Henry deForest
Born(1855-10-29)October 29, 1855
New York City, U.S.
Died1938
Cold Spring Harbor, New York, U.S.
EducationWilliston Seminary
Alma materYale University
Columbia Law School
Spouse
Julia Gilman Noyes
​
(m. 1898)​
RelativesRobert W. DeForest (brother)
Lockwood de Forest (brother)
Edie Sedgwick (granddaughter)

Henry Wheeler DeForest (October 29, 1855 – 1938) was an American railroad executive, capitalist and industrialist.

Early life

DeForest was born in New York City on October 29, 1855. He was a son of Henry Grant DeForest and Julia Mary (née Weeks) DeForest. Among his siblings was older brothers Lockwood DeForest, a painter and interior designer,[1][2] and Robert Weeks DeForest, a lawyer, financier, and philanthropist.[3]

DeForest paternal grandfather was Lockwood DeForest, a prominent South Street merchant and direct descendant of Jessé de Forest, of French Huguenot ancestry, whose Dutch West India Company helped to settle New Amsterdam. Through his mother, he was distantly related to Frederic Church, the Hudson River landscapist, and his maternal grandfather was Robert Doughty Weeks, the first President of the New York Stock Exchange.[4][5]

He was a graduate of Williston Seminary in Easthampton, Massachusetts, Yale University in 1876, and Columbia Law School in 1878.[6]

Career

After being admitted to the bar in 1878, he began practicing law with his father, brother, and uncle in New York. When that firm was dissolved in 1893, DeForest and his brother founded the firm known as DeForest Brothers. From 1925 to 1928, he was chair of the executive committee of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and chairman of its board of directors from 1929 to 1932.[6]

He assisted E.H. Harriman in the recapitalization of the Wells Fargo Express Company, and was a longtime director of the Equitable Life Assurance Company. With Elihu Root, he was the trustee of the majority of the Equitable's capital stock.[6] He also served as president of the New York Botanical Garden from January 1928 to November 1937.[6]

Personal life

On August 22, 1898, DeForest was married to Julia Gilman Noyes (1875–1967) in St. Paul, Minnesota. Julia was the daughter of Emily Hoffman (née Gilman) Noyes and Charles Phelps Noyes, a millionaire druggist.[7] Together, they resided at 63 East 79th Street in New York, Nethermuir in Cold Spring Harbor (the former home of Chinese merchant Oliver Kimball Gordon),[8] and were the parents of:[6]

  • Julia Mary DeForest (1899–1988), who married Beverley Duer (1893–1961).[9]
  • Henry Wheeler DeForest Jr. (1901–1913), who died of a brain tumor in 1913.
  • Charles Noyes DeForest (1905–1929), a Yale graduate who died in Palermo, Italy during a trip around the world.[10]
  • Alice Delano DeForest (1908–1988), who married Francis Minturn Sedgwick (1904–1967), son of Henry Dwight Sedgwick, in 1929.[11][12]

DeForest died at his county home, Nethermuir, in Cold Spring Harbor on 1938.[6] He was buried at Memorial Cemetery of Saint John's Church in Laurel Hollow, New York on Long Island.

Descendants

Through his daughter Alice, he is the grandfather of Andy Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Glueck, Grace (15 June 2001). "ART IN REVIEW; Lockwood de Forest". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  2. ↑ Kahn, Eve M. (20 November 2014). "Renewed Interest for Lockwood de Forest's Designs". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  3. ↑ "ROBERT W. DE FOREST, CIVIC LEADER, DIES AFTER LONG ILLNESS; Succumbs to Weakness of Age at Washington Square Home --Family at His Bedside. HE HEADED ART MUSEUM Organized Welfare Work and Helped to Found School Here for Social Service. INTERESTS WERE VARIED Lawyer and Business Man, He Was Head of Russell Sage Foundation, and Other Welfare Agencies. Family at the Bedside. R.W. DE FOREST DIES AFTER LONG ILLNESS Member of Many Clubs" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 May 1931. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  4. ↑ Williams College Class of 1859 (1884). Four Years in College and Twenty-five Years Out of College. Smith & Bruce. p. 76. Retrieved 8 August 2019.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ Greene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Morrison, George Austin; Mott, Hopper Striker; Totten, John Reynolds; Pitman, Harold Minot; Forest, Louis Effingham De; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Mann, Conklin; Maynard, Arthur S. (1900). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. p. 245. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "HENRY DE FOREST, LAWYER, DIES AT 82; Leader in Financial and Rail Circles Many Years Also Noted Philanthropist" (PDF). The New York Times. 29 May 1938. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "De Forest -- Noyes" (PDF). The New York Times. 23 August 1898. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  8. ↑ "Died" (PDF). The New York Times. 8 July 1865. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  9. ↑ Harvard Alumni Directory. Harvard Alumni Association. 1965. p. 410. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  10. ↑ "CHARLES N. DE FOREST Son of Lawyer and Capitalist Dies in Palermo, Sicily" (PDF). The New York Times. 20 December 1929. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  11. ↑ "MISS A. DE FOREST ENGAGED TO MARRY; Lawyer's Daughter to Wed Francis M. Sedgwick, Harvard Graduate, Son of Author" (PDF). The New York Times. 3 November 1928. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  12. ↑ "OLD FAMILIES SEE MISS DE FOREST WED; Younger Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. de Forest Marries Francis M. Sedgwick. CEREMONY IN GRACE CHURCH Rev. Dr. Peabody Officiates--Bridal Party Passes Through a Lane of White and Green. Ushers Lead Bridal Procession. Costumes of Bridesmaids" (PDF). The New York Times. 9 May 1929. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  13. ↑ "Edie Sedgwick, Warhol Star, 28" (PDF). The New York Times. 23 November 1971. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
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