Francis Randall Appleton
Francis R. Appleton painted by Ellen Emmet Rand in 1925
Born(1854-08-05)August 5, 1854
Lenox, United States
DiedJanuary 2, 1929(1929-01-02) (aged 74)
Ipswich, Massachusetts, United States
Alma materHarvard College
Columbia Law School
Spouse
Fanny Lanier
​
(m. 1884)​
Children5
RelativesJames Appleton (grandfather)

Francis Randall Appleton (August 5, 1854 – January 2, 1929) was an American lawyer and prominent New York society man during the Gilded Age.[1]

Early life

Francis Randall Appleton was born on August 5, 1854, in Lenox, Massachusetts. He was the eldest son born to Daniel Fuller Appleton (1826–1904),[2] and Julia Randall (1827–1886).[3] His siblings included Randolph Morgan Appleton (1862–1940), and James Waldingfield Appleton (1867–1942). After his mother's death in 1886, his father married Susan Cowles, daughter of the Rev. John P. Cowles, in 1889.[4][2]

His paternal grandfather was Brig. Gen. James Appleton (1785–1862),[5] an abolitionist, early supporter of temperance, and politician from Maine.[6] His maternal grandfather was Nicholas P. Randall.[7]

He was educated at private schools and prepared for college at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard College in 1875, and Columbia Law School in 1877.[8][9]

Career

In 1877, he was admitted to the bar in New York. Following his admission to the Bar, he practiced as a lawyer for several years in New York City. From 1884 until his retirement in 1910, he was a member of the firm of Robbins & Appleton,[10] which was founded by his father and were the New York agents for the Waltham Watch Company.[8]

Society life

Francis and his wife were included on Ward McAllister's list of New York's social elite during the Gilded Age, known as "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times[11][12]

Appleton owned a home in New York, that he used during the Winter, and a home in Ipswich, which he used in the summer.[13] The Ipswich home, Appleton Farms, was owned and operated by the Appleton family continuously since its founding in 1638.[14] He was a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, and was an overseer of Harvard College during 1903–1909. He was a member of the Republican Party and served as president of the Harvard Club of New York from 1916 to 1919.[8]

Personal life

On October 7, 1884, Appleton was married to Fanny Lanier (1864–1958),[15] in Lenox, Mass. She was a daughter of Sarah Egleston and Charles D. Lanier (1837–1926),[16] a close friend of Pierpont Morgan.[17][18] She was a granddaughter of banker James Lanier and a great-granddaughter of Major General John Paterson who was on George Washington's staff during the American Revolutionary War. Together, they were the parents of five children:[4][19]

  • Francis Randall Appleton, Jr. (1885–1974),[20][21] who married Joan Mary Egleston (1912–2006)[14] in 1935.[22]
  • Charles Lanier Appleton (1886–1921), who died unmarried.[23]
  • Ruth Appleton (1891–1943), who married William Greenough Wendell (1888–1967) in 1914.[24] They divorced in 1938.[25]
  • Alice A. Appleton (1894–1987), who married Clarence Leonard Hay (1884–1969),[26] son of U.S. Secretary of State John Hay, in 1914.[27] His sister, Helen Hay, was married to Payne Whitney in 1902.[27]
  • James Appleton (1899–1915), who died young after a long illness.[28]

Appleton died on January 2, 1929.[8] His widow died 29 years later in 1958.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Francis R. Appleton Jr., Head of Law Firm, Dead". The New York Times. 6 August 1974.
  2. 1 2 "DANIEL F. APPLETON DEAD; Delegate to the Fremont Convention of '56 and Founder of Waltham Watch Company". The New York Times. 6 February 1904. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  3. ↑ Hannan, Caryn (2008). Massachusetts Biographical Dictionary. State History Publications. pp. 26–27. ISBN 9781878592668. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  4. 1 2 Cutter, William Richard (1913). 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. 179. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "MHS Collections Online: James Appleton". Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  6. ↑ Appleton, Daniel Fuller (1886). The Origin of the Maine Law and of Prohibitory Legislation: With a Brief Memoir of James Appleton. National temperance society and publication house. pp. 15–. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  7. ↑ Dolan, Susan Hill; Campbell, Rebecca Gardner (Fall 2013). "Generations of Appleton Family Portraits" (PDF). thetrustees.org. Ipswich, Massachusetts: The Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "FRANCIS R. APPLETON DIES AT COUNTRY HOME; Retired New York Business Man and a Former Harvard Overseer". The New York Times. 3 January 1929. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  9. ↑ The Harvard University Catalogue. Harvard University. 1904. p. 301. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  10. ↑ "ROYAL ROBBINS DIES.; Had Served as Treasurer of the Waltham Watch Company". The New York Times. 5 May 1928. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ "IN THE NEWPORT CASINO; ALL SOCIETY AT THE SUBSCRIPTION BALL.THE CULMINATING SOCIAL EVENT OF THE SEASON--MAKING A FINE SHOWING ON THE POLO GROUNDS". The New York Times. 26 August 1887. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  13. ↑ (Mass.), Ipswich (1884). The Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, August 16, 1844. Little, Brown. p. 121. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Joan Egleston Appleton". The Boston Globe. February 4, 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  15. 1 2 Times, Special To The New York (5 June 1958). "Obituary -- APPLETON". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  16. ↑ "CHARLES LANIER, BANKER, DIES AT 89; Senior Member of Winslow, Lanier & Co. for 63 Years Is Victim of Apoplexy. CAME OF A NOTED FAMILY Had a Common Ancestor With Washington -- In Many Big Transactions -- Funeral Tomorrow." The New York Times. 8 March 1926. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  17. ↑ "LANIER LEFT ESTATE OF $9,677,364 NET; Broker's Securities Appraised at $4,402,858 and His Interest in Firm $4,617,418. BULK GOES TO FAMILY His Secretary Gets $40,000 Bequest -- Memento to His Friend J.P. Morgan". The New York Times. 22 November 1927. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  18. ↑ "LANIER'S WILL LEAVES GIFTS TO CHARITY; Banker's Will Gives Silver Zodiac Tray to J.P. Morgan -- Employes Remembered". The New York Times. 23 March 1926. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  19. ↑ Appleton, William Sumner (1873). A Rough Sketch of the Appleton Genealogy. T.R. Marvin & Son. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  20. ↑ "Francis R. Appleton Jr., Head of Law Firm, Dead". The New York Times. 6 August 1974. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  21. ↑ Tabler, Judith (2016). Foxhunting with Meadow Brook. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 269. ISBN 9781586671525. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  22. ↑ "FRANCIS APPLETON JR. WEDS JEAN EGLESTON; He and Brltlsh Girl Are Married in Church His Great-Uncle Founded at Ipswich". The New York Times. 30 May 1935. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  23. ↑ "DIED. Appleton". The New York Times. 9 December 1921. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  24. ↑ "RUTH APPLETON WEDS.; New York Society Girl Married to William G. Wendell". The New York Times. 8 October 1914. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  25. ↑ "W. G. WENDELL DIVORCED; Former Ruth Appleton Wins Reno Decree on Cross-Complaint". The New York Times. 18 March 1938. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  26. ↑ "ALICE APPLETON TO WED.; Betrothed to Clarence L. Hay, Son of the Late Secretary of State". The New York Times. 7 June 1914. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  27. 1 2 "CLARENCE L. HAY WEDS MISS APPLETON; Son of Late Secretary of State Married to Daughter of Mr. and Mrs F. R. Appleton IN CHURCH AT IPSWICH Joan Whitney Maid of Honor and Harold S. Vanderbilt an Usher -Reception at Appleton Farms". The New York Times. 6 August 1914. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  28. ↑ "DIED. Appleton". The New York Times. 13 October 1915. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
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