Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge (April 3, 1882 – August 13, 1973) was the youngest child of William Avery Rockefeller Jr. and Almira Geraldine (Goodsell) Rockefeller.

Giralda Farms Giralda Farms was the estate of Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge in Madison, New Jersey Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937. Located along the Mor ...

was the name given to the

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 ...

country estate where the family lived. She was a great patron of the arts and parts of her collection became the object of a lawsuit following her death.

Life

Rockefeller was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York on April 3, 1882 to Almira Geraldine Goodsell and

William Rockefeller William Avery Rockefeller Jr. (May 31, 1841 – June 24, 1922) was an American businessman and financier. Rockefeller was a co-founder of Standard Oil along with his elder brother John Davison Rockefeller. He was also part owner of the Anaconda ...

She grew up at

Rockwood Hall Rockwood Hall was a Gilded Age mansion in Mount Pleasant, New York, on the Hudson River. It was best-known as the home of William Rockefeller, brother of John D. Rockefeller. Both brothers were co-founders of the Standard Oil Company. Other ow ...

, her father's estate in

Mount Pleasant, New York Mount Pleasant is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 44,436. The hamlets of Valhalla, Hawthorne, Pocantico Hills, and Thornwood, and the vill ...

. She married Marcellus Hartley Dodge Sr., president of The

Remington Arms Company Remington Arms Company, LLC was an American manufacturer of firearms and ammunition, now broken into two companies, each bearing the Remington name. The firearms manufacturer is ''Remington Arms''. The ammunition business is called ''Remingto ...

and, she brought into the marriage an estimated personal fortune of $101 million. They were married on April 18, 1907 in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, where both resided, in a small ceremony at the residence of the bride's family, following the contemporary customs dictated by a mourning period after the death of the groom's father in February. Harley Dodge Memorial in Madison NJ

The couple had only one child, Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr., whom they called "Hartley". He was killed in an automobile accident on August 29, 1930 in Mogesca,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. In his memory, his mother purchased a large parcel of land for twenty thousand dollars and gave

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937. Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, it is noted for Madison's historic railroad station becoming on ...

the property and the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building which was dedicated on Memorial Day, Thursday, May 30, 1935 and used as the borough hall. ''

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 d ...

'' published that the building cost $800,000. Mrs. Dodge also donated the train station. These structures became the core of the Madison Civic Commercial District, which is listed on the State Register of Historic Places and the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. They made many other significant donations in his name. During the early part of their marriage they resided together at ''Hartley Farms''. Eventually, while in

, they resided on separate, but abutting, country estates: ''Giralda Farms'' and ''Hartley Farms'' hers fronting the main route from

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

to Morristown opposite a property his family owned and extending to another of his that faced south and fronted on Spring Valley Road in New Vernon, where he preferred to reside. A long private path extended for miles from one house to the other with gates at either side of Woodland Road, which defined the southern boundary of her property. She died in 1973, and was buried in

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is the final resting place of numerous famous figures, including Washington Irving, whose 1820 short story " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground at the Old Dutch ...

Dogs and Philanthropy

Geraldine R. Dodge judged at major dog shows in every American state as well as the premier shows in Germany, Canada, Ireland, and England. She was the first woman invited to judge for the

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 ...

, where she was invited to judge the ''Best in Show''. She was the author of two books, ''The

English Cocker Spaniel The English Cocker Spaniel is a breed of gun dog. It is noteworthy for producing one of the most varied numbers of pups in a litter among all dog breeds. The English Cocker Spaniel is an active, good-natured, sporting dog standing well up a ...

in America'', and ''The German Shepherd Dog in America'', the latter of which was a collaboration with her curator of art, Josephine Z. Rine. She was recognized as a philanthropist, a benefactor to communities, the arts, nonprofit and natural resource efforts, as an author, a judge of dogs, a breeder of dogs, the founder of the Morris and Essex Dog Club and its internationally recognized annual exhibition in May that was considered the most prestigious dog show held in the United States of America for decades, and the founder of a refuge for injured and lost animals. She was a significant sponsor for American sculptor Cyrus Dallin who visited Hartley Farms several times with his wife. When Mrs. Dodge's significant art collection was posthumously auctioned, it included 20 bronze Dallin sculptures including ''Passing of the Buffalo'' or ''The Last Arrow.'' In 1975 this sculpture sold for $150,000 a record for a piece of American Sculpture at the time.

Legacy

At her death she left $85 million to establish the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, which continues her work, including the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival. Unfortunately, the historic residence of Geraldine R. Dodge was demolished by the insurance company that bought the estate following her death. The grand home was built in the style of

Giralda The Giralda ( es, La Giralda ) is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain. It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville in al-Andalus, Moorish Spain, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty, with a Renaissance-style ...

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. She also purchased the adjoining 80-acre estate of Charles W. Harkness, the third largest holder of stock in Standard Oil while she and her husband were assembling properties that adjoined.

Great Swamp

Mr. Dodge's property extended to the edge of the Great Swamp that is a remnant from the

Glacial Lake Passaic Lake Passaic was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed in northern New Jersey in the United States at the end of the last ice age approximately 19,000–14,000 years ago.Stanford, Scott D. “Glacial Lake Passaic.” ''Unearthing New Jerse ...

. His property has been preserved through a

conservation easement In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified private land conservation organization (often called a "land trust") or gover ...

and is listed on the

. They were instrumental in helping those in the ''Jersey Jetport Site Association'', which began the campaign to save that vast swamp from development as an airport, by providing funds for the initial purchases of core properties in 1959. Acquisition of a significant area of land was required for it to qualify as a large enough gift to the federal government that could be set aside, forever, as a federal park. Her husband was one of the first trustees of the ''North American Wildlife Foundation'' that completed the acquisition.

Legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...

championed by then congressman Stewart L. Udall was passed on November 3, 1960 protecting the important natural resource. In 1964 the park was dedicated by Udall, who had become Secretary of the Interior to president

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

and continued under

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

. The

Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is located in Morris County, New Jersey. Established in 1960, it now is among what has grown to be more than 550 refuges in the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. The initial portion of th ...

was dedicated in 1968 and named the M. Hartley Dodge Wildlife Refuge.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodge, Geraldine Rockefeller 1882 births 1973 deaths Philanthropists from New York (state) American socialites Dog breeders Rockefeller family Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery People from the Upper East Side People from Madison, New Jersey