Richard Mortimer (April 24, 1852 – March 15, 1918) was an American real estate investor and society leader 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 Weste ...

Early life

Mortimer was born in New York City on April 24, 1852. He was the son of William Yates Mortimer (1824–1891) of New York and Anna Elizabeth (

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 ...

Thorpe) Mortimer (1829–1905) of Albany. His siblings Minnie and Wilfred Mortimer died young. His younger brother, Stanley Yates Mortimer was married to Elizabeth Livingston Hall, the second daughter of

Valentine Hall Jr. 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 imm ...

a banker and merchant. His paternal grandparents were Richard Mortimer and Harriett Cordelia Thompson; Richard Mortimer was born in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire and emigrated to America in 1816, eventually becoming a wealthy merchant. William Yates Mortimer was named after his uncle William Yates, a woollen manufacturer. Richard's maternal grandfather was Aaron Thorpe of

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

Career

Richard received an education in Germany before returning to New York in 1872 at the age of 20 to assist in management of the Mortimer family estate, which included the

Mortimer Building The Mortimer Building was a 19th-century building located at Wall Street and New Street in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. It was built by W.Y. Mortimer beginning on June 1, 1884, and completed for occupancy in March 1885. Th ...

on Broadway. In 1882 Richard inherited a large fortune upon the death of his grandfather Richard Mortimer. An additional

was commissioned in 1884 by Richard's father W.Y. Mortimer and completed in 1885, which building was acquired by 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 ...

for $745,000 in December 1918. The Mortimer family's real estate holdings were extensive, and rivalled in size the estates owned by such prominent New York families as the

Astors The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settled ...

and Goelets.

Society life

In 1892, Mortimer and his wife Eleanor were included in Ward McAllister's "

Four Hundred 400 (four hundred) is the natural number following 399 and preceding 401. Mathematical properties 400 is the square of 20. 400 is the sum of the powers of 7 from 0 to 3, thus making it a repdigit in base 7 (1111). A circle is divided into ...

", 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 Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn Astor (September 22, 1830 – October 30, 1908) was a prominent American socialite of the second half of the 19th century who led the The Four Hundred (1892), Four Hundred. Famous for being referred to later ...

's ballroom. Mortimer, a member of the Tuxedo Club, Metropolitan Club, Knickerbocker Club, Union Club, City Club, Racquet Club, Coaching Club, Riding Club and

Westminster Kennel Club The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breed conformation show, traditionally held annually at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of a handful of benched shows in the United States. Dogs ...

, wore a cravat that covered his throat with "a diamond stickpin so big that his friends called him "Flashlight Dick." Along with the

Lorillard Lorillard Tobacco Company was an American tobacco company that marketed cigarettes under the brand names Newport (cigarette), Newport, Maverick (cigarette), Maverick, Old Gold (cigarette), Old Gold, Kent (cigarette), Kent, True (cigarette), True, ...

s, the Mortimers were one of the founding families of

Tuxedo Park, New York Tuxedo Park is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 623 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area as well as the la ...

. Their home in Tuxedo was known as Mortemar, a "turreted four-story mansion." Mortemar was designed by Richard Howland Hunt of

Hunt & Hunt Richard Howland Hunt (March 14, 1862 – July 12, 1931) was an American architect and member of the Hunt family of Vermont who worked with his brother Joseph Howland Hunt in New York City at Hunt & Hunt. The brothers were sons of Richard Morr ...

. Construction began in the 1890s and continued for 10 years.

Personal life

Richard Mortimer married Eleanor Jay Chapman (1864–1929) on April 26, 1886, who was the daughter of

Henry Grafton Chapman Jr. Henry Grafton Chapman Jr. (1833 – March 14, 1883) was an American banker who served as the president of the New York Stock Exchange. Early life Chapman was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1833. He was one of four children born to Henry Grafto ...

(son of abolitionist

Maria Weston Chapman Maria Weston Chapman (July 25, 1806 – July 12, 1885) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She was elected to the executive committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1839 and from 1839 until 1842, she served ...

), president of the

. and Eleanor (née Jay) Chapman (daughter of

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...

, the U.S. Minister to Austria-Hungary under Grant). She was a descendant of

, first Chief Justice of the United States. His uncle was

John Jay Chapman John Jay Chapman (March 2, 1862 – November 4, 1933) was an American author. Early life Chapman was born in New York City on March 2, 1862. He was a son of Henry Grafton Chapman Jr. (1833–1883), a broker who became president of the New York S ...

(husband to

Elizabeth Astor Winthrop Chanler Elizabeth Astor Winthrop Chanler Chapman (February 23, 1866 – June 5, 1937) was an American heiress and socialite during the Gilded Age. Early life and family Elizabeth, or "Bessie", was the eldest surviving daughter born to U.S. Representative ...

), Together, they had a townhouse at 382 Fifth Avenue and had the following children. * Mary Eleanor Mortimer (1887–1958), who married Maxime Hubert Furlaud (1877–1973). * Richard Mortimer Jr. (1888–1918), a Harvard graduate who died in a plane crash in France. * Stanley Grafton Mortimer (1889–1947), a stockbroker who married Katherine Hunt Tilford (1890–1970), daughter of Henry M. Tilford, in 1911. * Wilfreda Mortimer (1892–1968), who married John Morris Livingston Rutherfurd (1888–1971), a descendant of

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 ...

John Rutherfurd and signer of the Declaration of Independence

Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continen ...

, in 1911. They divorced in Paris in 1923 and she married Charles Frederick Frothingham Jr. (1888–1963), a son of

Charles F. Frothingham Charles Frederick Frothingham (c. 1851 – May 17, 1923) was an American stockbroker and corporate director. Early life Frothingham was born in Albany, New York in about 1851 and was educated at the Albany Academy. He was a son of Charles Frothing ...

, in November 1924. Mortimer died on March 15, 1918 in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

, where he had gone for his health. He was buried at

St. Mary's-in-Tuxedo St. Mary's-in-Tuxedo Episcopal Church, otherwise simply referred to as St. Mary's-in-Tuxedo, is an active Episcopal church in Tuxedo, New York, located within the historic village of Tuxedo Park. Constructed in 1888 according to designs by a ...

Church Cemetery in

. His entire estate was left to his widow, Eleanor, who died at her home, 555

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 ...

, after several months illness, in December 1929.

Descendants

Through his daughter Mary, he was the grandfather of Richard Mortimer Furlaud (1923–2018), the president and C.E.O. of Squibb Beech-Nut (which became Bristol-Myers Squibb); and Maxime Jay Furlaud (1925–1999). Through his son Stanley, he was the grandfather of Stanley G. Mortimer Jr. (1913–1999), who was married to Babe Paley, and then

Kathleen Harriman Kathleen Harriman Mortimer (1917–2011) was an American journalist and socialite who played an important role in helping her father and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt with behind-the-scenes management of the American delegation to the Yalta ...

; Henry Tilford Mortimer (1916–1993), Richard Mortimer, Eve Mortimer (1918–2007), who married Clarence Pell, Jr., and later

Lewis Cass Ledyard Lewis Cass Ledyard (April 4, 1851 – January 27, 1932) was a New York City lawyer. He was a partner at the firm Carter Ledyard & Milburn, personal counsel to J.P. Morgan, and a president of the New York City Bar Association. Early life Lewis ...

III; Katharine Mortimer (1923–2003), who married three times (including to Francis Xavier Shields, their grandchild was actress

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

); and John Jay Mortimer (1935–2013), a prominent financier. Through his daughter Wilfreda, he was the grandfather of John Mortimer Rutherfurd (1913–1966); Jay Rutherfurd (1916–2005); and Nathaniel Frothingham (1927–2001).

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

* *
Architectural Record, Volume 18
', featuring "Mortemar" (1905) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mortimer, Richard 1852 births 1918 deaths American people of English descent American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from New York City Mortimer family of New York People from Manhattan People from Tuxedo, New York People included in New York Society's Four Hundred