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Benjamin Welles
Benjamin Sumner Welles Jr. (January 11, 1857 – December 24, 1935) was an American philanthropist who was a descendant of many prominent Colonial families.
Benjamin Sumner Welles Jr. was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 11, 1857. He was one of five children born to Katharine Elida Schermerhorn (1828–1858) and Benjamin Sumner Welles Sr. (1823–1904), a dry-goods merchant who was a descendant of Colonial Governor Thomas Welles and Governor Increase Sumner. His siblings included Helen Schermerhorn Welles, who married George Lovett Kingsland (son of Mayor Ambrose Kingsland), and Harriet Katherine Welles.
His maternal grandparents were Abraham Schermerhorn, a wealthy New York City merchant, and Helen Van Courtlandt (née White) Schermerhorn of the Van Cortlandt family. Through his grandfather, he was descended from Jacob Janse Schermerhorn, who settled in New York from the Netherlands in 1636. His maternal aunt was Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, known as "the Mrs. Astor", who was married to the immensely wealthy William Backhouse Astor Jr. of the Astor family, and was considered the Gatekeeper of New York Society during the Gilded Age.
Among his many cousins were Emily Astor, who married the politician James J. Van Alen, Helen Schermerhorn Astor, who married the diplomat James Roosevelt Roosevelt (the elder half-brother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt), and John Jacob Astor IV, who married Ava Lowle Willing and, later, married socialite Madeleine Talmage Force, before perishing aboard the Titanic in 1912.
Welles graduated from Harvard College in 1878, of which his family had been producing graduates dating back to 1707 with Samuel Welles. He also spent at year at Columbia Law School.
Following a year spent at law school, Welles spent a year and a half in Europe travelling. After his "grand tour," he returned to New York City and was engaged in the business of managing his family affairs. Following his marriage in 1886, the newlyweds spent a year together in Europe. He was an officer of the 27th Assembly District Republican Club, and in 1901 called it the "only 'anti-machine' one in New York. Largely through our efforts a good majority was secured for a son of Harvard, Governor Roosevelt."
Welles was the treasurer of the House of Rest, a philanthropic sanitarium near Yonkers, and belonged to the Society of Colonial Wars, University Club of New York, Union Club of the City of New York, and the Harvard Club of New York.
In 1892, Welles and his wife were both included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into his aunt, Mrs. Astor's, ballroom.
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Benjamin Welles
Benjamin Sumner Welles Jr. (January 11, 1857 – December 24, 1935) was an American philanthropist who was a descendant of many prominent Colonial families.
Benjamin Sumner Welles Jr. was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 11, 1857. He was one of five children born to Katharine Elida Schermerhorn (1828–1858) and Benjamin Sumner Welles Sr. (1823–1904), a dry-goods merchant who was a descendant of Colonial Governor Thomas Welles and Governor Increase Sumner. His siblings included Helen Schermerhorn Welles, who married George Lovett Kingsland (son of Mayor Ambrose Kingsland), and Harriet Katherine Welles.
His maternal grandparents were Abraham Schermerhorn, a wealthy New York City merchant, and Helen Van Courtlandt (née White) Schermerhorn of the Van Cortlandt family. Through his grandfather, he was descended from Jacob Janse Schermerhorn, who settled in New York from the Netherlands in 1636. His maternal aunt was Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, known as "the Mrs. Astor", who was married to the immensely wealthy William Backhouse Astor Jr. of the Astor family, and was considered the Gatekeeper of New York Society during the Gilded Age.
Among his many cousins were Emily Astor, who married the politician James J. Van Alen, Helen Schermerhorn Astor, who married the diplomat James Roosevelt Roosevelt (the elder half-brother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt), and John Jacob Astor IV, who married Ava Lowle Willing and, later, married socialite Madeleine Talmage Force, before perishing aboard the Titanic in 1912.
Welles graduated from Harvard College in 1878, of which his family had been producing graduates dating back to 1707 with Samuel Welles. He also spent at year at Columbia Law School.
Following a year spent at law school, Welles spent a year and a half in Europe travelling. After his "grand tour," he returned to New York City and was engaged in the business of managing his family affairs. Following his marriage in 1886, the newlyweds spent a year together in Europe. He was an officer of the 27th Assembly District Republican Club, and in 1901 called it the "only 'anti-machine' one in New York. Largely through our efforts a good majority was secured for a son of Harvard, Governor Roosevelt."
Welles was the treasurer of the House of Rest, a philanthropic sanitarium near Yonkers, and belonged to the Society of Colonial Wars, University Club of New York, Union Club of the City of New York, and the Harvard Club of New York.
In 1892, Welles and his wife were both included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into his aunt, Mrs. Astor's, ballroom.