Jeanne de Rham

Jeanne de Rham (née King; 1892 – December 24, 1965) was an American politician and philanthropist.

Early life
Portrait of Mrs. Ralph Izard (née Alice De Lancey), by Thomas Gainsborough, c. 1747–1788

She was one of four surviving children of Mary Elizabeth (née Lyon) King (b. 1856)[1] and David Hazlitt King Jr. (1850–1916),[2] a real estate developer and construction engineer who supervised the construction of the Statute of Liberty.[3] Among her siblings were Van Rensselaer Choate King,[lower-alpha 1][5][4] Ruth King (who married Baron de Villiers du Terrage),[lower-alpha 2][6][7][8] Dorothy King (wife of Stanley Griswold Flagg).[9]

Her father built a cottage on Jekyll Island in 1897 known as Chichota.[10] The unique cottage was "a single-storied, Italian Renaissance house surrounding a central courtyard, complete with a swimming pool fed by an artesian well. After the property was severely damaged in 1898 during one of the worst hurricanes in Jekyll Island history, King sold Chichota to Edwin Gould just three years after construction."[11]

Career

After World War I, de Rham helped to organize the Dugout, an organization that assisted disabled combat veterans earn a livelihood by teaching them new skills and restoring old skills.[3]

After establishing a home known as J.D.R. Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in the 1930s, where she relocated part-time because of ill health, she began raising "prize beef cattle".[3] In addition she served as a Republican State Committeewoman in Wyoming for twenty years.[3]

Art collection

De Rham bequeathed a portrait of Mrs. Ralph Izard (née Alice De Lancey), by Thomas Gainsborough, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in memory of her father.[12] Her father had acquired the portrait in c. 1912 from Dr. Robert Watts, the sitter's great-grandson.[13]

Personal life
Photograph of her husband, Charles de Rham III, who died in France during World War I

On April 12, 1918, she was married to Lt. Charles de Rham III (1888–1918) at the Long Island Hotel in Riverhead by Chaplain Duncan H. Brown of the 305th Infantry.[14] Charles, who was then stationed at Camp Upton, was a son of Charles de Rham Jr. and Emily Hone (née Foster) de Rham.[15] He was a grandson of Charles de Rham and great-grandson of Henry Casimir de Rham, a Swiss merchant and diplomat who was appointed one of the first two Swiss consuls to the U.S. in 1822.[16] Sadly, they were only married a few months before his death in combat in France during World War I.[17] At the time of her death, she lived at 36 East 72nd Street.

After a brief illness, de Rham died at New York Hospital on December 24, 1965.[3]

References
Notes
  1. Jeanne's brother, Van Rensselaer Choate King (1880–1927), died in an earthquake in Kobe, Japan.[4]
  2. Jean Maurice Marie Marc, Baron de Villiers du Terrage was a son of the Vicomte and Vicomtesse de Villiers du Terrage. His father was chargé d'affaires at London, Berlin and Madrid before serving as the head of the French Red Cross Bureau during the War. His mother was a daughter of the Count de la Fons des Essarts. The Baron is related to the de La Fayette family and one of his ancestors, the Louis Billouart, Chevalier de Kerlérec, was Governor of Louisiana when it was a French province.[6]
Sources
  1. of 1901, Harvard College (1780-) Class (1916). Secretary's Fourth Report. Crimson Printing Company. p. 255. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  2. "DAVID H. KING, JR., DEAD.; Builder of Madison Square Garden Was Ex-Park Head". The New York Times. 21 April 1916. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  3. "Mrs. Charles de Rham, 74, Dies; Was Active in Charities Here". The New York Times. 26 December 1965. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  4. "COL. V.R.C. KING A VICTIM.; Sister Here Notified of New Yorker's Death in Quake at Kobe". The New York Times. 10 March 1927. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  5. "Van Rensselaer C. King". valor.militarytimes.com. Sightline Media Group. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  6. "BARON DU TERRAGE MARRIES RUTH KING; Lieutenant of French Dragoons Weds Daughter of Late Mr. and Mrs. David H. King, Jr. MGR. LAVELLE OFFICIATES Ceremony in Bride's Home--Bridegroom Was Made Chevalier of Legion of Honor on Battlefield". The New York Times. 5 November 1920. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  7. "MRS. DE RHAM HOSTESS.; Gives Large Dinner for Sister, the Baroness du Terrage". The New York Times. 5 December 1928. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  8. "DE VILLIERS SUED BY WIFE.; Nature of Actton Against Baron Withheld-Complaint Dropped". The New York Times. 28 March 1930. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  9. "STANLEY. G. FLAGG WEDS DOROTHY KING; Bridesmaids Gowned Alike in Blue Satin at Nuptials of David King, Jr,'s, Daughter. IN ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S Ceremony Followed by Reception in Annex of Metropolitan Club -- The Bridal Party and Guests". The New York Times. 1 February 1912. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  10. McCash, June Hall (1998). The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony. University of Georgia Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-8203-1928-5. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  11. "Chichota Courtyard Rehabilitation". www.jekyllislandfoundation.org. Jekyll Island Foundation. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  12. "Mrs. Ralph Izard (Alice De Lancey, 1746/47–1832)". www.metmuseum.org. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  13. "Thomas Gainsborough | Mrs. Ralph Izard (Alice De Lancey, 1746/47–1832)". www.metmuseum.org. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  14. "MISS JEANNE KING A BRIDE.; Sister of Col. Van R.C. King Weds Lieut. Charles de Rham, Jr". The New York Times. 13 April 1918. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  15. "MISS KING TO WED LIEUT. C.DE RHAM, JR.; Sister of Lieut. Col. Van R.C. King Betrothed to Officer at Camp Upton. BROTHER ALSO TO MARRY Col. King Engaged to Mrs. Jewell Minturn--Troth of Lady Cutting and Geoffrey Scott". The New York Times. 5 April 1918. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  16. Junold, Louis J. (1926). "History of the Swiss Consulate of New York". Swiss American Historical Society Review. p. 3.
  17. "DIED -- DE RHAM". The New York Times. 31 October 1918. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
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