Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Sr.
United States Senator
from New Jersey
In office
March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1923
Preceded byJames E. Martine
Succeeded byEdward I. Edwards
President of the New Jersey Senate
In office
1909–1910
Preceded bySamuel K. Robbins
Succeeded byErnest R. Ackerman
Member of the
New Jersey Senate
from Somerset County
In office
1906–1912
Preceded bySamuel S. Childs
Succeeded byWilliam W. Smalley
Personal details
Born(1869-03-12)March 12, 1869
Raritan, New Jersey, US
DiedFebruary 8, 1948(1948-02-08) (aged 78)
Tucson, Arizona, US
Resting placeSaint Bernards Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
SpouseEmily Macy Brewster
ChildrenVictoria F. Bates
Emily F. McFarland
Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Jr.
Parent(s)Frederick Frelinghuysen
Victoria Sherman

Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen Sr. (March 12, 1869 – February 8, 1948) represented New Jersey as a Republican in the United States Senate from 1917 to 1923.

Early life and family

He was born in Raritan, New Jersey, on March 12, 1869, to Frederick Frelinghuysen (1818-1891) and Victoria Bowen (1830-1914). His father was a lawyer who studied under Richard Stockton Field.[1] He came from a historic New Jersey political family. His paternal grandparents were John Frederick Frelinghuysen (1776–1833), a lawyer and brigadier general in the War of 1812, and his second wife, Elizabeth Mercereau Van Vechten. His great-grandparents were Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (1753-1804), lawyer, soldier, and Senator from New Jersey, and his first wife, Gertrude Schenck (1752/53-1794).

Career

After fighting in the Spanish–American War and starting an insurance business, Frelinghuysen was elected to the state Senate in 1905 and became president of that body in 1909. He held several statewide offices before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1916. He was New Jersey's first directly elected senator following ratification of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution in 1913. While in the Senate, he frequented the Chevy Chase Club and would often golf with his fellow Senators Warren G. Harding, Stephen B. Elkins, and Eugene Hale.[1]

In 1921, President Warren G. Harding signed the Knox–Porter Resolution, officially ending America's involvement in World War I at Frelinghuysen's estate in Raritan, New Jersey.[2] The President stayed on the estate until at least July 4.[3] After a failed reelection bid in 1922, Frelinghuysen returned to the insurance business.

In 1938, after considering a run for one of the United States Senate seats in New Jersey,[4] Frelinghuysen declined to run. Instead, he put his support behind fellow Republican, former Senator W. Warren Barbour, for the Republican nomination.[5] Barbour eventually won the Senate seat and served until his death in 1943.[6]

Personal life

Frelinghuysen married Emily Macy Brewster. Together they had three children:

His wife's portrait and that of Joseph Jr, were painted in 1916 by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury; it is today in the Newark Museum, New Jersey. Frelinghuysen owned an 88-foot houseboat called Victoria that Harding used for 12 days after he won the 1920 election for President, but before he was inaugurated in March 1921.[1]

He died on February 8, 1948, in Tucson, Arizona, and was interred at St. Bernard's Cemetery in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

Legacy

Memorial plaque marking Frelinghuysen estate site and signing of the Knox–Porter resolution on July 2, 1921.

A memorial plaque was placed on the estate grounds commemorating the Knox–Porter Resolution officially ending America's involvement in World War I. Today the estate is long gone and suburban sprawl has replaced it with mini-malls. The marker remains in a patch of grass near a Burger King parking lot along Route 28, just north of the Somerville traffic circle.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hess, Stephen (2016). America's Political Dynasties: From Adams to Clinton. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. p. 800. ISBN 9780815727101. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Historic Sites". Somerset County Business Partnership. Archived from the original on March 29, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding, visiting the estate of his friend, Sen. Joseph S. Frelinghuysen, in Raritan, finished his golf game, returned to the mansion, and signed the Knox–Porter Resolution, officially ending World War I.
  3. ↑ "Spends Afternoon Reading Newspapers on Senator Frelinghuysen's Front Porch". New York Times. July 4, 1921. Retrieved July 1, 2008. President Harding attended church today and with the exception of a short automobile ride with Mrs. Harding through the hills of Somerset County, spent the rest of the day at " The Hill," home of Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen.
  4. ↑ "Frelinghuysen Race Hinted". The New York Times. June 8, 1938. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Frelinghuysen Declines to Run". The New York Times. June 17, 1938. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  6. ↑ Barbour, Our Families 1 p. Barbour-22; excluding statistics re. 1932 election
  7. ↑ "Married". Time. September 17, 1928. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved May 14, 2007. Victoria Frelinghuysen, daughter of onetime Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen of Manhattan and Far Hills, N. J., whose family included four Senators, whose great-great-grandfather served on Washington's staff and was a member of the Continental Congress; to John Grenville Bates Jr., member New York Stock Exchange; in Bernardsville, N. J.
  8. ↑ "Paid Notice: Deaths MCFARLAND, EMILY FRELINGHUYSEN BILKEY". The New York Times. December 14, 2006. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Emily Frelinghuysen, 93, resident of Far Hills". New Jersey Hills. December 29, 2004. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  10. ↑ "FRELINGHUYSEN, EMILY LAWRANCE". The New York Times. December 26, 2004. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  11. ↑ Staff (April 5, 1910). "MISS DIX TO BE A BRIDE. Daughter of Late Rector of Trinity to Wed Charles Lanier Lawrance". The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
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