Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo (May 12, 1842 – May 27, 1914) was an American heiress known for commissioning the Rhinelander Mansion located in Manhattan at 867 Madison Avenue on the south-east corner of 72nd Street, designed in the 1890s by Kimball & Thompson and completed in 1898. According to most sources, she never lived in the mansion, but chose to reside with her sister in a row house across the street from the mansion.^[1]

Early life

Gertrude Rhinelander was born in New York on May 12, 1842. She was the youngest of seven children born to Bernard Rhinelander (1800–1844) and Nancy Elizabeth Mary (née Post) Rhinelander (1806–1895). Her father's family ancestors had resided in New York City since the 17th century. Her older siblings included Charles Edward Rhinelander, who married Mathilda Frances Cotheal; Emily Rhinelander, who married Dr. John Watson;^[2] and Laura Virginia Rhinelander, who did not marry.^[3]

Her maternal grandparents were U.S. Representative Jotham Post Jr. and his second wife, Magdalen (née Blaau) Post.^[3] Her paternal grandparents were William Rhinelander and Mary (née Robert) Rhinelander.^[4] Rhinelander's great-great grandfather, Philip Jacob Rhinelander, was a German-born French Huguenot who immigrated to the United States in 1686 following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes and persecution of Protestants in France.^[5] He settled in the newly formed French Huguenot community of New Rochelle, where he amassed considerable property holdings that became the basis for the Rhinelander family's wealth.^[6]

Personal life

On June 6, 1876, she married stockbroker Francis William "Frank" Waldo (1836–1878), despite the fact that he had been bankrupted during the Panic of 1873. In May 1877, before Frank's untimely death in 1878,^[1] she gave birth to their son:

• Rhinelander Waldo (1877–1927). He became active in politics and served in succession as the Fire and Police Commissioner of New York.^[7]

In 1882, Waldo received an inheritance valued at $360,000 (equivalent to $10,916,690 today) that consisted largely of real estate.^[8] By 1889, she had reportedly been in a relationship with lawyer Charles H. Schieffelin. She sued him in 1899 to reclaim $12,000 (equivalent to $390,844 today) which she said he had misappropriated from her. He had said that he was going to invest the money in various railroad securities. In a counterclaim, Schieffelin said that he had invested the money as directed and that the two of them were going to be married. Waldo responded that she would never have married Schieffelin because of his earlier divorce.^[9]

Gertrude Waldo died of apoplexy on May 27, 1914. After a funeral at the Hotel Netherland, she was buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.^[10] In 1915, The New York Times reported that at the time of her death, she was over $135,000 (equivalent to $3,905,230 today) in debt, consisting primarily of a pair of loans she received from the L. V. Rhinelander Estate.^[8]

72nd Street residence

The Rhinelander Mansion.

In 1882 Waldo bought a piece of property located at the corner of 72nd Street and Madison Avenue, announcing plans to construct a home that one journal called "quite unique in design". She did not immediately proceed with construction and lived with her sister Laura for many years in a row house on the opposite side of 72nd Street. Construction of the mansion was started in 1894 while Waldo was living at the Savoy Hotel. She sold some of the property that she had inherited around 1896 and used the proceeds to cover a portion of the construction costs of two new adjoining homes on the property, which totaled $340,000, with the remaining balance in a $195,000 mortgage.^[8]

Completed by 1898, the four-story house, which included a ballroom lit by 1,000 light bulbs and was furnished at a cost of $1 million,^[11] was never occupied during Rhinelander Waldo's life.^[1] It was assumed that she would move in upon returning from a European trip in 1898 (when construction was nearing completion), but she did not move in, nor did she unpack much of the rare European furnishings she brought back. These remained in the crates on the lower floors, as they had come from the steamer.^[11]

Later, facing financial difficulties including owing large amounts on the two homes, Rhinelander Waldo reached an agreement to sell the house through a broker, but reneged on the deal when the papers effecting the transfer were ready to be signed. She said "I don't think I'll sell" and walked out on the offer.^[11] By December 1909, it was announced that the dilapidated structure was to be placed for auction January 12, 1910, in order to satisfy a $10,000 judgment, $9,221 in unpaid taxes, and a prior $150,000 mortgage.^[11] According to available articles, Rhinelander Waldo was apparently able to re-purchase the property and two houses at auction and retain ownership for one more year, though the buildings remained unoccupied and non-revenue generating.^[12]

In September 1911, Rhinelander Waldo finally let one of the mansions go at foreclosure, the smaller 72nd Street house, in order to partially cover judgments against her. In exchange for loans to further reduce her obligations, Rhinelander Waldo also transferred ownership of the larger Madison Avenue home to her unmarried sister, Laura, along with other property that Waldo owned in Lower Manhattan on Washington Street and Barclay Street.^[12]

References

External links

• Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo at Find a Grave