Frederick Sturges

Frederick Sturges (June 1, 1833 – December 22, 1917) was an American businessman, philanthropist and art connoisseur who was, briefly, a brother-in-law of J.P. Morgan.

Early life

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Sturges was born in Fairfield, Connecticut on June 1, 1833. He was the eldest son of Mary Pemberton (née Cady) Sturges (1806–1894)[1] and Jonathan Sturges.[2] He grew up in New York City and at his parents' Gothic Revival summer house (today known as the Jonathan Sturges House) on Mill Plain Road in Fairfield.[3][4] His elder sister Virginia was married to railroad executive William H. Osborn.[5][6] His younger siblings were Amelia Sturges (the first wife of J. P. Morgan),[7][8] Arthur Pemberton Sturges (who studied at Princeton Theological Seminary, but died before graduating),[9] and historian Henry Cady Sturges.[10]

His paternal grandparents were Barnabas Lothrop Sturges and Mary (née Sturges) Sturges. His great-uncle, Lewis Burr Sturges, and great-grandfather, Jonathan Sturges, were both U.S. Representatives from Connecticut.[11] His maternal grandparents were Ebenezer Pemberton Cady (a grandson of Ebenezer Pemberton) and Elizabeth Smith Cady.[12]

Career

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Sturges maintained the books for the 1,000 family farm in Fairfield, Connecticut,[13] including "daily notations on the weather and the amount of labor expended, accounts with Sturges, and an inventory of 'his place.'[14] He also served as a director of the National Bank of Commerce in New York (alongside J. Pierpont Morgan, James N. Jarvie, Augustus D. Juilliard, John Stewart Kennedy, Charles D. Lanier, and Charles H. Russell),[15] of which his father was a founder and one of the original stockholders and directors in 1839, among John Austin Stevens, Peter Gerard Stuyvesant, Samuel Ward, and Stephen Whitney.[16]

A prominent philanthropist, he was a charter member of the Century Association, a trustee of the New York Public Library, and was especially active in the affairs of the Presbyterian Hospital where he founded the Florence Nightingale School for Trained Nurses.[17]

Personal life

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On July 29, 1863, Sturges was married to Mary Reed Fuller (1834–1886) in Hyde Park, New York by Rev. Thomas House Taylor.[18] Mary was the eldest daughter of Dudley B. Fuller of the Fuller Brothers & Co., manufacturers of nails, nuts, bolts, iron washers and sheet iron.[19][20] Together, they were the parents of three surviving children, two sons and a daughter:[21]

He was a member of the Union League Club, the Century Club, the Downtown Club and the Grolier Club.[21]

His wife died in Morristown, New Jersey on February 17, 1886.[30] Sturges died on December 22, 1917[31] at his home, 36 Park Avenue in Manhattan.[21]

Art collection

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A prominent art connoisseur, Sturges owned a number of significant art pieces including The Bashful Cousin (c. 1841-1842) by Francis William Edmonds, Forest in the Morning Light (c. 1855) and A Pastoral Scene (1858), both by Asher Brown Durand, Beacon Rock, Newport Harbor (1857) by John Frederick Kensett, View on Lake George (1857) by John William Casilear and Beach at Beverly (c. 1869/1872) by John Frederick Kensett.[32] His son, Frederick Sturges Jr., bequeathed several of Sturges family paintings to the National Gallery of Art upon his death in 1977.[33]

References

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  1. ^ Schenck, Elizabeth Hubbell Godfrey (1905). The History of Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, from the Settlement of the Town in 1639 to 1818: 1700-1800 [i. e. 1789. p. 470. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  2. ^ "OBITUARY. Jonathan Sturges" (PDF). The New York Times. November 30, 1874. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  3. ^ Ohno, Kate Mearns; Pitts, Carolyn (October 6, 1993). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Jonathan Sturges House" (pdf). National Park Service.
  4. ^ Gaynes, Steven (April 24, 2019). "In the Suburbs: Sturges 'cottage' a treasure". Fairfield Citizen. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  5. ^ "DIED" (PDF). The New York Times. 9 February 1902. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  6. ^ "THE OBITUARY RECORD.; William H. Osborn" (PDF). The New York Times. 5 March 1894. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  7. ^ Cahoon, Herbert (April 22, 1979). "The Grand Tour: Memorandum From J. Pierpont Morgan" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  8. ^ "$3,000,000 to Each Child and $1,000,000 To Mrs. Morgan CASH TO ALL EMPLOYES" (PDF). The New York Times. April 20, 1913. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  9. ^ Columbia University Quarterly. Columbia University Press. 1905. p. 186. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  10. ^ Hill, Edwin Charles; Porter, Bela James (1923). The Historical Register: A Biographical Record of the Men of Our Time who Have Contributed to the Making of America. E.C. Hill. p. 52. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  11. ^ Greene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Morrison, George Austin; Mott, Hopper Striker; Totten, John Reynolds; Pitman, Harold Minot; Forest, Louis Effingham De; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Mann, Conklin; Maynard, Arthur S. (1919). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. p. 233. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  12. ^ "Osborn, William H. (William Henry), 1820-1894". research.frick.org. Frick Art Reference Library. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  13. ^ Barone, Meg (17 June 2019). "On the Market: Hidden historic gem in Fairfield". Fairfield Citizen. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  14. ^ Rockwell (processed by), Martha; Austen, Barbara. "The Sturges Family Papers" (PDF). fairfieldhistory.org. June 1984; November 1996: Fairfield Museum and History Center Library. Retrieved 20 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  15. ^ "CONSOLIDATION OF BANKS; The Bank of Commerce and Union Directorates Take Action. TALK OF GREATER COALITION J. Pierpont Morgan and the Mutual Life Interested -- National City Bank Mentioned". The New York Times. January 11, 1900. p. 4. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  16. ^ "GUARANTY TRUST MARKS CENTENARY; Merged Bank of Commerce Was Founded on Jan. 1, 1839, With $5,000,000 Capital". The New York Times. January 2, 1939. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  17. ^ "DEATH OF FREDERICK STURGES Long Identified With Financial Institutions and Active in Philanthropic Affairs". The Wall Street Journal. 25 December 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  18. ^ "MARRIED". The New York Times. 31 July 1863. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Jonathan Sturges papers, 1834-1866". www.aaa.si.edu. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  20. ^ "FELL FROM THE RICHARD PECK The Body Found Was That of C.D. Fuller, Son of a Wealthy New York Merchant--A Princeton Graduate". The Morning Journal-Courier. 5 August 1893. p. 4. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  21. ^ a b c "Obituary Notes | FREDERICK STURGES" (PDF). The New York Times. December 23, 1917. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  22. ^ "JONATHAN STURGES DEAD". The Bridgeport Times and Evening Farmer. 13 June 1911. p. 8. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Jonathan Sturges". The New York Times. 10 June 1911. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  24. ^ Wilson, Mary Sturges Chalmers (10 August 1916). "Letter to the Editor 1 -- No Title". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Mrs. A. C. Wilson Rites". Newport Daily News. 22 August 1962. p. 2. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  26. ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (29 May 1952). "REV. DR. A. C. WILSON". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Deaths: STURGES—Frederick, Jr". The New York Times. 16 October 1977. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  28. ^ "Mrs. Frederick Sturges Dies in Fairfield". The Bridgeport Telegram. 24 December 1969. p. 24. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  29. ^ "MISS C.A. STURGES ENGAGED TO MARRY; Parents in Fairfield, Conn., Announce Her Betrothal to Charles Munson Jr. FERMATA SCHOOL ALUMNA Bride-Elect Has Also Studied in Paris--Fiance Attended Yale and Cambridge". The New York Times. 28 June 1939. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  30. ^ "STURGES". The New York Times. 20 February 1886. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  31. ^ "Frederick Sturges Dies". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 24 December 1917. p. 4. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Sturges, Frederick American, 1833 - 1917". www.nga.gov. National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  33. ^ "launch zoom add to compare images list download image Creative Commons zero badge John Frederick Kensett Beach at Beverly, c. 1869/1872". www.nga.gov. National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
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