Charles de Rham

Charles de Rham (October 22, 1822 – February 23, 1909) was an American merchant and clubman who was prominent in New York society.

Early life
24 Fifth Avenue, de Rham's home from 1849 until his death in 1909.

Charles was born in New York City on October 22, 1822. He was one of four children born to Henry Casimir de Rham (1785–1873) and Maria Theresa (née Moore) de Rham (1784–1855). His father, who came to America in 1805, was a merchant and diplomat who was appointed one of the first two Swiss consuls to the U.S. in 1822.[1]

His paternal grandparents were Johann Christoph Wilhelm de Rham and the former Anne (née Kinloch) de Rham (a daughter of Sir James Kinloch, Bt. of Scotland).[2] His maternal grandparents were Jane (née Fish) Moore and the well-known surgeon, Dr. William Moore (a brother of Bishop Benjamin Moore). His was a first cousin of writer and real estate developer Clement Clarke Moore.[3]

Career

Charles became a partner in his father's firm, De Rham, Iselin & Moore,[4] which was absorbed in 1881 by the firm of Adrian Iselin & Co., however, "at no time in his life did he actively engage" in business.[5] He was a director of the Gebhard Fire Insurance Company.[6]

According to his obituary, "he was of a retiring disposition, and at no time took an active part in public affairs, although he was one of the founders of the Knickerbocker, and had been a member of the Union Club.[5]

Personal life
Photograph of his grandson, Charles de Rham III, who died in France during World War I[7]

On May 30, 1849, de Rham was married to Laura Friedrich Schmidt at Grace Church. Laura was a daughter of Eliza Ann (née Bache) Schmidt and John William Schmidt,[8] who served more than fifty years as Consul-General in New York for Prussia, Saxony, and Baden.[9][10] Her paternal grandfather, Dr. Georg Schmidt, was court physician to Queen Louise of Prussia, and her maternal grandfather, William Bache, was a son of Theophylact Bache.[9] The de Rhams had a country home at Cold Spring, New York, known as Giez (after the town of his father's birth in Switzerland), and would often stay in Newport, Rhode Island. Together, they were the parents of:[9]

His wife died in May 1899.[8] After a short illness, de Rham died of pneumonia at his home, 24 Fifth Avenue (a large brownstone house at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 9th Street where he had lived since 1849), on February 23, 1909.[5] After a funeral at Grace Church, he was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.[19]

Descendants

Through his son Charles, he was a grandfather of Henry Casimir de Rham (1882–1947) (who married Frances Appleton Dana, a daughter of Richard Henry Dana III and granddaughter of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow);[20][21] Frederic Foster de Rham (1883–1938);[22] Laura de Rham (1887–1906);[23] Charles de Rham (1888–1918) (who married Jeanne King);[24] and Emily Clarisse de Rham (1902–1973) (wife of John Rutherfurd, a descendant of U.S. Senator John Rutherfurd).[25][26]

Through his son Henry, he was a grandfather of Casimir de Rham (1896–1968),[27] who married Lucy Lathrop Patterson (a daughter of Rufus L. Patterson Jr.);[28][29] William de Rham (1901–1957);[30] Marion Elise de Rham (1903–1991), who married Frederick Simonds Whitlock;[31][32] and Cmdr. Stephen Whitney de Rham (1905–1961).[33]

References
  1. Junold, Louis J. (1926). "History of the Swiss Consulate of New York". Swiss American Historical Society Review. p. 3.
  2. Meier, Heinz K. (1963). The United States and Switzerland in the Nineteenth Century. Studies in American History. Vol. I. The Hague: Mouton & Co. OCLC 714968765.
  3. Weeks, Lyman Horace (1898). Prominent Families of New York: Being an Account in Biographical Form of Individuals and Families Distinguished as Representatives of the Social, Professional and Civic Life of New York City. Historical Company. p. 408. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  4. Scoville, Joseph Alfred (1863). The Old Merchants of New York City. Carleton. p. 457. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  5. "CHARLES DE RHAM DEAD.; Head of an Old New York Famlly Victim of Pneumonia". The New York Times. 24 February 1909. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  6. Hunt, Freeman (1860). "Merchants' Magazine Advertiser". Hunt's Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review. Freeman Hunt: 4. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  7. "DIED -- DE RHAM". The New York Times. 31 October 1918. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  8. "Mrs. Charles De Rham". The New York Times. 6 May 1899. p. 7. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  9. Bergen, Tunis Garret (1915). Genealogies of the State of New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. Vol. 2. Lewis Historical Publishing Company.
  10. "OBITUARY. MRS. CHARLES DE RHAM". New-York Tribune. 6 May 1899. p. 9. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  11. "Pierrepont, John Jay, 1849-1923". snaccooperative.org. Social Networks and Archival Context. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  12. "MRS. CHARLES DE RHAM". The New York Times. 23 August 1934. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  13. "CHARLES DE RHAM DIES IN 80TH YEAR; Member of an Old New York FamilyuLong Prominent in Society Here". The New York Times. 17 June 1933. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  14. "H. Casimir de Rham". The New York Times. 16 December 1916. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  15. "MRS. H.C. DE RHAM SUCCUMBS IN HOME; Former Georgianna Berryman Ex-Chairman of Women's Group at City Museum". The New York Times. 19 May 1946. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  16. "A DAY'S WEDDINGS. | De Rham--Berryman". The New York Times. 24 April 1895. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  17. Moffat, R. Burnham (1904). The Barclays of New York: who They are and who They are Not,-and Some Other Barclays. R. G. Cooke. p. 200. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  18. "DIED -- DE RHAM". The New York Times. 10 March 1881. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  19. "DIED -- DE RHAM". The New York Times. 26 February 1909. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  20. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth; Hilen, Andrew R. (1967). The Letters of Henry Wadsworth Logfellow: 1844-1856. Harvard University Press. p. 488. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  21. "HENRY CASIMIR DE RHAM; Harvard Graduate a Member of Family Well Known in Society". The New York Times. 24 March 1947. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  22. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (22 September 1938). "F. F. DE RHAM IS DEAD AFTER TRIP IN STORM; Banker Is Apoplexy Victim at His Tuxedo Park Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  23. "DIED -- DE RHAM". The New York Times. 21 May 1906. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  24. "Mrs. Charles de Rham, 74, Dies; Was Active in Charities Herel". The New York Times. 26 December 1965. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  25. "MISS DE RHAM ENGAGED.; Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles De Rham to Wed John Rutherfurd". The New York Times. 14 January 1923. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  26. "MISS DE RHAM WEDS JOHN RUTHERFURD; Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chas. de Rham Married in Church of St. Philip's, Garrison". The New York Times. 27 May 1923. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  27. "Casimir de Rham, 71, Dies; Ex-Partner in Brokerage". The New York Times. 3 March 1968. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  28. "Wedding Notes". The New York Times. 14 September 1919. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  29. "LUCY DE RHAM". The New York Times. 25 February 1977. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  30. "WILLIAM DE RHAM, DANCING TEACHER; Instructor to Children of Prominent Families Dead --Once Top Waltzer Here". The New York Times. 27 February 1957. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  31. "MARION DE RHAM BECOMES A BRIDE; Wed to Frederick S, Whitlock Amid Easter Lilies in St. Bartholomew's Chapel. IS ESCORTED BY BROTHER Only Near Relatives and a Few Close Friends at Ceremony Couple to Travel in South". The New York Times. 5 April 1934. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  32. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (28 June 1948). "FREDERICK WHITLOCK, WALL STREET BROKER". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  33. Times, Special to The New York (8 July 1961). "COMDR. S. W. DE RHAM". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
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