Frederic W. Rhinelander
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Frederic William Rhinelander (February 12, 1828 – September 24, 1904) was an American who was prominent in New York society 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 ...
and served as president of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
.


Early life

Rhinelander was born in New York City on February 12, 1828. He was the only son of four children born to Frederic William Rhinelander (1796–1836) and Mary Lucretia "Lucy Ann" (
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 ...
Stevens) Rhinelander (1798–1877). Among his sisters was Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander, who married George Frederic Jones (parents of novelist and decorator Edith (née Jones) Wharton and
Frederic Rhinelander Jones Mary Cadwalader Rawle Jones (December 12, 1850 – September 22, 1935) was an American author, socialite, and social leader during the Gilded Age. Early life Mary, who was known as Minnie, was born on December 12, 1850 at Powel House, her family ...
); Mary Elizabeth Rhinelander, who married Thomas Haines Newbold (parents of
New York State Senator The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan compo ...
Thomas Newbold); and Eliza Lucille Rhinelander, who married William Edgar. His paternal grandparents were William Rhinelander and Mary (née Robert) Rhinelander, and his uncles included Philip Rhinelander, a member of the
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
, William Christopher Rhinelander (grandfather of T.J. Oakley Rhinelander and great-grandfather of
Anita de Braganza Anita Stewart Morris (August 7, 1886 – September 15, 1977) was an American socialite and heiress who married Prince Miguel, Duke of Viseu, grandson of King Miguel I of Portugal, and the eldest son of Dom Miguel, Duke of Braganza, who was Migu ...
), and New York City Alderman John Robert Rhinelander. His paternal grandmother was the daughter of Col. Robert, an officer under Gen.
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. His mother was the twelfth and last child of Major General Ebenezer Stevens and his second wife, Lucretia (née Ledyard) Sands Stevens. Among his maternal uncles were banker
John Austin Stevens John Austin Stevens Jr. (January 21, 1827 – June 10, 1910) was a leader of business, an adviser of government and a student of the American Revolution. While he was born to a prominent banking family with political connections, it was his intere ...
(father of
John Austin Stevens John Austin Stevens Jr. (January 21, 1827 – June 10, 1910) was a leader of business, an adviser of government and a student of the American Revolution. While he was born to a prominent banking family with political connections, it was his intere ...
, founder of the
Sons of the Revolution Sons of the Revolution is a hereditary society which was founded in 1876 and educates the public about the American Revolution. The General Society Sons of the Revolution headquarters is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation located at Willia ...
), and surgeon
Alexander Hodgdon Stevens Alexander Hodgdon Stevens (September 4, 1789 – March 30, 1869) was an American surgeon who served as the second President of the American Medical Association from 1848 to 1849. Early life Stevens was born in New York City on September 4, 178 ...
.) From his grandmother's first marriage, he was a cousin of the banker Samuel Stevens Sands. Rhinelander's great-great grandfather, Philip Jacob Rhinelander, was a German-born French Huguenot who immigrated to the United States in 1686 following the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
, settling in the newly formed French
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
community of
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, where he amassed considerable property holdings which became the basis for the Rhinelander family's wealth. Rhinelander graduated from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1847.


Career

In 1876, Rhinelander began serving as president of the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad. Established in 1856, the railroad was taken over by its Eastern bondholders who added Rhinelander and his cousin, Samuel Stevens Sands, to the Board with Rhinelander as president. By 1879, the Railroad owned 188.1 miles of road. By 1889, Rhinelander's son, F. W. Rhinelander Jr., had been installed as assistant to the president and was based in
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
.


Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rhinelander was a founding trustee of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
in 1871 along with Theodore Roosevelt Sr.,
William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the ''New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry ...
,
Andrew Haswell Green Andrew Haswell Green (October 6, 1820 – November 13, 1903) was a lawyer, New York City planner, and civic leader. He is considered "the Father of Greater New York," and is responsible for Central Park, the New York Public Library, the Bronx ...
,
Alexander Turney Stewart Alexander Turney Stewart (October 12, 1803 – April 10, 1876) was an American entrepreneur who moved to New York and made his multimillion-dollar fortune in the most extensive and lucrative dry goods store in the world. Stewart was born in L ...
, and John A. Dix. He traveled extensively in Europe seeking to secure "new works of art and to study techniques of organization and preservation at museums and galleries." He was responsible for securing the helmet of
Jeanne d'Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
, the
Pompeian Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
room, the portrait of the
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by
Nicolas de Largillière Nicolas de Largillière (; 10 October 1656 – 20 March 1746) was a French portrait painter, born in Paris. Biography Early life Largillière's father, a merchant, took him to Antwerp at the age of three. As a boy, he spent nearly two years in ...
After the death of Museum president,
Henry Gurdon Marquand Henry Gurdon Marquand (April 11, 1819 – February 26, 1902) was an American financier, philanthropist and art collector known for his extensive collection. Early life Marquand was born in New York City on April 11, 1819, not long after the dea ...
, in 1902, Rhinelander, who had been vice-president of the Museum since 1892, became the president. He served in this role until his death in 1904. After his death, the banker and philanthropist J. Pierpont Morgan became president of the Met and served until his death in 1913.


Personal life

On November 5, 1851, Rhinelander was married to Frances Davenport Skinner (13 Sep 1828–8 Dec 1899). Frances was a daughter of the Rev. Thomas Harvey Skinner and Frances Louisa (née Davenport) Skinner. The Rhinelanders had a home in New York City and had a
French Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts, which uses elements of many different historical styles, and also made innovative use of modern materials, such as i ...
home at 10 Redwood Street in
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, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
, built by
John Hubbard Sturgis John Hubbard Sturgis (August 5, 1834 – February 14, 1888)Boit, Robert Apthorp p. 207 was an American architect and builder who was active in the New England area during the late 19th century. His most prominent works included Codman House, Li ...
build between 1863 and 1864 (today it is an annex to the
Redwood Library The Redwood Library and Athenaeum is a subscription library, museum, rare book repository and research center founded in 1747, and located at 50 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The building, designed by Peter Harrison and completed ...
located across the street). Together, they were the parents of eight children, including: * Mary Frederica Rhinelander (1852–1932), who married William Cabell Rives III (1850–1938), a grandson of
William Cabell Rives William Cabell Rives (May 4, 1793April 25, 1868) was an American lawyer, planter, politician and diplomat from Virginia. Initially a Jackson Democrat as well as member of the First Families of Virginia, Rives served in the Virginia House of Delega ...
. * Frances Davenport Rhinelander (b. 1855), who married Rev. William Morgan-Jones of
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
in 1900. * Ethel Ledyard Rhinelander (1857–1925), who married LeRoy King (1857–1895) in 1881. * Frederic William Rhinelander (1859–1942), who married Constance Satterlee, daughter of Bishop Henry Y. Satterlee. * Alice King Rhinelander (1861–1942), who did not marry and lived in
Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, a ...
. * Helen Lucretia Rhinelander (1864–1898), who married Archdeacon Lewis Cameron (1864–1909) in 1892. * Thomas Newbold Rhinelander (1865–1928), who married Katherine Blake, daughter of
Samuel Hume Blake Samuel Hume Blake (31 August 1835 – 23 June 1914) was a Canadian politician from Toronto. Early life Blake was born on 31 August 1835 in Toronto, Canada. He was the second son of William Hume Blake (1809–1870), an Irish-Canadian jurist ...
, in 1894. * Philip Mercer Rhinelander (1869–1939), the Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania who married Helen Maria Hamilton (1870–1956) in, a granddaughter of
John Church Hamilton John Church Hamilton (August 22, 1792 − July 25, 1882) was a historian, biographer, and lawyer. He was a son of Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Early life Hamilton was born on August 22, 1792, in Philade ...
, in 1905. He was a pall-bearer at the funeral of
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John Winthrop Chanler John Winthrop Chanler (September 14, 1826 – October 19, 1877) was a prominent New York lawyer and a U.S. Representative from New York. He was a member of the Dudley–Winthrop family and married Margaret Astor Ward, a member of the Astor famil ...
in 1877. He was a member of the
Mendelssohn Glee Club The Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York City, founded in 1866, is the oldest surviving independent musical group in the United States after the New York Philharmonic. Their concerts, given in very high-society settings, featured the new (to America ...
, the
Knickerbocker Club The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick) is a gentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the most aristocratic gentlemen's clubs in th ...
, the Downtown Club, and the
South Side Sportsmen's Club South Side Sportsmen's Club was a recreational club that catered to the wealthy businessmen of Long Island during the gold coast era from the 1870s through the 1960s. Its main clubhouse and other facilities were added to the National Register o ...
. His wife died in Washington on December 8, 1899. Rhinelander died at the Red Lion Inn in
Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridge is h ...
on September 24, 1904. His niece
Edith Wharton Edith Wharton (; born Edith Newbold Jones; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and interior designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray ...
reportedly "mourned his death, wearing black clothes and canceling social engagements." After a funeral at the Belmont Chapel, he was buried at
Island Cemetery The Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery are a pair of separate cemeteries on Farewell and Warner Street in Newport, Rhode Island. Together they contain over 5,000 graves, including a colonial-era slave cemetery and Jewish graves. The pair ...
in
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, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
. The pallbearers at his funeral were J. Pierpont Morgan, F. Augustus Schermerhon,
Charles F. McKim Charles Follen McKim (August 24, 1847 – September 14, 1909) was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partn ...
,
Rutherfurd Stuyvesant Rutherfurd Stuyvesant or Stuyvesant Rutherfurd (September 2, 1843 – July 4, 1909) was an American socialite and land developer from New York, best known as the inheritor of the Stuyvesant fortune. Early life Rutherfurd was born on September ...
,
John De Witt Warner John DeWitt Warner (October 30, 1851 – May 27, 1925) served as a U.S. Representative for parts of Manhattan, including Midtown, Hell's Kitchen, and Chelsea, from 1891–95. Early life and education Born on a farm near Reading, New York, Warn ...
, James Goodwin, George Gordon King Jr., and Gen.
Luigi Palma di Cesnola Luigi Palma di Cesnola (July 29, 1832 – November 20, 1904), an Italian-American soldier, diplomat and amateur archaeologist, was born in Rivarolo Canavese, near Turin. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the American Civil War ...
. At his death, his estate was valued at $10,000,000.


Descendants

Through his daughter Ethel, he was the grandfather of
Frederic Rhinelander King Frederic Rhinelander King (April 13, 1887 – March 20, 1972), was an American architect, and the co-founder with Marion Sims Wyeth of the architecture firm Wyeth and King. Early life Frederic Rhinelander King was born in 1887. He was the son of ...
, a prominent architect with the firm of Wyeth and King.


Legacy

In 1881, the town of Pelican Rapids in
Oneida County, Wisconsin Oneida County is a county in the state of Wisconsin, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 37,845. Its county seat is Rhinelander. History Oneida County was formed in 1887 from sections of Lincoln County. It was named after ...
was renamed to
Rhinelander, Wisconsin Rhinelander is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, Wisconsin, Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,285 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History The area that eventually became the city of Rhine ...
after Rhinelander, in an attempt to induce the railroad to extend a spur to the location to further their lumbering business. The Railroad reached the town in 1882.


References


External links

*
Guide to the Frederick W. Rhinelander family papers, 1842-1911
at the
Newport Historical Society The Newport Historical Society is a historical society in Newport, Rhode Island that was chartered in 1854 to collect and preserve books, manuscripts, and objects pertaining to Newport's history. History of the society Although the society ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhinelander, Frederic W. 1828 births 1904 deaths Columbia University alumni Presidents of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Rhinelander, Wisconsin