NYC Gilded Age, Families You Should Know
NYC and the Gilded Age will probably make you think of Vanderbilts, Astors, Carnegies, and Morgans. There were 400 families considered to be Manhattan elite, and the lesser-known names are every bit as rife with intrigue and scandal.
THE DUKE FAMILY
When walking along NYC’s Fifth Avenue, you will pass two mansions that used to be owned by the Duke family.
After the Civil War, Washington Duke started what would become the American Tobacco Company, and it became the largest tobacco manufacturer in the world! Washington Duke sold his shares, but his son Benjamin Newton Duke served at the vice-president at American Tobacco Company.
Benjamin was also an entrepreneur in his own right and founded Duke Energy, which provided electricity to more than 300 cotton mills throughout the Carolinas. As you can imagine, the family had quite a comfortable income.
Benjamin Duke’s house is located at Fifth Avenue and East 82nd St, just across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was initially part of 4 attached mansions, (or row-houses, if you will). The other three mansions were demolished, but the Benjamin Duke House persevered, largely because a member of the Duke family lived there through the 1970s, and refused to sell their family home. In fact, instead of selling, they petitioned the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the building as a landmark, and they were successful!
The house was put on sale in 2005 for $50 million. At the time, it was the second most expensive residence in NYC, and also hailed as “the last intact mansion of FIfth Avenue. Many high-profile millionaires and celebrities, including Lenny Kravitz, considered buying it. It ultimately sold to Tamir Sapir for $40 million.
Another Duke property is the James B. Duke House. Located at 1 E. 78th Street, today this building is most recognizable as home to NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. Its origins, however, were the elaborate French Classical-style mansion of Benjamin Duke’s kid brother, James B. Duke. The Duke family lived there until 1958 when they donated it to NYU.
Speaking of NYU, the Duke family lent their name to another university, Duke University. Washington Duke even fought to make Duke accept female students, one of the earliest universities to do so.
If you visit NYC, make sure you stop by Fifth Avenue to admire their mansions.
PAYNE WHITNEY
If you visit NYC and Fifth Avenue, make sure to stop by Albertine Books. This NYC hidden gem is a French language bookstore located in the Payne Whitney mansion.
Payne Whitney was born William Payne Whitney, son of William Collins Whitney and Flora Payne. When his father remarried, he disapproved, and dropped the William from his name. He went by simply “Payne Whitney” to honor his late mother.
In 1902, Payne Whitney married Helen Julia Hay, daughter of then US Secretary of State John Hay. Payne Whitney’s uncle, Oliver Payne, wanted to give his intended bride a spectacular wedding gift. If you’re in NYC, amazing real estate is a wonderful gift. So, Oliver Whitney gave Helen Hay a glorious High Italian Renaissance-style mansion designed by celebrity architect Stanford White. The happy couple lived there in opulence for years, and hosted several high profile events in its rooms.
Visit the Payne Whitney House on your next trip to NYC. It’s located at 972 Fifth Avenue.
Edward Berwind
Edward Berwind (sometimes spelled Berwynd) made his fortune in coal. His parents were German immigrants who moved to the US in the 1800s. Edward Berwind served in the Navy during the Civil War, and then went on to co-found Berwind, White & Company. (Later Berwind-White.) Berwind worked closely with J.P. Morgan to consolidate, reorganize, integrate, and expand coal mining operations. In addition to being the largest owner of coal-mining properties in the world he supplied coal to the IRT, helping to create the NYC subway system. He was also a director of the International Mercantile Marine Company, with White Star Line, owner of the RMS Titanic. His funeral was held at St. Thomas Church on NYC’s Fifth Avenue. His NYC mansion still stands at 64th Street and Fifth Avenue.