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Claradon Court was built on Bellevue Avenue in Newport between 1903 and 1904 for Edward Collings Knight Jr., a Philadelphia native who had been part of Newport’s summer colony for more than thirty years. Born in Philadelphia on December 14, 1863, he was the son of Edward Collings Knight Sr. and Anna Maria McGill Knight. Edward Collings Knight Jr. He pursued a business career that combined interests in sugar manufacturing and railroads, and for many years was associated with the Pennsylvania Railroad, from which he later retired. By the turn of the twentieth century, Knight had established himself as a seasonal resident of Newport and a participant in its social life, holding memberships in the Reading Room and the Clambake Club. The house was designed by Horace Trumbauer and closely followed an early eighteenth century English design by Colen Campbell. From the outset, it was conceived as a formal summer residence that reflected established taste and permanence rather than architectural display. Clarendon Court, Colorized by AI. from American Homes & Gardens The house was originally known as Claradon Court. Named for his wife and daughter, it was constructed on Bellevue Avenue near Beaulieu, an established neighboring estate that predated it by several decades. At the time of its construction, the surrounding properties reflected an earlier phase of development along the avenue, before the later expansion of large twentieth century houses to the south. Clarendon Court, Colorized by AI. from American Homes & Gardens Knight occupied Claradon Court during the Newport seasons with his wife, Clara Waterman Dwight, whom he married on June 3, 1886. Clara was the daughter of Edward Parsons Dwight of Philadelphia and the granddaughter of Isaac S. Waterman, a Philadelphia merchant and financier. The couple divided their year between Newport and New York, maintaining Claradon Court as their summer home while spending winters in the city. Clara died in January 1910 at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Clarendon Court, Colorized by AI. from American Homes & Gardens In 1922, he married his second wife, Marie Louise Joséphine LeBel. In 1928 Knight commissioned a smaller and less formal residence known as Stonybrook, designed by Horace Trumbauer. As Stonybrook became his primary residence, Claradon Court was no longer central to his household. In the summer of 1929, Knight sold the Bellevue Avenue property to Harry St. Francis Black. Clarendon Court, Colorized by AI. from American Homes & Gardens Harry St. Francis Black. Claradon Court entered a brief transitional period under Harry St. Francis Black. Born in Cobourg, Ontario, on August 25, 1863, Black was the son of Thomas Black, a British army officer, and Elizabeth Wickens Black. He came to the United States at a young age and built a formidable financial career, beginning with engineering and surveying work in the American West before entering banking in Washington State during the 1880s. By the close of the nineteenth century, Black had become closely associated with the George A. Fuller Company, one of the most influential construction and real estate firms of its era. He rose to the presidency of the company following the death of its founder in 1900 and later became chairman of the board of the United States Realty and Improvement Company after a major corporate merger. His professional life placed him at the center of large-scale development in New York and beyond, including involvement in prominent hotels, railroads, and financial institutions. Black maintained his primary residence in New York City, occupying an apartment at the Plaza Hotel, and was widely connected in social and business circles through his club affiliations in New York, Washington, Chicago, and Paris. Although well known among Newport’s summer residents, Black did not establish Claradon Court as a personal residence. Contemporary accounts indicate that the house had been rented prior to his purchase and continued to be rented afterward, with Black never intending to occupy it himself. His ownership of the Bellevue Avenue property was brief and largely administrative. Harry St. Francis Black died on July 19, 1930, at his summer residence known as Allondale in Huntington, Long Island. Following his death, Claradon Court was sold later that year by his widow to Mrs. William Hayward. Mae Cadwell Claradon Court entered a period of renewed residential use following its sale late in 1930 to William Hayward and his wife, Sarah Mae Cadwell. Mae Cadwell had been born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, on October 16, 1880, the daughter of Martin Cadwell and Rowena Morgan Cadwell, and had moved within prominent social and financial circles from an early age. Before her marriage to Hayward, she had been widowed twice, first from Selden Bailey Manwaring and later from Morton Freeman Plant, one of the principal figures of New York finance. These marriages placed her firmly within the world of wealth and influence that shaped Newport society in the early twentieth century. William Hayward William Hayward , born in Nebraska City in 1877, was a lawyer whose career took him from the Midwest to New York, where he became deeply involved in public service and military leadership. During the First World War, he commanded the 369th Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard, later known as the Harlem Hellfighters, leading the unit through extended combat service in France. After the war, Hayward continued his legal career in New York, serving as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and later returning to private practice. With the purchase of Claradon Court, the Haywards brought the house back into active seasonal use. Under their ownership, the name was altered from Claradon Court to Clarendon Court , the form by which it would thereafter be known. The estate once again functioned as a Newport summer residence. William Hayward died in 1944, leaving Mae as the surviving owner of Clarendon Court. She continued her association with Newport after his death, maintaining the house as part of her seasonal life. In 1945, she married John Edward Rovensky, an international banker and industrial executive. John Edward Rovensky Rovensky had been born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, in 1880 and moved to Pittsburgh as a child. He built a long financial career that began in banking and expanded into international finance and industry. By the middle of the twentieth century, he had served as a senior executive with major banking institutions and later became associated with American Car and Foundry, where he played a role in large scale industrial management during the postwar years. Rovensky maintained a seasonal life divided between Palm Beach, New York, and Newport, and was a longtime member of Newport social institutions including the Reading Room, Bailey’s Beach, and the Newport Country Club. Mae Cadwell Hayward Rovensky died in Newport in 1956. After her death, Clarendon Court passed out of the immediate continuity that had linked it to the Hayward household. Rovensky survived her by more than a decade and died in 1970. Within a short time of his death, the Bellevue Avenue house would pass into new ownership, opening the most publicly scrutinized chapter in its history. Sunny von Bülow Clarendon Court entered its most publicly documented and consequential period in 1970, when it was purchased by Martha Sharp Crawford von Bülow, known as Sunny, for $250,000. With her husband, Claus von Bülow, she brought the house back into full residential use after years of relative quiet. Early in their ownership, Sunny undertook substantial work on the property, investing approximately $600,000 in restoration and modernization. These improvements included updated mechanical systems, security, landscaping, and interior work intended to preserve the house while adapting it to contemporary living. The Von Bulows were responsible for clearing the allee. (Courtesy of Newport Lost & Found, Mike Franco, James Michael & Newport Historical Society) Throughout the 1970s, Clarendon Court functioned as the von Bülows’ Newport residence. The house was used for formal entertaining and family life and remained private, though its occupants were well known within Newport society. Sunny von Bülow In 1979, Sunny von Bülow suffered a medical emergency at Clarendon Court, from which she recovered. A second and far more serious incident occurred in December 1980, when she was found unconscious on the bathroom floor of the house. She never regained consciousness and remained in a coma for the rest of her life. The floorplan of the first floor of Clarendon Court. The red dot marks the bathroom where Sunny was found unconscious. (The Von Bulow Affair by William Wright, 1983). What followed was a prolonged legal and personal unraveling that permanently altered the house’s place in public consciousness. Criminal charges were brought against Claus von Bülow, leading to a trial that resulted in conviction, later overturned on appeal. A second trial ended in acquittal in 1985. During these years, the house stood as a silent witness to events that drew international attention, though it itself remained physically unchanged. Claus von Bülow In December 1985, Claus and Sunny von Bülow were divorced. As part of the settlement, Claus von Bülow relinquished all claims to Sunny’s fortune and ceased living at Clarendon Court. Legal control of the property rested thereafter with Sunny’s interests under court supervision, as she remained incapacitated and institutionalized in New York. From that point forward, Clarendon Court was no longer occupied as a family home. By 1988, the decision was made to sell the estate. The sale required judicial approval and followed a period during which the property was marketed at varying asking prices. That year, Clarendon Court was sold for $4.25 million, formally closing the von Bülow chapter. Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Following its court approved sale in 1988, Clarendon Court entered a period of renewed privacy. The house was purchased for $4.25 million by Glenn Randall, a Washington art dealer and longtime Newport summer resident. After years of public scrutiny during the von Bülow era, the property returned to use as a private residence, and the intense attention that had surrounded it quietly receded. Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics for Private Newport In the years that followed, Clarendon Court remained intact as a single family estate. Unlike many of Newport’s great houses that were converted to institutional use or opened to the public, it continued to serve the residential purpose for which it had been built. The house passed through subsequent private ownership without controversy, its architectural character preserved and its role within the Bellevue Avenue landscape unchanged. Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport In 2021, Clarendon Court was sold again, this time for approximately $30 million, one of the highest residential prices recorded in Rhode Island. The sale reflected both the renewed market for Newport’s historic estates and the enduring appeal of Clarendon Court as a private home rather than a museum or commercial property. Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Today, Clarendon Court remains privately owned, standing as a rare example of a Bellevue Avenue house that has passed through more than a century of changing fortunes while continuing to be lived in as a residence, its story shaped by the lives that passed through it rather than by public display. Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Photo Credit: Vibrant Optics  for Private Newport Special Note: My sincere thanks go to those who so generously shared their time, knowledge, and images in support of this work. I am deeply grateful to Gary Lawrence of Mansions of the Gilded Age , the Newport Historical Society , the historians behind Newport Lost and Found, James Michael, and Mike Franco . I also extend special thanks to Bettie Bearden Pardee of Private Newport and to Vibrant Optics , whose photography and collaboration were invaluable. Their collective generosity made it possible to tell the story of Clarendon Court .

William Douglas Sloane was born on February 29, 1844, in New York City, New York County, New York. He was the third son of William Sloane and Euphemia Douglas, natives of Kilmarnock, Scotland, who emigrated to the United States and established a successful carpet and furnishing business. He was raised in a household closely associated with commerce and skilled craftsmanship, influences that shaped his lifelong involvement in business and philanthropy. At the age of fifteen, Sloane entered his father’s business, which had been founded in 1843. In 1852 his uncle, John W. Sloane, joined the firm, thereafter known as W. and J. Sloane. Sloane advanced steadily within the enterprise and became a full member of the firm in 1866. Under the direction of successive family members, the business grew into one of the leading interior furnishing and decorating firms in the United States. When the company was incorporated in 1891, Sloane became a director and later served as treasurer, remaining actively engaged in its affairs until his death. During the American Civil War, Sloane enlisted on October 31, 1862, as a private in Company H of the Seventh Regiment of the New York National Guard. The regiment was ordered to Washington in 1863 for federal service. After the war he continued his association with the regiment and was promoted to corporal in 1866 and to sergeant in 1868. He was honorably discharged on May 19, 1871, completing his service as a veteran. Emily Vanderbilt Sloane by Artist: Benjamin Curtis Porter Date Created ~ 1888 On April 20, 1872, Sloane married Emily Thorn Vanderbilt, daughter of William Henry Vanderbilt and Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt. Through this marriage he became closely connected to one of the most influential families of the Gilded Age, and the couple assumed prominent roles in the social and philanthropic life of New York and Newport. Sloane and his wife devoted substantial resources to charitable work, particularly in the field of medicine. In 1888 they provided the principal endowment for the establishment of the Sloane Hospital for Women in New York City, contributing more than one million dollars. The hospital became an important center for the treatment of women and for medical education and later formed part of the Columbia University and NewYork Presbyterian medical system. Their philanthropic efforts also extended to the Children’s Aid Society and other charitable institutions. His support of higher education was significant. In 1889 Yale University conferred upon him an honorary Master of Arts degree. In 1912 he and his brother, Henry Thompson Sloane, donated more than five hundred thousand dollars to establish the Yale Physics Laboratory as a memorial to their father. Sloane served as a trustee of Columbia University and was a fellow of the New York Historical Society. He also held directorships in numerous corporations, including the Guaranty Trust Company, United States Trust Company, National City Bank of New York, Eastern Steel Company, and the Central and South American Telegraph Company. Elm Court in 1886 Sloane maintained residences in New York and elsewhere and was regarded as a cultivated man of society and a sportsman. With his wife, he commissioned Elm Court in Lenox, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, designed by the firm of Peabody and Stearns. The estate became one of the largest and most notable country houses in the Berkshires and was a prominent feature of the region’s Gilded Age summer colony. William Douglas Sloane died on March 19, 1915, in Aiken, Aiken County, South Carolina, after a short illness, at the age of seventy one. Funeral services were held at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City. He was entombed in the Sloane Mausoleum at the Vanderbilt Family Cemetery in New Dorp, Richmond County , New York. Elm Court was a large Gilded Age country estate constructed in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, for William Douglas Sloane and his wife, Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane. The property was assembled in the mid 1880s on approximately eighty nine acres of land straddling the boundary between Lenox and Stockbridge. Construction of the main house began in 1885 and was completed in 1886. Exterior Photos The mansion was designed by the architectural firm Peabody and Stearns and executed primarily in the American Shingle Style with Tudor and Romanesque influences. When fully completed in 1900, Elm Court contained one hundred six rooms and encompassed approximately fifty five thousand square feet, making it the largest Shingle Style residence ever built in the United States. Rather than a single dominant facade, the house was arranged as an extended horizontal composition with multiple wings, towers, and service sections, reflecting both its scale and its function as a fully operational estate. Grounds & Gardens designed and created by Olmsted The grounds were developed as an integral part of the property. Landscape planning involved Frederick Law Olmsted and his firm, including John Charles Olmsted. The estate included formal gardens, terraces, carriage drives, and extensive lawns designed to merge with the surrounding Berkshire countryside. Numerous outbuildings supported the operation of the household, which required a substantial staff during the summer season. Exterior Photos Elm Court quickly became one of the most prominent residences in the Berkshires summer colony. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Sloanes used the estate as a seasonal residence and entertained extensively. The property was widely regarded as one of the most imposing and socially significant houses in Lenox, frequently referenced in contemporary accounts of Berkshire society. Interior Photos After the death of William Douglas Sloane in 1915, Elm Court remained in family use. In 1919 the estate served as the location for a series of informal diplomatic discussions known as the Elm Court Talks. These meetings brought together American and European political and intellectual figures engaged in post World War One planning and contributed to the broader climate surrounding the Treaty of Versailles and the establishment of the League of Nations. Following the death of Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane in 1946, Elm Court ceased to function as a private family residence. In 1948 the mansion was opened to the public as an inn and social venue, a role it maintained through much of the 1950s. Rising maintenance costs and changing economic conditions led to its closure by the end of that decade. For several decades thereafter, Elm Court stood largely vacant. During this period the building suffered deterioration, vandalism, and loss of interior elements, though the main structure remained standing. Unlike many other Berkshire estates, Elm Court was not destroyed by fire or demolition. In the late twentieth century, preservation efforts were undertaken by descendants of the original owners, and work began to stabilize the structure and protect it from further decay. In the early twenty first century the property changed ownership several times, with successive plans emphasizing restoration and adaptive reuse. In 2022 Elm Court entered a new phase of stewardship focused on preservation of the historic mansion while integrating residential and hospitality development on the surrounding land. Elm Court survives today as one of the most important remaining Gilded Age estates in the Berkshires, distinguished by its unprecedented scale, its architectural significance, and its long association with the social and political history of its era.

Sarah Mae Cadwell was born on October 16, 1880, in Wethersfield, Connecticut, the daughter of Martin Cadwell and Rowena Morgan Cadwell. She was raised in Hartford County within a family well established in civic, political, and social life during the late nineteenth century, and her upbringing reflected the expectations placed on young women of her class. On February 14, 1900, she married Selden Bailey Manwaring of Waterford, Connecticut. The wedding took place at the Wethersfield Congregational Church and was reported as a formal evening ceremony attended by family and friends from across the region. After their marriage, Sarah Mae entered the world of her husband’s hotel and hospitality business. The couple lived in southeastern Connecticut, where Selden Manwaring served for many years as proprietor of the Oswegatchie House in Waterford, a seasonal resort operated by his family. They later spent winters in New London, and Selden eventually worked in New York City as manager of Mendell’s Restaurant in the Grand Central Terminal. In August 1901, Sarah Mae gave birth to their only child, Philip, in Waterford. Her early years of motherhood coincided with growing strain in the marriage. By the early 1910s, the relationship had deteriorated, and Sarah Mae returned with her son to Hartford, where they lived with her mother. In March 1914, after several years of separation, she was granted a divorce from Selden B. Manwaring by the Superior Court. Contemporary reporting made clear that the divorce was final before any remarriage and that Philip remained in her care. Morton F. Plant Only weeks later, in May 1914, Sarah Mae married Morton Freeman Plant, a financier, yachtsman, and heir to the transportation fortune of Henry Bradley Plant. The wedding took place at Plant’s estate at Eastern Point in Groton, Connecticut. With this marriage, her life changed dramatically. Morton Plant formally adopted her son, who thereafter was known as Philip Morgan Plant, establishing him legally as his heir. Philip was raised within the Plant household, surrounded by wealth, property, and the expectations that accompanied one of the largest private fortunes in the country. As Mae Plant settled into her new role, she and her husband divided their time between Connecticut and New York City. Morton Plant commissioned architect Guy Lowell to design a new residence for them at Fifth Avenue and East 86th Street in Manhattan. Conceived as an Italian Renaissance palazzo, the house was among the most architecturally significant private residences built on Fifth Avenue in the early twentieth century and reflected the permanence and ambition of the Plant fortune. Morton F. Plant Mansion During these years, Mae Plant became closely associated with one of the most famous jewelry transactions in American history. In 1917, she selected a rare double strand natural pearl necklace from Pierre Cartier’s New York showroom. Natural pearls of that caliber were then considered more valuable than diamonds and among the most coveted symbols of wealth. The transaction that followed became legendary when the Plant family’s earlier Fifth Avenue mansion was transferred to Cartier in a deal recorded for one hundred dollars, with the necklace included as part of the consideration. The building became Cartier’s permanent New York headquarters, and the necklace became one of the most celebrated jewels of the Edwardian era. Plant Pearl Necklace In 1918, Morton Freeman Plant died, leaving Mae a widow with a teenage son and immense responsibilities tied to a complex estate. His will placed her not merely as a beneficiary but as an active fiduciary. She was named as one of the executors and granted life income from one third of the residue of the estate, both real and personal, with full testamentary power over that share. She also received fee simple ownership of specific New York property. The estate included substantial institutional bequests and remained under structured trust and corporate management, giving Mae long term financial independence and authority. As Philip Morgan Plant matured, he emerged as a wealthy sportsman and gentleman farmer. After graduating from Yale, he began extensive travel abroad, which led to a deep interest in big game hunting in Africa. He made multiple expeditions to East Africa, collecting specimens for the American Museum of Natural History. These included a lion group, a warthog group, and a colobus monkey group that became permanent exhibits. Philip designed a modern trailer used on his expeditions and filmed his travels in color, later using the footage in illustrated lectures he delivered for clubs and charitable benefits across the United States. Colonel William Hayward In 1919, Mae married Colonel William Hayward, a New York attorney and distinguished veteran of the First World War. Hayward had organized and commanded the 369th Infantry Regiment, later celebrated as the Harlem Hellfighters, for its service in France. He later served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1921 to 1925. During these years, Mae divided her time between New York and New England while Philip continued to establish himself independently. In 1925, Philip married actress Constance Bennett. The marriage attracted intense national publicity and placed both Philip and his mother firmly in the public eye. The union ended in divorce in 1929. Philip later married Edna Dunham, also known as Princess Edna Carlton Dadiani, in 1934. That marriage likewise ended in divorce. During the late 1920s and 1930s, Philip devoted himself increasingly to his Oswegatchie Farms estate in Waterford, Connecticut. There he developed one of the most notable private fancy poultry operations in the eastern United States and assembled a collection of hundreds of rare birds from around the world. The estate became a showplace visited by hundreds each summer. Although his rare birds formed one of the most extensive private collections of their kind, he took particular pride in his poultry, winning hundreds of prizes in major competitions and frequently refusing substantial offers for his champion birds. Philip also played an active role in civic and cultural life. He was a member of the Oswegatchie Fire Department and participated in local political affairs, including seeking the Republican nomination for state representative. He sponsored the Oswegatchie Girls Fife and Drum Corps and later the Connecticut Yankees Boys Fife and Drum Corps, personally arranging programs, motion picture showings, and entertainments for local youth. He was affiliated with numerous fraternal, scientific, and social organizations, including Masonic bodies, the Explorers Club, and institutions associated with natural history and zoology. Clarendon Court By 1930, Mae and Colonel Hayward acquired the estate at 626 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. Completed in 1904 for Edward Collings Knight Jr. and Clara Waterman Dwight and executed by architect Horace Trumbauer from an English design, the limestone mansion was renamed Clarendon Court by Mae and Hayward. The estate became the central residence of Mae’s later life. She converted portions of the former service areas into gallery space and housed a significant art collection there, some of which later entered major American museum collections. Clarendon Court later gained additional cultural notoriety as the home of socialite and heiress Sunny von Bülow. Bust of Philip Morgan Plant (1901-1941) Philip Morgan Plant died in June 1941 at the age of thirty nine after suffering from a heart ailment. He died in a New York hospital with his wife and his mother at his bedside. His funeral services were held at his mother’s Fifth Avenue residence, followed by Masonic services in New London. Through inheritance and reversion, Mae consolidated control over assets that had passed through her son, reinforcing her position as sole steward of major properties, investments, and personal effects. Philip was entombed in the family mausoleum at Cedar Grove Cemetery. Colonel William Hayward died in 1944. Mae continued to reside primarily at Clarendon Court, remaining active in Newport’s civic and charitable life. Her long experience managing complex estates allowed her to maintain her properties and philanthropic commitments without interruption. John Edward Rovensky On July 22, 1954, she married John Edward Rovensky, a prominent New York banker and industrial leader who served as chairman of the board of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Mae Rovensky continued to live at Clarendon Court and remained active in charitable causes, particularly in support of medical institutions. She died in Newport, Rhode Island, on July 21, 1956, one day before her seventy sixth birthday. Her funeral was held at Trinity Church in Newport. She was entombed with her son in the Plant Hayward Rovensky Mausoleum at Cedar Grove Cemetery in New London, Connecticut. After her death, her name was memorialized through philanthropic gifts that led to the construction of the Rovensky Building at Newport Hospital, completed in 1962.

(8 January, 1862 - 30 January, 1934) Franklin Nelson Doubleday was born January 8, 1862, in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, the son of William Edwards Doubleday and Ellen Maria Dickinson Doubleday. His father was a journalist and Civil War correspondent, and the household emphasized writing, publishing, and public affairs. Franklin was educated at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and later attended Harvard College, where he studied literature and developed an interest in publishing, though he left before completing a degree. Frank N. Doubleday by V. Floyd Campbell After college, Doubleday worked in the publishing industry, gaining practical experience at Charles Scribner’s Sons. In 1897, he entered into a partnership with magazine publisher Samuel S. McClure to form Doubleday and McClure Company. The firm initially focused on publishing books by American authors and leveraged McClure’s magazine network for promotion and distribution. Among the early successes were works by writers such as Rudyard Kipling, Stephen Crane, and Theodore Roosevelt, which helped establish the company’s reputation and financial stability. In 1900, Walter Hines Page joined the firm as a partner, and the company was reorganized as Doubleday, Page and Company. Under Doubleday’s leadership, the firm expanded rapidly, becoming one of the most influential publishing houses in the United States. He emphasized large print runs, national distribution, and close collaboration with authors, helping to modernize American book publishing. The company published fiction, nonfiction, and reference works and became known for both literary quality and commercial success. The Memoirs of a Publisher  — this is Doubleday’s own account of his business and publishing life. Doubleday served as president of the company for many years and was closely involved in editorial direction and business strategy. In 1927, Doubleday, Page and Company merged with the George H. Doran Company to form Doubleday, Doran and Company. At the time of the merger, it was the largest publishing enterprise in the English-speaking world. Following his resignation as president, operational leadership increasingly passed to his son, Nelson Doubleday Sr., who continued to expand the business in the following decades. Franklin Doubleday was married twice. His first marriage was to Neltje Blanchan DeGraff, a naturalist and author known for her popular books on nature and wildlife. She died in 1918. Later that same year, he married Florence Van Wyck Doubleday. He was the father of two children, Nelson Doubleday Sr., who became a leading figure in American publishing, and Dorothy Doubleday Babcock. Franklin Nelson Doubleday died on January 30, 1934, in Coconut Grove, Miami-Dade County, Florida, at the age of seventy-two. He was buried at Locust Valley Cemetery in Locust Valley, Nassau County, New York.

(December 9, 1822 – September 12, 1914) American attorney, rancher, investor, art collector, and a major owner and breeder in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. Haggin was born in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, a descendant of one of the state's pioneer families who had settled there in 1775 and a descendant of Ibrahim Ben Ali, who was an early American settler of Turkish origin. He graduated from Centre College at Danville, Kentucky, then entered the practice of law. On December 28, 1846, Eliza Jane Sanders James Ben Ali Haggin married Eliza Jane Sanders of Natchez, Mississippi with whom he had five children. in opening a law office in Sacramento. They moved to San Francisco in 1853. He built a large and impressive Nob Hill mansion on the east side of Taylor Street between Clay and Washington streets, which stood until the earthquake and fire of 1906. Haggin and Tevis married sisters, daughters of Colonel Lewis Sanders, a Kentuckian who had emigrated to California. Haggin and Tevis acquired the Rancho Del Paso land grant near Sacramento. The two invested in the mining business with George Hearst as one of their partners. Hearst, Haggin, Tevis and Co. became one of the largest mining companies in the United States; its operations included the Ontario silver mine in Park City, Utah, the Homestake Mine in South Dakota, and with Marcus Daly, the Anaconda Copper Company in Montana. Share of the Homestake Mining Company, issued 5 November 1879; signed by President JBA Haggin Haggin purchased the Rancho Del Paso horse farm near Sacramento, California in 1859. He made it one of the country's most important horse breeding and Thoroughbred racing operations whose horses competed from coast-to-coast. Haggin owned the colt Tyrant which in 1885 he sent to compete as a three-year-old on the U.S. East Coast where he won the prestigious Withers and Belmont Stakes, the latter becoming the third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series. The following year his colt Ben Ali won the 1886 Kentucky Derby. Sadly his wife Eliza died in 1893 and on December 30, 1897, the seventy-five-year-old Haggin married twenty-eight-year-old Margaret Pearl Voorhies at her stepfather's residence in Versailles, Kentucky. Miss Voorhies was a niece of his first wife. Haggin bought Elmendorf Farm in Lexington in 1897 and expanded the property by purchasing many of the farms surrounding it. Haggin transformed Elmendorf into a nationally renowned stud farm with horses sporting distinguished bloodlines. It also was a dairy operation noted for its progressive practices. During the 1890s and 1900s, the 500-acre farm expanded to 13,000 acres. After Haggin purchased Elmendorf Farm, he built a grand mansion as a wedding gift to his new wife. In March 1900, the Haggins began planning and reviewing improvements to the farm, including the new main residence. The mansion was built on a hill overlooking North Elkhorn Creek to the north and the stallion barn and training track to the west. The house was more than 12,000 square feet and built of brick and white marble. It included three stories and a full basement. A stone balustrade surrounded the roofline. Mrs. Haggin named the mansion Green Hills because of the beautiful view of Bluegrass country. Green Hills had 40 rooms, and its estimated construction cost was $300,000, which would translate to  approximately $10 million today. To outfit the home’s interior, Haggin hired New York’s Herter Brothers—Gustave and Christian Herter—famed interior designers who catered to the affluent. They previously had designed the interior of Haggin’s brownstone on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Villa Rosa Haggin died September 12, 1914, at his Newport, Rhode Island, residence Villa Rosa, brought by train to New York and after a private funeral Mr. Haggin's Mahogany casket was entombed in the Haggin Mausoleum, Lake View Plot, Section 74 of Woodlawn Cemetery in New York. Mausoleum Photo by Neil Funkhouser Mausoleum Photo by Neil Funkhouser Mausoleum Window Photo by Neil Funkhouser

(February 25, 1848 – September 9, 1909) Edward Henry Harriman was born on February 25, 1848, in Hempstead, Nassau County, New York. He was the son of Orlando Harriman and Cornelia Neilson Harriman. Both parents came from families with social standing but limited financial success, and the household lived with a strong sense of pride coupled with persistent economic insecurity. Orlando Harriman was educated and intellectually inclined, and at various points in his life worked in business and served as a Presbyterian deacon, but he never achieved lasting financial stability. Cornelia Harriman was protective of her children and deeply conscious of social position. These circumstances shaped Harriman from an early age, instilling ambition, discipline, and an intense drive to escape the vulnerability he associated with poverty. Young E. H. Harriman Harriman’s childhood was marked by physical smallness, high energy, and a combative temperament. He attended public schools in New Jersey and New York and later Trinity School in Manhattan, commuting long distances each day. He showed little interest in formal schooling unless a subject engaged him directly, preferring physical activity and competition. By his early teens, Harriman had resolved to leave school and enter the working world. In 1862, at the age of fourteen, he began work on Wall Street as an office boy and messenger for brokerage firms, including the firm of DeWitt C. Hays, a respected member of the New York Stock Exchange. Harriman entered finance during a period of extreme volatility. The Civil War and its aftermath transformed Wall Street into a fast-paced, speculative environment shaped by new technologies such as the telegraph and expanding railroad networks. As a messenger and later a clerk, Harriman learned the mechanics of securities trading, the psychology of speculation, and the importance of speed, accuracy, and trust. He proved reliable and observant, absorbing lessons from the daily crises, panics, and market battles that defined the era. By his early twenties, he had risen to managing clerk, earning responsibility well beyond his years. On August 13, 1870, at the age of twenty-two, Harriman purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. He financed the purchase largely through loans from family members, particularly his uncle Oliver Harriman. With limited capital but extensive knowledge and connections, Harriman began operating as a broker. His early years were cautious and methodical. Rather than engaging in reckless speculation, he focused on learning control, leverage, and the long-term value of ownership. This approach distinguished him from many contemporaries and laid the groundwork for his later success. During the 1870s and early 1880s, Harriman built his fortune gradually through brokerage work and selective investments. He developed a growing interest in railroads, recognizing their central role in the national economy and their vulnerability to mismanagement. In 1879, he married Mary Williamson Averell, daughter of William J. Averell, president of the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad. The marriage strengthened Harriman’s ties to the railroad industry and expanded his access to influential networks. The couple had six children and maintained a closely knit family life. In 1881, Harriman purchased his first railroad outright, a thirty-four-mile line in upstate New York. Though modest in scale, the acquisition marked a turning point. Harriman was no longer merely an investor but an owner and operator. His focus shifted toward restructuring, efficiency, and long-term stability. Over the next decade, he continued acquiring railroad interests, refining his philosophy that railroads should be managed as permanent industrial systems rather than speculative instruments. Original vintage magazine ad for the Union Pacific Railroad. With extensive informative text, as well as a photo of railroad exec E.H. Harriman. The financial panics of the 1890s created opportunities that Harriman was uniquely prepared to seize. Many major railroads collapsed under debt and poor administration. In 1897, working with Kuhn, Loeb and Company, Harriman took control of the bankrupt Union Pacific Railroad. He immediately undertook a comprehensive reorganization, reinvesting profits into infrastructure, equipment, and personnel. In 1898, he personally inspected the railroad, traveling by daylight from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast. He examined track, rolling stock, stations, and facilities mile by mile, insisting that deficiencies be corrected. Within a short period, Union Pacific was transformed into a profitable and reliable system. Harriman expanded this model across the western rail network, gaining control or influence over the Southern Pacific, Oregon Short Line, and other connecting lines. His consolidation created an integrated transportation system that reduced duplication and improved freight movement across vast regions of the country. While these efforts stabilized rail operations, they also attracted increasing public and governmental scrutiny as concerns over corporate concentration intensified. In 1899, following years of relentless work and declining health, Harriman undertook what became known as the Harriman Alaska Expedition. Originally conceived as a recuperative voyage, the trip evolved into a major scientific undertaking. Harriman organized the expedition in a matter of months, recruiting leading scientists, naturalists, and artists and refitting the steamer George W. Elder. The expedition sailed from Seattle on May 31, 1899, exploring the Alaskan coastline and documenting its geography, wildlife, and natural resources. Harriman took an active role throughout the journey, participating in exploration and hunting while supporting the scientific mission. Features discovered during the expedition were later named Harriman Fjord and Harriman Glacier. After the voyage, Harriman financed the analysis and publication of the expedition’s findings, contributing significantly to American scientific knowledge of Alaska. Arden ~ The Harriman Estate As his wealth increased, Harriman established Arden, his country estate in the Ramapo Highlands of Orange County, New York. Arden served as both a retreat and a working estate, reflecting Harriman’s interest in land management, forestry, and order. He entertained business leaders, politicians, and intellectuals there, and it became a center of family life. In his later years, as illness increasingly confined him, Arden became his primary residence. Bust of Edward H. Harriman by Auguste Rodin By the early twentieth century, Harriman was one of the most powerful figures in American transportation and finance. His railroad empire played a central role in shaping federal regulatory policy during the Progressive Era. Despite ongoing legal challenges and antitrust scrutiny, he remained deeply involved in management and strategic planning. Edward Henry Harriman died at Arden on September 9, 1909, at the age of sixty-one. He was buried in the Harriman family plot at Saint John’s Episcopal Church Cemetery in Arden, Orange County, New York.

(September 27, 1952 – August 8, 1996) Michio Hoshino was born on September 27, 1952, in Ishikawa, Japan. He became a nature photographer whose work was closely associated with the landscapes and wildlife of Alaska. After first visiting Alaska as a university student, he returned repeatedly and eventually spent many years working there, documenting animals, wilderness, and the relationship between people and the natural world. His photographs were widely published and recognized for their quiet strength, patience, and respect for the subjects he photographed. Hoshino was regarded by peers as one of the leading nature photographers of his generation and was often noted for his ability to convey emotional depth without sensationalism. In addition to his photographic work, he formed lasting friendships with fellow wilderness guides, writers, and photographers. Lynn Schooler later wrote about their friendship and time spent together in Alaska in the book The Blue Bear , describing Hoshino's influence on his own development as a photographer. Writer Kim Heacox also documented Hoshino's journeys and character in The Only Kayak , reflecting on their shared experiences in Glacier Bay and other remote regions. On August 8, 1996, while on assignment in the South Kamchatka region of Russia near Kurilskoye Lake, Michio Hoshino was killed in an encounter with a brown bear. He was 43 years old. A memorial marker was later placed at the location of his death in his memory. In Alaska, where much of his life's work was created, a memorial totem pole was raised in Sitka on August 8, 2008, marking the twelfth anniversary of his passing. Family members, including his widow Naoko, attended the dedication. Michio Hoshino's life and work left a lasting impression on those who knew him personally and on many who came to know the wilderness through his photographs. False fact: This photo The alleged wildlife photographer’s last photograph of a bear is spreading through internet like wildfire. A lot of people believe the story and repast it in the discussion forums and send it by email. But fewer people know that the photo (above) is a fake and has no relevance to the tragic accident that happened on August 8, 1996. From Source

(March 21, 1823 - February 3, 1909) José Francisco de Navarro was born in San Sebastián, Spain, on 21 March 1823, the son of Nicolás Navarro and María Fernanda de Arzac. He was baptized the following day in the parish church of San Vicente Mártir, and his family connections traced back to the distinguished Arzac line and to the naval traditions of the Basque coast. Trained as a naval cadet in his youth, he left Spain in his teens for Havana, Cuba, where he pursued technical studies at the University of Havana while working in a mechanical workshop. For a time he taught courses there before trying his fortune abroad. After a brief stay in Baltimore in 1840, he returned to Cuba, but by the mid-1850s he had resettled permanently in New York City, then a capital of commerce and industry. In 1857 Navarro married Ellen Amelia Dykers, daughter of banker and railroad executive John Hudson Dykers. Their family would grow into one of prominence, and through their son Antonio Fernando, Navarro became father-in-law to the celebrated actress Mary Anderson. His marriage anchored him in New York financial circles, and by 1859 he was connected with the new Equitable Life Assurance Society. Though Henry Baldwin Hyde is recognized as the company's founder, Navarro served on its board and remained involved in the insurance sector for many years. During the 1860s he widened his business scope to shipping and trade. He organized the United States & Brazil Mail Steamship Company, one of the first subsidized lines carrying mail between New York and South America, and created the Commercial Warehouse Company to support its operations. The collapse of that firm in 1874 caused him considerable losses, but Navarro demonstrated resilience by backing new ventures. Among these was his financial support of Simon Ingersoll's rock-drill enterprise, which evolved into the Ingersoll Rock Drill Company and eventually into Ingersoll-Rand. Navarro was equally influential in the field of urban transport. In the late 1870s he financed the struggling Gilbert Elevated Railway Company, securing the capital that allowed the Sixth Avenue elevated line to be built. The road opened in 1878 and formed the backbone of Manhattan's early rapid-transit system. His name also appeared in connection with Thomas Alva Edison's earliest electric-light ventures. In 1879 he sat on the board of the Edison Electric Light Company, and in 1882 he joined Edison and a circle of investors to form the Edison Spanish Colonial Light Company, intended to bring electric lighting to Havana, San Juan, and other cities in Spain's colonies. The Navarro Apartments/Spanish Flats Real estate became his most visible legacy in New York. Beginning in 1882 Navarro assembled an entire block at Seventh Avenue and 59th Street across from Central Park and built the Central Park Apartments, they soon became known as the Navarro Flats or, sometimes, the Spanish Flats. Designed largely by Hubert, Pirrson & Company, the eight massive buildings were among the earliest fireproof luxury apartment complexes in the city. They symbolized a new era of urban living, even if the financial burden forced Navarro to relinquish them within a few years. In the 1890s Navarro invested heavily in the emerging Portland cement industry, playing a role in the rise of the Atlas Portland Cement Company , which soon became one of the largest producers in the world. Atlas cement supplied the material for many of the monumental public works of the early twentieth century, and Navarro's early support helped make such growth possible. José Francisco de Navarro remained active in business into his later years, respected as one of the notable immigrant entrepreneurs of nineteenth-century New York. He died at his Manhattan home on 3 February 1909. Funeral services were held in the city, and he was entombed in the mausoleum of the Dykers family, his wife's kin, at Calvary Cemetery in Queens.

Carmel White Snow was born on August 21, 1887, in Dalkey, County Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Peter White and Annie May Foy White. She immigrated to the United States with her family and became one of the most influential magazine editors of the twentieth century. Conde Nast In 1921 she accepted a position as assistant fashion editor at Vogue offered by Condé Nast . She was appointed fashion editor in 1926, and that same year married George Palen Snow in a gown of cream white satin trimmed with seed pearls and old Burano lace from her family. They had three daughters. In 1929 her brother, Tom White, became general manager of the Hearst publishing organization, and although she had promised Condé Nast she would not work there, she accepted a position with Harper's Bazaar. She rose quickly and by 1934 was appointed editor-in-chief, a post she held until 1958. She described her vision for Harper's Bazaar as a magazine for "well-dressed women with well-dressed minds." Covers from Harper's Bazaar under the Carmel White Snow era. She encouraged innovation, hiring the Hungarian-born photographer Martin Munkacsi in 1933 for a groundbreaking swimsuit editorial featuring Lucille Brokaw in motion, the first such fashion photographs ever published. She appointed Alexey Brodovitch as art director after seeing his bold exhibition in New York, and discovered fashion editor Diana Vreeland after observing her energy and style at a social gathering. Christian Dior's first collection in 1947 was the hottest show in town Carmel Snow became famous for her discerning eye and for coining the phrase "It's such a new look!" when she saw Christian Dior's 1947 collection, cementing the term "The New Look" in fashion history. She guided Harper's Bazaar into a new era of modern photography, daring typography, and avant-garde sensibility. Carmel White Snow After retiring in 1958 she returned to Ireland, spending three years at Rossyvera House in Clew Bay, County Mayo. The isolation and climate proved difficult and she came back to New York. She died in her sleep on May 7, 1961, in Manhattan at the age of seventy-three. Her funeral at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York was so large that it had to be moved from the Lady Chapel into the main sanctuary. She was buried in a red brocade Balenciaga suit at the Memorial Cemetery of Saint John's Church, Laurel Hollow, Nassau County, New York.

Mary Lily Kenan was born on June 14, 1867 at Liberty Hall in Kenansville, North Carolina, the daughter of William Rand Kenan and Mary Hargrave Kenan. She came from one of the oldest and most prominent families in the region. Her childhood was shaped by the social standing and civic involvement of the Kenans, a family long established in North Carolina public life. She spent her early years in Wilmington, where she grew up alongside her siblings William, Jessie, and Sarah. She received an excellent education for a young woman of her time. She first attended Tileston School and later studied piano and voice at Peace College in Raleigh. From a young age she was described as graceful, accomplished, and admired, qualities that would later draw considerable attention as she moved into broader social circles. In the early 1890s Mary Lily began traveling through the resort communities frequented by wealthy industrialists and members of the Gilded Age elite. During a visit to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1891 she met Henry Morrison Flagler, one of the leading figures of American industry and a co founder of Standard Oil. She was twenty three and he was sixty one. Although their ages differed greatly, their connection deepened over time. Mary Lily Kenan After Flagler’s marriage ended, he and Mary Lily were wed on August 24, 1901 at her family home in Kenansville. Their union placed her among the most visible women in American society and transformed the course of her life. Flagler & Kenan Wedding 1901 As a gift to Mary Lily, Henry Flagler commissioned Whitehall, an immense Beaux Arts mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. The house, completed in 1902, was intended as a winter residence for the couple and stood as a monumental tribute to her. Flagler frequently referred to Whitehall as a gift to his bride, and those who visited the estate recognized it as a symbol of his affection. The couple spent their winters there, arriving by private railcar to host a social season that drew prominent guests from across the country. Their marriage was widely regarded as affectionate and harmonious. Despite the difference in their ages, they were known to enjoy travel, art, music, and the company of close friends. Contemporary observers noted that she brought warmth and vitality to Flagler’s life at a time when his health was beginning to decline, and her presence was credited with easing the burdens of his final years. During their marriage Mary Lily played an important role as hostess and partner in Henry Flagler’s philanthropic and civic interests. Mary Lily and Henry Morrison Flagler with the Kenan family during Christmas Dinner in the Dining Room at the Hotel Ponce de Leon", circa 1905. She accompanied him throughout his ongoing work in Florida, where he continued to build railroads, hotels, and civic infrastructure that helped transform the state into a major destination. She also took an interest in the charitable projects that he supported, and together they developed a reputation for generosity within their social and regional communities. The winters they spent at Whitehall were marked by lavish entertainments, orchestral evenings, and carefully planned gatherings that made the house one of the most admired residences in the country. Flagler's private railway car used extensively from 1886 until 1913. In 1913 Henry Flagler suffered a fall at Whitehall that resulted in injuries from which he could not recover. He died at the age of eighty three with Mary Lily by his side. In the aftermath of his death she inherited the bulk of his enormous fortune, instantly becoming one of the wealthiest women in the United States. Her life changed dramatically. She maintained residences in New York and Florida, oversaw her late husband’s charitable commitments, and managed a fortune that had few equals in American society. She continued to be known for a quiet dignity that contrasted with the dramatic circumstances that sometimes surrounded her. Mary Lily Kenan Flagler In November 1916 she married Robert Worth Bingham of Louisville, Kentucky, a lawyer, judge, and future newspaper publisher. Before the marriage Bingham signed a document renouncing any claim to her fortune, a measure that reflected both her own financial independence and the expectations placed on marriages involving great wealth. Robert Worth Bingham Although the couple appeared compatible in public, her health began to decline within months of the wedding. She experienced chest pains and increasing weakness, and physicians treated her with repeated doses of morphine in an attempt to manage her discomfort. On July 27, 1917 during an intense heat wave in Louisville, she was found unconscious in a bath at the Bingham residence. She died soon afterward at the age of fifty. Mary Kenan Flagler Bingham was entombed in the Kenan family plot at Oakdale Cemetery, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her death certificate noted brain swelling and heart disease. The suddenness of her passing led her family to seek further examination, and she was quietly exhumed for a private autopsy. Although various accounts circulated, no official report was ever released and the circumstances surrounding her death have remained a subject of historical debate. Despite lawsuits and public speculation, no charges were brought against her husband or her physicians.

James Aloysius Harden Hickey was born in San Francisco on December 8, 1854, at a time when the city still carried the rough edges of the gold rush. His mother, uneasy with the violence and instability that continued to shape daily life in the young city, brought her children to Paris, which offered a very different world. Under the rule of Napoleon III, the French capital presented order, elegance, and ceremonial rhythm. James grew up in that atmosphere and absorbed it so deeply that it shaped every corner of his adult identity. He learned languages quickly, excelled at fencing, and carried himself with the confidence of someone who believed he was meant for distinction. At nineteen he secured admission to the École spéciale militaire de Saint Cyr, the most respected military academy in France. He graduated in 1875 with honors, admired for his discipline, intelligence, and intensity. The years that followed brought both advancement and loss. His father died not long after his graduation, leaving James with the responsibility of making his own path. In 1878 he married the Countess Gabrielle, Daughter of the Marquis Sampieri, a match that brought him formally into the aristocratic world he had admired since childhood. They had two children, and for a time he seemed settled into a life of cultured routine. He wrote novels, pamphlets, and essays, traveled widely, and maintained a reputation as an exceptional swordsman. His marriage eventually failed, and the divorce became another turning point. He stepped away from Catholicism and gave in to a desire to roam, spending a year in India and visiting other regions that fed his fascination with systems of power, ritual, and identity. Prince James purchased the Château des Orchidées in Andilly, France, in 1890. He lived between Andilly and New York City after marrying Annie Harper a year later, although after 1893 he was mainly devoted to his Trinidad project. When he returned to Paris he met Annie Harper Flagler, daughter of John Haldane Flagler. The connection brought him into the orbit of immense New York wealth and influence. Before they married, James undertook a voyage that took him past the small, uninhabited island of Trinidad in the South Atlantic. The Island of Trinidad, off the Coast of Brazil, illustration from the 1906 book Real Soldiers of Fortune by RH Davis. The island lacked any formal claim by a nation, and the idea that it might be free for the taking seized his imagination. Drawing on his understanding of international law and fueled by an almost theatrical belief in self-determination, he declared the island his own principality. He styled himself James I, Prince of Trinidad, complete with a drafted legal code, symbols of office, and a crown he made himself. To him the claim was not a joke. He believed the world could accept a principality founded on will, intellect, and discipline. James and Annie were married on March 17, 1891, at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York. He spent the next years living among the Flaglers while pursuing recognition for his tiny kingdom. He issued stamps, medals, and proclamations, and he continued to represent himself as a sovereign prince even when it earned him ridicule. In 1895 Britain seized Trinidad as a strategic point in the South Atlantic. James had no power to oppose them. The loss struck at the center of his identity, and the humiliation followed him for the rest of his life. He tried to rebuild his prospects by purchasing a ranch in Mexico, hoping it would restore his financial footing and offer a new direction. The ranch became a burden rather than a solution. When he could not sell it, the pressure grew. Friends and family later recalled that his confidence had given way to discouragement and despair. In February 1898 he checked into a hotel in El Paso, Texas. On the evening of February 9 he took a fatal dose of morphine. With him were the items that had defined his most passionate ambitions, including the handmade crown he had worn as James I. He left a note for Annie that revealed both his affection and his exhaustion. James was laid to rest in the Hickey family mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, California.

James Hazen Hyde was born in Manhattan on June 6, 1876, the son of Henry Baldwin Hyde, founder of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, and Annie Fitch Hyde. At the age of twenty-three he inherited control of Equitable, one of the most powerful financial institutions in the nation, and held directorships in nearly fifty allied corporations. Equitable Life Assurance Society Hyde became a leading figure in New York society at the turn of the twentieth century. A bibliophile, Francophile, and art collector, he founded the Alliance Française in America and maintained close ties to French culture throughout his life. He was a member of the exclusive Coaching Club and kept one of the largest private stables and carriage collections of his time. Photos from the Versailles Ball On January 31, 1905, he hosted the famous "Versailles Ball" at Sherry's Restaurant, transforming its ballroom into the gardens of Louis XVI's court. The event, though widely admired for its artistry and spectacle, was used by rivals within Equitable to question his judgment and suggest extravagance at the company's expense. Though a subsequent investigation cleared him of impropriety, the scandal damaged his reputation, and within a year he resigned his post and left New York for France. Hyde lived in France for more than three decades, actively engaged in cultural, social, and charitable circles. He returned to the United States in 1941 and made his home at the Savoy-Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue. Each summer he stayed at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs, a tradition he kept until the end of his life. He married three times: in 1913 to Marthe Leishman, daughter of the American diplomat John George Alexander Leishman; in 1930 to Helena Holbrook Walker, Principessa della Torre e Tasso; and in 1932 to Marthe Céline Stéphanie Dervaux. He was the father of Henry Baldwin Hyde (1915–1997). James Hazen Hyde died in Saratoga Springs on July 26, 1959, at the age of eighty-three, on the hundredth anniversary of the founding of his father's company. He was buried in the Hyde Family Plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.