Lispenard Stewart

Lispenard Stewart II (June 19, 1855  – October 15, 1927) was an American lawyer who served as New York State Senator.[1]

Lispenard Stewart II
Member of the New York State Senate from the 8th District
In office
January 1, 1890 – December 31, 1891
Preceded byCornelius Van Cott
Succeeded byMartin T. McMahon
Personal details
Born(1855-06-19)June 19, 1855
Hudson, New York
DiedOctober 19, 1927(1927-10-19) (aged 72)
New York City, New York
Political partyRepublican
RelationsAnita of Braganza (niece)
T.J. Oakley Rhinelander (cousin)
ParentsLispenard Stewart
Mary Rogers Rhinelander
Residence6 Fifth Avenue
Alma materYale University
Columbia Law School

Early life

Stewart was born on June 19, 1855 in Hudson, New York. He was the son of Lispenard Stewart (1809–1867) and Mary Rogers Rhinelander (1821–1893).[1][2] He was the brother of Sarah Lispenard Stewart (1837–1920), William Rhinelander Stewart (1852–1929),[3] and Mary Rhinelander Stewart (1859–1949), who married Frank S. Witherbee.[4]

Through his brother William, he was the uncle of Anita Rhinelander Stewart (1886–1977) who married Prince Miguel, Duke of Viseu, grandson of King Miguel I of Portugal.[5] His paternal grandparents were Alexander Stewart and Sarah (née Lispenard) Stewart. He was the maternal grandson of William Christopher Rhinelander (d. 1878).[1][2][6]

He graduated from Yale in 1876,[7] the same year he entered Columbia Law School, graduating in 1878.[1][8] During his second year in the law school studied also in law office of Platt & Gerard.[7]

Career
Royal Poinciana guests on March 14, 1896. From left to right: Colonel Philip M. Lydig, Miss Helen Morton, Miss Gladys Vanderbilt, Miss Amy Townsend, Captain A.T. Rose, Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Miss Edith Bishop, Miss Mabel Gerry, Thomas Cushing, Edward Livingston, Dudley Winthrop, Craig Wadsworth, Miss Gertrude Vanderbilt, Lispenard Stewart, Harry P. Whitney, Miss Sybil Sherman, Cornelius Vanderbilt.

While still in law school, he was admitted to the office of the estate of his great-grandfather, William Rhinelander.[9] He was admitted to the bar May 27, 1879, and then became created a firm with his brother, known as "William R. Stewart & Lispenard Stewart, Attorneys" which they ran until 1900. He devoted most of his time to the administration of estates, charitable, philanthropic, and educational work.[10]

In January, 1877, he was granted power of attorney for his mother and two aunts.[2] After his grandfather's death in June 1878, he was named one of three executors and trustees, by his grandfather, in November 1878.[7] The estate of William Rhinelander, who was a prominent merchant, was valued conservatively at $60,000,000 upon his death.[2] By the time of his mother's death in 1893, the estate was said to be worth $75,000,000 with annual income in excess of $3,000,000.[2] He was elected a director of the Rhinelander Real Estate Company in 1903, becoming its first treasurer. He served until November 1921 when poor health forced him to resign. He was then elected vice-president of the company, serving in that role until his death in 1927.[7]

Political career

Stewart was the New York County representative to the Republican State Committee, serving as its treasurer.[7] He was also a delegate to the National Republican Conventions in 1896 and 1900 and a presidential elector in 1888 where he acted as Secretary of the Electoral College.[1]

From January 1, 1890, succeeding Cornelius Van Cott who became Postmaster of New York City, he served in the 112th and 113th New York State Legislatures[11] as a New York State Senator representing the 8th District (16th and part of the 9th, 15th, 18th, 20th and 21st Ward of New York City).[12] He ended his service on December 31, 1891 and was succeeded by Martin T. McMahon.[11]

Boards and clubs

From its inception in 1890, he was a director and a stockholder of the Real Estate Trust Company (later known as the Fulton Trust Company in 1906). He was also a trustee of Grant Monument Association, president of New York State Prison Commission from 1895 to 1903,[13] director of New York Prison Reform Association,[14] of New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (which he served as vice-president of the board from 1905 to 1908 and president from 1908 to 1919),[1] of Protestant Episcopal Church Missionary Society for Seamen of the City and Port of New York from 1883 until 1901, and of the Roosevelt Hospital from 1909 until 1919.[1]

Stewart was also a manager of New York Zoological Society, a member of the committee which erected the Washington Square Arch (led by his brother William),[3] president of Newport Golf Club from 1907 to 1910,[15] a governor of the Newport Casino from 1911 to 1921, of the Newport Reading Room from 1902 to 1923,[7] of the Spouting Rock Fishing Club from 1900 to 1922, and of the Clambake Club of Newport.[1]

Personal life

He was a member of Grace Church in New York City and Trinity Church in Newport. He was a close friend of A. Lanfear Norrie, with whom he threw a 100-person dinner and evening of vaudeville before the two traveled to Mexico on vacation.[16] He was also a friend of society fellow Harry Lehr.[17]

He also owned a "cottage" called "White Lodge" on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island,[18] where he entertained regularly.[19][20][21] In 1897, he entertained Jennie Tuttle Hobart and Garret Hobart, the then Vice President of the United States at his home in Newport. Other guests included Gov. Elisha Dyer, Sen. Chauncey Depew, Mrs. Astor, Anthony Joseph Drexel, Jr., and Marion Graves Anthon Fish, among others.[22]

Stewart, who did not marry, died at his home, 6 Fifth Avenue, on October 15, 1927.[1] He had been an invalid for several years. His funeral was held at Grace Church and he was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.[4] He left the bulk of his estate to his brother and sister and their descendants.[23][24]

References
  1. "LISPENARD STEWART DIES AT AGE OF 72; Lawyer, Former Head of State Prison Commission and Member of Old Family. ONCE SENATOR AT ALBANY Victim of Heart Disease.. From Which He Had Suffered for Four Years". The New York Times. 16 October 1927. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  2. "MOURNED BY RICH AND POOR; MRS. LISPENARD STEWART BURIED FROM GRACE CHURCH. One of the Wealthiest Women in New-York City, She Was Noted for Her Benevolence -- Enormous Estates Which Date Back to the Time of the Revolution, and Which Now Go to Mrs. Stewart's Children -- A Representative Assemblage at the Services in Grace Church". The New York Times. 11 October 1893. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  3. "W. R. STEWART DIES; A PHILANTHROPIST; Was Head of State Board of Charities for 25 Years and Member for 47. CAME OF NOTED FAMILIES One of His Children Is Princess de Braganza--Abandoned Law to Manage Estates. Praised by Governor Roosevelt. Washington Arch His Idea". The New York Times. 5 September 1929. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  4. "L. STEWART'S FUNERAL; Services for Ex-Head of Prison Commission Held in Grace Church". The New York Times. 18 October 1927. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  5. "Anita Stewart Morris, 91, Dies; Heiress Wed a European Prince". New York Times. September 16, 1977.
  6. Lamb, Martha Joanna; Harrison, Mrs Burton (2005). History of the City of New York: Its Origin, Rise, and Progress. Cosimo, Inc. p. 723. ISBN 9781596052840. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  7. Mowbray, Jay Henry (1898). Representative Men of New York: A Record of Their Achievements. New York Press. pp. 145–147. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  8. "Lispenard Stewart II (1855-1927)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  9. Osterdahl, Andy (21 January 2012). "The Strangest Names In American Political History : Lispenard Stewart (1855-1927)". The Strangest Names In American Political History. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  10. "LISPENARD STEWART GIVES AWAY $100,000; Decides to Make Charitable Gifts in His Lifetime and Witness the Good Results". The New York Times. 15 June 1911. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  11. Murlin, Edgar L. (1897). The New York Red Book. Albany, New York: James B. Lyon. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  12. "CANDIDATES IN THE FIELD; TAMMANY'S SENATORIAL CONVENTIONS". The New York Times. 22 October 1889. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  13. "NEW PRISON COMMISSION.; Lispenard Stewart. President, Confirmed by the Senate". The New York Times. 15 February 1901. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  14. "Lispenard Stewart Re-elected". The New York Times. 7 September 1898. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  15. "NEWPORT GOLF CLUB ELECTION.; Lispenard Stewart Again President -- 22 New Members Elected". The New York Times. 17 August 1908. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  16. "DINNER AND VAUDEVILLE; WITH THEM MESSRS. STEWART AND NORRIE PAID THEIR SOCIAL DEBTS". The New York Times. 7 March 1893. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  17. Beresford, Elizabeth (2005). King Lehr. Applewood Books. p. 165. ISBN 9781557099631. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  18. "Among Our Aristocrats | Greenwich Village a la Town Topics". Bruno's Weekly. 1 (18). 20 November 1915. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  19. "MANY NEWPORT COTTAGES OPEN; At Least a Dozen Villous Occupied Last Week -- Lispenard Stewart Entertains". The New York Times. 23 May 1897. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  20. "Fire In Lispenard Stewart's Villa.; Ward Man H. W. Schill Set Free". The New York Times. 23 May 1896. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  21. "ARRIVALS IN NEWPORT.; Early Colonists Include Lispenard Stewart and Dr. and Mrs. A.H. Rice". The New York Times. 3 June 1916. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  22. "DINNER FOR THE HOBARTS.; Vice President Entertained by Lispenard Stewart at Newport". The New York Times. 1 August 1897. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  23. "FAMILY GETS BULK OF STEWART ESTATE; Brother and Sister of Lawyer and Philanthropist to Receive Large Shares". The New York Times. 22 October 1927. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  24. "LISPENARD STEWART ESTATE IS $3,559,510; Former President of State Prison Commission Had $1,793,936 Securities. REALTY PUT AT $544,443". The New York Times. 18 March 1930. Retrieved 26 September 2017.

Lispenard Stewart at Find a Grave

New York State Senate
Preceded by
Cornelius Van Cott		 New York State Senate
8th District
1890–1891		 Succeeded by
Martin T. McMahon
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