By Mary Lou Reedy ZimmermannPast RegentFrances Chester White was born on March 3, 1833, in Hudson, NY.

She was the daughter of Samuel Pomeroy White and Caroline Mary Jenkins, who was the daughter of Robert Jenkins, who built what is now our chapter's beautiful home in 1811.

Frances' father was Samuel Pomeroy White, a surgeon from a very notable family. His father was also a doctor of eminence and several times the mayor of Hudson. Samuel was born Nov. 8, 1801, in Hudson. As a youth he went to Middlebury College in Middlebury, VT, and Union College in Schenectady, NY. Then, he studied two years at the University of New York and the University of Pennsylvania. At this point, his father called him home and felt he was suited to be his partner.

In 1827, he attended at a case of gluteal aneurysm at which time he ligated the internal iliac artery. This was only the second time this operation has been attempted. Dr. White called this his “darling operation.” He was thus invited to be the chair of surgery and obstetrics in the Medical Institute, Berkshire, MA. In 1823, the Medical Society of the Country granted him an honorary diploma recognizing his high abilities. He coveted a wider field and three years later moved his family to New York City, where he was equally successful.

Frances was one of eight children. A brother, Samuel died as an infant. Three brothers, Robert Jenkins White, Benjamin Ogden White, and Henry Kirke White; and three sisters, Julia Cabot White, Caroline Jenkins White, and Cornelia White were her siblings.

Frances was three when her father moved to 143 Prince Street, which is close to New York University and Greenwich Village.

Isaac Hartley, grandfather of Marcellus, immigrated to America in 1797 and sent for his family, a wife and four children, in 1799. He settled in Schenectady, NY, later moving to a farm near Perth, Fulton County, NY where he lived until his death in 1851.

His son, Robert Millan Hartley, was born in 1796. His boyhood was spent on the farm and in 1822 he moved to New York City, where he worked for a number of years and then devoted his life to philanthropy for 50 years. He mainly was involved with the New York Temperance Society for

Improving the Condition of the Poor.Robert married Catherine Munson, whose family was of ancient origin

and, according to Burke’s Peerage, had a history of over five centuries. Thus Marcellus was descended from noble ancestors and men of integrity and ability.

Marcellus received his education in New York City. He attended a variety of schools until 1844, when at 17 years old he entered his father’s office as a clerk. In 1847 he became an entry clerk and assistant bookkeeper for Frances Tomes and Sons, dealers in fancy hardware and sporting goods.

Part of his job was traveling to solicit trade in the south and west of the U.S. In 1854 he left them to head out on his own. He formed, with Schuyler and Graham, a new company. He was able to secure a letter of credit. He set out for Europe to puchase goods immediately. There was a severe financial panic in New York City in 1857, but Mr. Hartley’s company expanded into the field of guns and weathered the Depression in great shape. On his various trips to Europe, Marcellus, a very clever gentleman, increased his wealth by purchasing coral in southern Europe, thus gaining a monopoly in this field and also purchased outright an entire store of paintings while in Italy which he sold to his customers in the south and west at a large profit.

In 1855, Mr. Hartley married Frances Chester White. The Rev. Dr. William Adams of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, which both families had long attended, married them. For a time the young couple lived with the elder Mr. Hartley, who was heartbroken when they left.

The following spring he took his wife to Europe on his buying expedition. The Hartleys traveled together many different years.

An infant daughter, Helen K, was born and died soon after. However, in August of 1858, another daughter, Emma, was born. Then in August of 1860, Mrs. Hartley gave birth to twin girls, Helen and Grace. At this time the Hartley family resided at 232 Madison Avenue. During this time period Mr.

Hartley greatly increased his wealth, becoming the organizer of the Remington Plant and the Union Metallic Cartridge of Bridgeport, CT. Then, during the Civil War, Secretary of War Stanton was commissioned to find the most reliable and competent person to be appointed as agent of the United States government to purchase arms and munitions of war in Europe. Mr. Hartley was made agent with a rank equal to that of brigadier general by President Lincoln. Thus he sailed to Europe in 1862 with a large bank credit to fulfill his new job. In April of 1863, having successfully finished his job, he returned to New York City.

Regarding the Hartley daughters, Emma married Norman Dodge. Mr. Hartley purchased a home adjoining his home as a present to the newlyweds. Emma died in 1881 giving birth to her son, Marcellus Hartley Dodge.

Grace, one of the twin daughters, married James Charles Stokes in 1882. She lost her son Marcellus Hartley Stopes when he was 18 months old. Further tragedy struck this poor woman when her 12 year old daughter died of appendicitis in Southampton, NY, in 1896. Grace also died in 1896 and no reason was given.

Mrs. Hartley now had one living daughter, Helen, and what a woman she became.

As a young woman she became the surrogate mother to her nephew, Marcellus Hartley Dodge, as his father traveled extensively. A deep bond existed for a lifetime between these two family members.

When Marcy turned 20, Helen married George Walker Jenkins on June 30, 1894. Helen Hartley Jenkins had two children. The first child, Helen Hartley Jenkins, was born in 1893 and Grace Hartley Jenkins was born in 1896.

Now back to Mrs. Hartley. In 1890, the Daughters of the American Revolution was founded and 1896 they incorporated. Our Hendrick Hudson Chapter was organized December 26, 1895 and incorporated in 1898. A building fund established immediately to purchase a house.

Mrs. Hartley purchased the Robert Jenkins house, her family home, saying that in no more fitting way could she show honor to her native city and to the memory of her forefathers than by presenting the homestead to her sisters of the Hendrick Hudson Chapter. Mrs. Hartley had improvements

made to the home costing over $25,000.On May 15, 1900, the house was opened for invited guests to attend a

gala. The house was covered in bunting and the hall and house beautifully decorated. The house retained its colonial lines and was papered and painted accordingly. The hall opened into a beautiful foyer that was papered with a pattern copied from a colonial home in Massachusetts. This green and yellow paper also adorned the stairway and the upper hall. On the right of the foyer was the library, papered in red and containing a large collection of books and lighted with handsome chandeliers (both gas and electric). Across the hall from the library was the reading room papered in yellow.

Mrs. Hartley also had a theater constructed that connected to the house at the back. There was an orchestra box, 328 seats and a beautiful ceiling made by the Penn Metal Ceiling Company painted in gold and white. The stage was 25 by 49 feet. There were seven different sets of scenery and dressing rooms were made under the stage. The DAR emblem was beautifully centered. This theater was erected to earn monies to help main the house.

The stairway was beautifully constructed and a colonial clock, a gift of Marcellus Hartley, graced the landing as it does today. Also highlighting the stairway was a stained glass mural depicting the DAR insignia. On the second floor were the chapter room and a large dining room and kitchen.

Dr. H. Lyle Smith made the introductory address. Dr. Smith’s book of travel, whose proceeds were given to the chapter, was the motivation for Mrs. Hartley to come to the rescue of her chapter and supply this home. The importance of the library was to serve the residents of Hudson in their reading endeavors. This was to be Hudson’s first library. The “free library,” which was established by these noble ladies, had been in a former Fourth Street school building. The free library stayed here until 1959, when the city opened a library. The theater was demolished in 1967 as the chapter did not have sufficient funds to repair it.

Mr. Hartley died on January 8, 1902. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY. His fortune was divided between his wife, his daughter Helen and his grandson Marcellus Hartley Dodge.

Mrs. Hartley lived on at her home on Madison Avenue until her death on April 22,1909.

“Mrs. Frances Chester Hartley, widow of Marcellus Hartley, died of a complication of diseases at her home, 232 Madison Avenue, yesterday afternoon. She had been seriously ill only a few days. Her funeral will take place on Saturday at an hour to be announced later. The burial will be at the convenience of the family.” (New York Times). Mrs. Hartley was buried in the family plot in the Hudson City Cemetery, Hudson, NY.

Mrs. Hartley’s will, which was filed for probate on June 15, 1909, cut off her daughter, Helen Hartley Jenkins, leaving her a dining room table as

her father had left her in excess of $6,000,000. Most of Mrs. Hartley’s monies were left to her grandson, Marcellus Hartley Dodge. The rest of her money was left to various relatives and local employees.

Helen was born a twin on August 16, 1860. Before her own marriage she helped raise her nephew, Marcellus Harley Dodge, whose mother Emma had died in childbirth. Marcellus's father was away often so the young boy lived with his grandparents and aunt.

Helen did not marry until Marcy was over 20 years old. She married George Walker Jenkins in 1894. Her husband was the president of the American Deposit and Loan Company. In 1895 she gave birth to Helen Hartley Jenkins, later nicknamed Babs, and in 1896 birthed Grace Hartley Jenkins, both girls named for herself and her twin.

Helen was noted as a philanthropist. She endowed the founding of the Columbia School of Nursing in which her nephew, Marcellus Dodge, graduated in 1903. They also presented Hartley Hall in Morningside Heights, a dormitory, to Columbia. Her major philanthropies centered on nursing, but included many others. She gave the Grace Hospital in Banner Elk, NC, in memory of her twin sister. She founded and established the Hartley Corporation in Hartford, CT, and became the president. She established Hartley Farms in New Jersey as a refuge for poor and underprivileged children and adults to visit in the summer. Her daughter Babs graduated from Barnard College in 1915 and married Frances Hunt Geer the following October. She bore him two children, Helen Hartley Geer and Francis G. Geer. Babs died in 1920 while only 25 years old.

Helen and her nephew Marcy purchased Hartley Farms in New Jersey. Marcy had married Geraldine Rockefeller in 1907 and between the two of them they had a fortune of over $100 million in a time of no income tax. Geraldine bought the farm owned by Charles Harkness, a stockholder of Standard Oil. This farm was called Giralda Farms. Marcy and Aunt Helen now bought up all the land between the two estates in Morris County, New Jersey. Helen’s husband died in 1922 and was left a widow with one living daughter, Grace Hartley Jenkins.

Grace married Winter Mead on October 12, 1915, at Old St Paul’s Chapel. The officiating minister was the bridegroom’s father, the Rev.Dr.

W. Montague Geer. A very large reception was held at the home of her parents, Helen and George Jenkins, at 232 Madison Avenue in New York City. The newlyweds took up domicile at 15 East Tenth Street. Grace had graduated from Barnard College, where she was very active in college affairs.

In April of 1886 the New York Times wrote of the founding of a very elite club off the coast of Brunswick, GA. This club became known as” the richest, the most exclusive and the most inaccessible club in America” by Munsey’s Magazine. Members included Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Morgans

and, of course, Helen Jenkins.The club was by invitation only and was founded as an escape from the

cold winters of the mid-American and East Coast. Although it had started as a hunting club it became a haven for entire families. Great homes were built and people came to enjoy the natural wonders of the island. Over time the club changed due to world events such as the Depression, world wars and the development of Florida and European travel that overcame the simple pleasures of Victorian pursuits. The club closed in the late 1940s when the state of Georgia took the island over. In recent years the great clubhouse has been restored and reopened as a wonderful hotel.

In 1909, Helen was invited to join this elite club by Robert Weeks de Forest, a noted New York philanthropist. He was familiar with Helen as she was considered the leading female philanthropist in the country. As her nephew Marcy was married to a Rockefeller, this gave her even more connections with the island’s elite.

She traveled to the island irregularly in her earlier years of membership, renting an apartment in the Sans Souci, staying with friends or taking rooms in the clubhouse. Indian Mound, owned by the Rockefeller family, became available. She wasted no time and purchased the home completely furnished, including silver and china. She first stayed in the Jenkins Cottage in January of 1925 when she was 65 years old.