton, New York, the so ...

(1912–2005), who married Emily Lawrance (1911-2004), the daughter of

Charles Lawrance Charles Lanier Lawrance (September 30, 1882 – June 24, 1950) was an American aeronautical engineer and an early proponent of air-cooled aircraft engines. Early life Lawrance was born on September 30, 1882 in Lenox, Massachusetts, the son of Fr ...

(1882–1950) and Emily Margaret Gordon Dix, and the granddaughter of Rev.

Morgan Dix Morgan Dix (November 1, 1827 in New York City – April 29, 1908) was an American Episcopal Church priest, theologian, and religious author. Early life Dix was born on November 1, 1827 in New York City. He was the son of Catherine Morgan, the ado ...

(1827–1908), the rector of Trinity Parish. His wife's portrait and that of Joseph Jr, were painted in 1916 by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury; it is today in the Newark Museum, New Jersey. Frelinghuysen owned an 88-foot houseboat called ''Victoria'' that Harding used for 12 days after he won the 1920 election for President, but before he was inaugurated in March 1921. He died on February 8, 1948, in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, and was interred at St. Bernard's Cemetery 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,

Legacy

A memorial plaque was placed on the estate grounds commemorating the

officially ending America's involvement in World War I. Today the estate is long gone and

suburban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

has replaced it with mini-malls. The marker remains in a patch of grass near a

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

parking lot along

Route 28 Highway 28 may refer to: Australia * Cumberland Highway * Mountain Highway (Victoria) * - NT Canada * Alberta Highway 28 * British Columbia Highway 28 * Nova Scotia Trunk 28 * Ontario Highway 28 * Saskatchewan Highway 28 China Taiwan * Provi ...

, just north of the Somerville traffic circle.

References

External links

* Barbour, Thomas (nephew of William Warren Barbour). ''Our Families (Volumes 1 & 2)''. Self-printed. 1983 * Hess, Stephen. ''America's Political Dynasties: From Adams to Clinton''. Brookings Institution Press, Nov 24, 2015
Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen Sr.
at Findagrave {{DEFAULTSORT:Frelinghuysen, Joseph S. Sr. 1869 births 1948 deaths Republican Party New Jersey state senators Frelinghuysen family Republican Party United States senators from New Jersey American people of Dutch descent Raritan, New Jersey People from Raritan, New Jersey Presidents of the New Jersey Senate Military personnel from New Jersey American military personnel of the Spanish–American War 20th-century American politicians