William Colford Schermerhorn

William Colford Schermerhorn (June 22, 1821 – January 1, 1903)[1] was an American lawyer, philanthropist, and patron of the arts.

William Colford Schermerhorn
Photograph of Schermerhorn, c. 1855 – c. 1865
Born(1821-06-22)June 22, 1821
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedJanuary 1, 1903(1903-01-01) (aged 81)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting placeGreen-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn
Alma materColumbia University (BA)
Spouse
Ann Elliott Huger Cottonet
​
​
(m. 1845)​
Children5
RelativesEdmund Schermerhorn (brother)
Peter Schermerhorn (grandfather)
James I. Jones (uncle)
Abraham Schermerhorn (uncle)
Caroline Schermerhorn Astor (cousin)

Early life

Schermerhorn was born in New York City on June 22, 1821. He was the son of Peter Schermerhorn (1781–1852) and Sarah (née Jones) Schermerhorn (1782–1845).[2] Among his siblings was older brothers John Jones Schermerhorn (who married a daughter of Mayor Philip Hone), Peter Augustus Schermerhorn (who married Adaline Emily Coster), and Edmund Schermerhorn.[3]

His paternal grandparents were Elizabeth (née Bussing) Schermerhorn and Peter Schermerhorn, a wealthy New York City merchant and land owner known as "Peter the Elder".[4] Among his extended family was uncle Abraham Schermerhorn, the father of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, who married William Backhouse Astor Jr. and became the leader of "The Four Hundred."[5] On his mother's side, he was the grandson of John Jones and Eleanor (née Colford) Jones of Jones's Wood.[6] His maternal uncle, Gen. James I. Jones,[7] married his paternal cousin, Elizabeth Schermerhorn (Abraham's daughter and Caroline's sister).[8] James and Elizabeth were the parents of Eleanor Colford Jones,[9] who married Augustus Newbold Morris.[10]

Schermerhorn was educated in private schools in New York before attending Columbia College, where he graduated with honors in 1840 (alongside Robert Lenox Kennedy and Ogden Hoffman Jr.).[2] Later, in 1860, Columbia awarded him an honorary A.M. degree and he was made a trustee of the college.[11]

Career
The 1888 Schermerhorn Building.

After being admitted to the bar in 1842, he commenced the practice of law, with an office at 41 Liberty Street, where he managed the large Schermerhorn estate. He also served as a long-time trustee of the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company.[1]

Schermerhorn also owned considerable real estate in New York and was "the most notable member of his generation of the family."[1] After they moved away from their Lafayette Street home in 1860, he later decided to tear down the old family home and construct the Schermerhorn Building in 1888.[12][13] The Building was designed by in the Commercial Romanesque style by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh (who also designed the Plaza Hotel and The Dakota).[14]

Schermerhorn devoted his life to public service as a patron of literature, arts and letters. He was a member of the American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American Fine Arts Society. He was a prominent member of the Grace Episcopal Church, serving as senior warden for a number of years. He was also member of the City Club, Metropolitan Club, Knickerbocker Club, Whist Club and the Columbia Alumni Association.[11]

Columbia University

In 1893, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University.[11] In the Spring of 1895, Schermerhorn and University President Seth Low, among others, oversaw the college's move from its old site on 49th Street to its current location in Morningside Heights.[11] To outfit the new campus, Low donated a million dollars for the construction of a Library, and Schermerhorn followed with a $300,000 (equivalent to $10,552,800 today) donation. At the same time, his nephew (and godson),[15] F. Augustus Schermerhorn, offered the Townsend Library of National Records to the University.[16] Schermerhorn Hall, designed by McKim, Mead, and White, to the left of Low Memorial Library (on the Amsterdam Avenue side), along with its twin, Havemeyer Hall, was one of the original buildings on the uptown campus and was devoted to science, with laboratories and lecture rooms for botany, geology and physics.[11]

Personal life

On September 24, 1845, Schermerhorn was married to Ann Elliott Huger Cottonet (1825–1907)[17] at Trinity Church. Her father was the French born Francis Cottenet, and her mother was Frances Caroline "Fannie" Laight, a daughter of Major General Edward William Laight of the New York State militia.[18] Ann was also the aunt of Rawlins Lowndes Cottenet. In her youth, Ann was well-known for her beauty,[17] and after her marriage, she became prominent in New York Society. They first lived in the old Schermerhorn residence, on Lafayette Place and 4th Street, which Ann redecorated to resemble Louis XV's Versailles for a French-themed costume ball she gave in 1854 for six hundred New Yorkers,[19] at which the German Cotillion was introduced in America.[20] In 1860, Schermerhorn built the family a large new home at 49 West 23rd Street, which was known for its picture gallery and music rooms and was considered one of the handsomest residences in the city. Together, William and Ann were the parents of:[21]

Schermerhorn died of pleurisy at his residence on 23rd Street in New York City on January 1, 1903.[1][11] After a funeral at Grace Church conducted by Rector Dr. William R. Huntington, he was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery.[26] He left his entire estate to members of his family, along with a $30,000 annuity to his widow.[15] After his death, his family sold Schermerhorn's remaining portion land of Jones's Wood for $700,000 (equivalent to $22,799,259 today) to John D. Rockefeller for what became Rockefeller University.[6]

References
  1. "W.C. SCHERMERHORN DEAD; Passes Away in This City After a Few Hours' Illness. Was a Member of One of New York's Oldest Families, and a Patron of Letters, Science, and Art" (PDF). The New York Times. 2 January 1903. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  2. "W.C. SCHERMERHORN IS DEAD -- OLDEST OF HIS FAMILY-HEAD OF COLUMBIA TRUSTEES. Died in the House He Had Clung to Until It Was the Last Private House in the Fifth Avenue Hotel Block in Twenty-third Street--In His 82nd Year". The Sun. January 2, 1903. p. 1. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  3. Court, New York (State) Supreme (1855). Abstract of Title of the Louvre Farm: Formerly the Property of John Jones, Esq., Deceased. Wm. C. Bryant. p. 69. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  4. Irving, Washington (1969). Journals and notebooks. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 197. ISBN 9780805785043. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  5. Homberger, Eric (2004). Mrs. Astor's New York: Money and Social Power in a Gilded Age. Yale University Press. p. 128. ISBN 0300105150. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  6. "SCHERMERHORN FARM SALE; Site for the New Rockefeller Laboratory Chosen. Price Contemplated in the Negotiations Said to, be $700,000 -- New York Trade School and a Carnegie Library to be Near By" (PDF). The New York Times. 10 February 1903. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  7. Annual Obituary Notices of Eminent Persons who Have Died in the United States: For 1857-[1858]. Phillips, Sampson. 1859. p. 183. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  8. "DIED. Jones" (PDF). The New York Times. August 23, 1874. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  9. "Mrs. Eleanor Colford Morris" (PDF). The New York Times. April 27, 1906. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  10. "A. Newbold Morris Dead. He Was A Descendant of Noted Family Which Owned Morrisania" (PDF). The New York Times. September 3, 1906. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  11. "W. C. SCHERMERHORN DEAD Head of the Board of Trustees—In His Eighty-second Year". Columbia Daily Spectator. January 5, 1903. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  12. Schermerhorn genealogy.
  13. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A. (ed.). Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1., p.62
  14. White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot (2000). AIA Guide to New York City (4th ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-8129-3107-5.
  15. "W.C. SCHERMERHORN'S WILL.; Entire Estate Left to Members of the Family -- Widow's Annuity. $3O,OOO" (PDF). The New York Times. 18 February 1903. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  16. Nelson, Charles A.; Pine, John B. (1904). Columbiana: A Bibliography of Manuscripts, Pamphlets and Books Relating to the History of King's College, Columbia College, Columbia University. Columbia University. p. 36. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  17. "MRS. SCHERMERHORN DIES.; Former Leader of Society Expires in Her Twenty-third Street Home" (PDF). The New York Times. February 15, 1907. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  18. "Francis Cottenet". The New York Times. 9 August 1884. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  19. Burrows, Edwin G. and Wallace, Mike (1999). Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-195-11634-8., p.723
  20. Morris, Lloyd R. (1979). Incredible New York: Life and Low Life of Last Hundred Years. London: Hamish Hamilton. pp. 17–19.
  21. Cutter, William Richard (1915). New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation. Lewis historical publishing Company. p. 614. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  22. "BRIDGHAM". New-York Tribune. October 26, 1919. p. 17. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  23. Madrazo y Garreta, Raimundo de (1898). "Sarah Schermerhorn". arcade.nyarc.org. Frick Art Reference Library. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  24. "MISS SARAH SCHERMERHORN". New-York Tribune. 31 July 1903. p. 9. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  25. "WILL OF MRS. KANE LEAVES $4,000,000 TO CITY CHARITIES -- $1,000,000 Each Goes to Home for Incurables and Columbia University". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 9, 1926. p. 5. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  26. "W. C. Schermerhorn Buried" (PDF). The New York Times. 5 January 1903. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
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