Thomas Forbes Cushing

Thomas Forbes Cushing (December 19, 1838 – June 6, 1902) was a prominent American member of Boston, New York, and Newport society during the Gilded Age.[1][2]

Thomas Forbes Cushing
Born(1838-12-19)December 19, 1838
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedJune 6, 1902(1902-06-06) (aged 63)
Manhattan, New York
Spouse(s)
Fannie Leslie Grinnell
​
​
(died 1887)​
ChildrenEdith Howard Cushing
Parent(s)John Perkins Cushing
Mary Louisa Gardiner
RelativesJohn S. J. Gardiner (grandfather)

Early life

Cushing was born in Boston, Massachusetts on December 19, 1838. He was third son of John Perkins Cushing (1787–1862)[3] and Mary Louisa (née Gardiner) Cushing (1799–1862), the only daughter of the Rev. John Sylvester John Gardiner (1765–1830) of Trinity Church, Boston.[4] His siblings included John Gardiner Cushing (1834–1881), who married Susan Prescott Dexter,[4] and Robert Maynard Cushing (1836–1907), who married Olivia Donaldson Dulany (1839–1906).[4]

His father was a wealthy Boston sea merchant, opium smuggler, and philanthropist.[5][6] His paternal grandparents were Robert Cushing and Ann Perkins (née Maynard) Cushing.[7] He was the uncle of Grafton D. Cushing, a master at the Groton School who distinguished himself during the Spanish–American War and later served as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.[8] His father's Cushing ancestor had emigrated to Hingham, Massachusetts,[8] during the early years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.[9]

Society life

In 1892, both Cushing and his daughter Edith were included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times.[10] Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.[11] His New York residence was at 29 East 39th Street in Manhattan.[1][12] He was "one of the best-known habitues of the Metropolitan Opera House. He and his daughter had orchestra stalls, and they never missed a performance. They were regular attendants at all the Sunday concerts."[8]

He was a member, and governor,[1] of the Newport Casino,[13] where he attended many dances, balls and social functions.[14][15] He was also a member of the Knickerbocker Club, Manhattan Club, Metropolitan Club, Country Club, and of the Somerset Club of Boston.[1]

Personal life

Cushing was married to Fannie Leslie Grinnell (1842–1887).[16] She was the daughter of U.S. Representative Moses Hicks Grinnell (1803–1877) and Julia (née Irving) Grinnell (1803–1872).[17] Fannie's mother was a niece of Washington Irving, and her mother was a sister of James Kirke Paulding, a Congressman who served as the Secretary of the Navy under Martin Van Buren.[16] Fannie's sister, Julia Grinnell (1838–1915),[18] was married to George Sullivan Bowdoin (1833–1913), who were the parents of Temple Bowdoin (1863–1914), an associate of J.P. Morgan & Company.[19] Together, they were the parents of: Edith Howard Cushing (1871–1920),[20] who married the composer J. Blair Fairchild in 1903.[12]

Cushing's wife died in May 1887. Cushing was injured in Newport in 1900 "when he was knocked down and trampled on by a horse."[21] He died in New York City on June 6, 1902. His estate, including his "horses, harness, jewelry, silver plate, furniture and other household effects," was left in trust to his daughter.[22][23]

Residences

On December 3, 1870, Cushing bought a property with frontage on Marlborough and Dartmouth Street from George Wheatland, Jr. in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. He then had a residence, known as 163 Marlborough, built by architect Snell and Gregerson, who also designed the Concord Free Public Library.[24] Cushing lived in the home until winter 1892 when he moved to Newport, Rhode Island,[25] and rented the home to U.S. Representative Charles Franklin Sprague. He eventually sold the home to William Endicott, Jr., son of William Crowninshield Endicott in 1898.[24]

Forbes's cottage in Newport was situated next to Frederick Vanderbilt's Rough Point cottage,[26] and was called "New Lodge." His cottage was described by The New York Times as "on of the handsomest of the fashionable residences of that resort".[1] After his death, his daughter used the Newport cottage with her husband.[27] Cushing and his wife built their Newport residence, designed by prominent society architect George Champlin Mason, Sr., in 1869. Following Cushing's death in 1902, New Lodge passed to his daughter.[28][25] In 1916, she sold the estate to Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr. and his wife who remodeled the cottage in a classical revival style which they then referred to as Ames Villa.[29] In 1931, Jessie Woolworth Donahue, the daughter of Frank Winfield Woolworth (founder of F. W. Woolworth Company) and mother of James Paul Donahue Jr., bought the Villa and renamed it "Rock Cliff."[26] As of 2013, the home was owned by Samuel Mencoff, the founder of a Chicago private equity firm.[30]

References
  1. "THOMAS F. CUSHING DEAD; He Was Conspicuous in Society Here and in Newport, and Was Long a Famous Cotillion Leader". The New York Times. 7 June 1902. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  2. "THE NEWS OF NEWPORT". The New York Times. 7 April 1899. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  3. "GENERAL NEWS. | Mr. JOHN P. CUSHING". The New York Times. 16 April 1862. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  4. "Letters from the Children of John Perkins Cushing, and to His Wife Marie Louise Cushing - China, America and the Pacific - Adam Matthew Digital". www.cap.amdigital.co.uk. China, America and the Pacific | Trade & Cultural Exchange. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  5. "Cushing, John Perkins, 1787-1862.John Perkins Cushing business records, 1832-1882 (inclusive): A Finding Aid". oasis.lib.harvard.edu. Harvard University Library. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  6. "Forbes Family Papers, 1732-1931". www.masshist.org. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  7. Shavit, David (1990). The United States in Asia: A Historical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313267888. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  8. "WHAT IS DOING IN SOCIETY". The New York Times. 7 June 1902. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  9. Kienholz, M. (2008). Opium Traders and Their Worlds-Volume One: A Revisionist Exposé of the World's Greatest Opium Traders. iUniverse. ISBN 9780595910786. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  10. McAllister, Ward (16 February 1892). "THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED | WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  11. Keister, Lisa A. (2005). Getting Rich: America's New Rich and How They Got That Way. Cambridge University Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780521536677. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  12. "WEDDINGS OF A DAY.; Fairchild--Cushing". The New York Times. January 2, 1903. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  13. "RAIN KEEPS NEWPORT INDOORS.; Attendance at the Casino Light on Account of the Storm". The New York Times. 13 August 1898. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  14. "Subscribers to the Casino Ball". The New York Times. 13 August 1894. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  15. "DANCE AT NEWPORT CASINO.; A Brilliant Assemblage of Guests Present at the Function". The New York Times. 23 July 1898. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  16. Emery, William Morrell (1919). The Howland heirs; being the story of a family and a fortune and the inheritance of a trust established for Mrs. Hetty H. R. Green. New Bedford, Mass., E. Anthony and Sons, inc. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  17. "THE LATE MOSES H. GRINNELL.; ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL--REMINISCENCES OF THE DECEASED GENTLEMAN". The New York Times. 26 November 1877. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  18. "G.T. BOWDOIN HEIR TO ANOTHER ESTATE; 16-Year-Old Boy, Who Recently Inherited $2,000,000, Gets Legacy from Grandmother. BIG BEQUESTS TO CHARITY Mrs. Julia Irving Grinnell Bowdoin Leaves $30,000 to Grace Church -- $10,000 to Temperance Society". The New York Times. 18 March 1915. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  19. "Temple Bowdoin Dead, Partner In J. P. Morgan &, Co. and Stock Exchange Member". The New York Times. December 3, 1914. p. 13.
  20. "Obituary Notes | Mrs. Blair Fairchild". The New York Times. 24 November 1920. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  21. "Thomas F. Cushing Injured". The New York Times. 14 August 1900. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  22. "THOMAS F. CUSHING'S WILL.; His Estate Left to His Daughter, Miss Edith -- No Inventory Filed". The New York Times. June 24, 1902. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  23. "MRS. FAIRCHILD LOSES CASE; Court Rules That $250,000 of Father's Estate Is Principal, Not Income". The New York Times. 29 April 1913. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  24. "163 Marlborough". backbayhouses.org. Back Bay Houses | Genealogies of Back Bay Houses. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  25. Social Register, Summer. Social Register Association. 1895. p. 67. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  26. "Society As He Found It: Harry Lehr". New York Social Diary. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  27. "SOCIETY AT NEWPORT". The New York Times. 7 June 1904. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  28. "THE NEWS OF NEWPORT". The New York Times. 11 October 1901. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  29. "Mrs. Ogden L. Mills's 'Ocean View' Estate (left) and Roger W. Cutler's 'Ames Villa' Estate, Newport, RI :: Robert Yarnall Richie Photograph Collection". digitalcollections.smu.edu. Central University Libraries, Southern Methodist University. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  30. Flynn, Sean (September 6, 2013). "Restored Aloha Landing Boathouse earns praise". The Newport Daily News. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
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