William Butler Duncan II (May 1, 1862 – March 30, 1933), also known as Butler Duncan, was a leader in American yacht racing and naval service.

Early life

William was born on May 1, 1862, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, the son of David Duncan (1835–1873) and Fannie ( née Bloodgood) Duncan (1832–1874). After his parents' early deaths, young William was adopted by his paternal uncle, W. Butler Duncan I. His adoptive father (and uncle) was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and became a banker in New York and chairman of the

Mobile and Ohio Railroad The Mobile and Ohio Railroad was a railroad in the Southern U.S. The M&O was chartered in January and February 1848 by the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It was planned to span the distance between the seaport of Mobil ...

. From 1858 to 1896, the Duncan family maintained a residence on

Grymes Hill, Staten Island Grymes Hill is a tall hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the second highest natural point on the island and in the five boroughs of New York City. The neighborhood of the same name encompasses an area of and has a ...

, in the former home of the neighborhood's namesake Suzette Grymes. William II graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1882.

Career

Military

After graduation from the Naval Academy, Duncan stayed in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

for two years until 1884, serving on the USS ''Vandalia''. In 1891, he was one of the organizers of the 1st Battalion of the

New York Naval Militia The New York Naval Militia is the naval militia of the state of New York, and is under the authority of the Governor of New York as Commander-In-Chief of the state's military forces. With the New York Guard, the New York Army National Guard and Ne ...

, and served as commanding officer of one of its divisions. During 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 = (cloc ...

, he served on the USS ''Yankee'', and in

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 was a Commander in the Naval Reserve.

Civilian

Duncan joined the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

in 1889, serving as Rear Commodore in 1891 and 1892, and as Vice Commodore in 1893. He was on the Race Committee in 1900, and served on the Membership Committee for eleven years and on several rules committees, playing a key role in the club's long defense of the America's Cup.

Personal life

In 1891, Duncan married Blanche Maximillian "Blanca" Havemeyer (1871–1958) at the Havemeyer cottage on

Bellevue Avenue The Bellevue Avenue Historic District is located along and around Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Its property is almost exclusively residential, including many of the Gilded Age mansions built by affluent summer vaca ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

. Blanca was the daughter of Theodore Havemeyer and Emilie (née de Loosey) Havemeyer. Among her siblings was Charles Frederick Havemeyer, who married Camilla Woodward Moss, and Theodora Havemeyer, who married Admiral

Cameron Winslow Cameron McRae Winslow (July 29, 1854 – January 2, 1932) served in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War and World War I. A son of Commander Francis Winslow (I) (1818–1862), (Cameron's father, who also fought in the Civil War ...

. Together, Blanche and William were the parents of four children who survived to adulthood, including: * Natalie Duncan (b. 1892), who married Louis W. Noel. * David Duncan (1893–1936), who married Emmelina Thomsen Sizer (1895–1968) in 1920. * William Butler Duncan III (1903–1944), who died in

Jefferson County, Missouri Jefferson County is located in the eastern portion of the state of Missouri. It is a part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 226,739, making it the sixth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county ...

. * Dorothy Duncan, who married Thomas M. Carnegie III (1901–1954) in 1922, a grandson of

Thomas M. Carnegie Thomas Morrison Carnegie (October 2, 1843 – October 19, 1886) was a Scottish-born American industrialist. He was the brother of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie and co-founder of the Edgar Thomson Steel Works (a steel manufacturing company). Ear ...

and grandnephew of

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

. They divorced and she married Hugh Kelleher. After his death on March 30, 1933, William Butler Duncan II was buried at sea from the USS ''Cole'' with full naval honors. His wife died in

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, in western South Carolina. It is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. Founded in 1835, Aiken was named after William Aiken, the president of the S ...

in April 1958.

References

External links

*
William Butler Duncan Papers
at the

Mystic Seaport Museum Mystic Seaport Museum or Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the United States. It is notable for its collection of sailing ships and boats and for the re-creation of the craf ...

(Note: Birth information is incorrect.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, William Butler 1862 births 1933 deaths United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy personnel of the Spanish–American War Members of the New York Yacht Club America's Cup sailors American people of Scottish descent People from Grymes Hill, Staten Island Sportspeople from Providence, Rhode Island