#1  August 28, 1904


Beginning with September will come the awakening of the Tuxedo Club. Mr. and Mrs. William Kent are on their way from Europe: Mr. and Mrs. Pierre Lorillard are to be at Tuxedo during the beginning of the Autumn, fresh from a delightful sojourn at Cowes and in Scotland; Mr. and Mrs. Grenville Kane came over from Narragansett, and Mr. and Mrs. George L. Rives, who are also abroad, will soon be on the way home.

The Tuxedo Club has always been more or less a family affair. Pierre Lorillard, who is the President, succeeds his late father, the founder of Tuxedo. The Secretary, William Kent, is his brother-in-law, and T. Suffern Tailer, who is on the Governing Committee, married one of the daughters of the late Pierre Lorillard, from whom he is divorced. The club was founded in 1885 by Pierre Lorillard, Sr., and some eight other men, and the clubhouse was opened May 30, 1886. The Winter clubhouse, which is an annex, was opened April 1, 1900.

#2  Apr 10, 1904

There will be two more assemblages of fashion at the old Morris Park Club house. The new clubhouse at the Belmont Park, on Long island will not be ready before the Spring of 1905. It will be the most elaborate and most complete of its kind in this country, and will form a worthy addition to commodious and comfortable suburban clubhouses. Long Island has had only the Meadow Brook and the Cedarhurst among its very renowned clubhouses on the South Shore. Even the clubs as far down as Islip and Southampton are comfortable, but not very splendid buildings. The South Side Club is, perhaps, the most popular all-the-year-round place on that part of the island. The trout season there has been very successful thus far, and Sundays find large gatherings out for house parties.


#3 Apr 10, 1904

The Turf and Field Club, of which the President is Perry Belmont, admitted a number of new members at its meeting of the Board of Governors on Wednesday Evening in the Union Club. Among these were Cambridge Livingston, a son of Mrs. Robert Cambridge Livingston of Islip: E.R. Thomas, who is now revolutionizing the turf; Henry S. Redmond, the banker; H.L Herbert, the famous polo player: Robert J. Collier, another well-known polo champion and the son of P.F. Collier; Harry Page of steeplechase and Meadow Brook Hunt fame; George Hilliard Benjamin, the lawyer: Rene La Montagne, W.A. Hazard, who married Miss Pelton, a niece of the late Samuel J. Tilden; Leonard Jacob, Jr., son of the popular clubman, who is fighting some of the Oyster Bay "fathers" about a disputed piece of territory. E.C. La Montagne is the Secretary and the Assistant is Alexander Daingerfield of the Well-known Virginia family. Mr. Daingerfield married a Southern woman and has been interested in the turf for years.

#4 May 15, 1904

There is only one important club meeting this month. The Union always has its general meeting the fourth Wednesday in May. There will be an election for the governors whose terms expire at that time. These are Edward Cooper, the President of the club; Henry W. De Forest, Richard N. Young, Charles D. Dickey, Joseph Agostini, George C. Clark, George G. De Witt, and John M. Bowers. They, or the majority of them, represent the very conservative element of the club. It was among this element that there were objections to going up town. A few of those who are not yet satisfied with the move have made objections to the new clubhouse. The name of the member who is responsible for the house now giving absolute satisfaction to the club as a body is John Dufais. Mr. Dufais's plans were chosen in a competition entered into by many architects in this city. The plans, according to the arrangement, were submitted signed only by a pseudonym. McKim, Mead & White reported on these in glowing terms to the club committee and the members. The question of any remodeling of the new clubhouse will not come up in the meeting. In fact, the objections, if objections, were only the expression of a small minority, and this only during the first few months of living in the new house. Every day the windows the famous point of vantage are growing more popular, and the merits of the beautiful building more appreciated.

#5  May 15, 1904

The Coaching Club has taken in some new blood, and in the last parade it was almost like old times to find a Belmont coach, driven by one of the original members of the club, Perry Belmont, again in line. With the Loews and the Gerrys and the Vanderbilts, there seems to be something of a family interest in the future of the club. Among the new members, or among those who appeared for the first time, was Seymour Le Grand Cromwell, who is a member of the Metropolitan and other clubs, and who was one of the Morristown representatives. Mr. Cromwell was graduated in 1892 from Harvard. He married Miss Agnes Whitney. The Cromwell Summer place is at Bernardsville, N.J., and this is sufficiently near Morristown to have its residents included in the colony. Mr. Cromwell is a member of the Turf Club and takes much interest in outdoor sports. C. Ledyard Blair is a Princeton man, a member of a great many clubs, including the Metropolitan, the University, and the New York Yacht, and he has also taken a prominent place in the development of Bernardsville, and owns a superb country seat there. Edward T. H. Talmadge, who was likewise in line, married a Miss Prentice. He comes from the wealthy Brooklyn Talmadge family, interested in one of the oldest and most notable commercial firms in this country. He joined the Union in 1897. His country seat is Woodmere, at Bernardsville. There is a succession of splendid country places in this section. and all belonging to this colony are among the promoters of the famous Whippany Club at Morristown, referred to last week, which is established at the Eugene Higgins place between Morristown and Bernardsville. Gustav Kissel is also in the same set. He married a Miss Thorn, a cousin of the Vanderbilts.


#6  May 15, 1904

Although it was announced that all the members of the Coaching Club would wear their uniforms at the parade on Saturday last, few actually did so. One of those was Mr. Talmadge, who wore a bottle green cutaway coat and a red tie. Nearly all the whips were in afternoon attire, with frock coats and top hats and ascots and dark four-in-hands. There was no attempt even to select a particular block of hat. Col. Jay wore the regulation coaching hat of the commencement of the last century, so well known in prints of that date. James Henry Smith wore with his frock coat a tan-colored double-breasted waistcoat with large white mother-of-pearl buttons, and gray and black shepherd's plaid checked trousers, brown spats, and patent leather boots. T. Suffern Tailer, who was a guest on one of the coaches, was in a dark blue morning suit with white stock and top hat, and Robert Goelet was in a dark gray park suit. The tone of the men's dress at the races so far has been very sober. Grays and dark blue suits rule. The grays are mixtures, homespun's, and tweeds. As yet no straw hats have been seen, and there is an utter absence of wide awakes or sombreros or felt Alpines or Homburg hats. Derbies are universally worn, black or brown. The latter have the high crown and the narrow brim of the English hat.


#7  May 22, 1904

There has been some agitation recently about the possibility of moving the Meadow Brook Club to the neighborhood of Locust Valley or of establishing a hunt club in that vicinity. The original Meadow Brook colony has spread to the north part of the island, and the region around Hempstead is so thickly settled as to deprive fox hunting of much of its zest and enjoyment, and already the clang of the trolley is heard in the land. If the club is removed it will be to the neighborhood of William K. Vanderbilt, Jrt., the Bryce's, the Butler Duncan's, the Mackays, the Graces, and many others who have settled nearer the Sound than the ocean. There is the Rockaway Hunt for the south side of the island. The Meadow Brook is one of the most exclusive clubs in this country and is run on lines like unto the Knickerbockers. Recently through the Hempstead region have appeared many new people anxious to get in. To live in the hunting country without belonging either to the club or being in the hunting set is fatal to all social aspirations.


#8  May 22, 1904

With the approach of the Summer season the number of bachelors and unattached men who are factors in society, through their constant entertaining, seems to increase. J. Henry Smith is always mentioned in the front rank. He has sailed for England and will open his Scottish estate after the Cowes week. Mr. Smith belongs to the Reform Club in London, the one at which his eccentric uncle, George Smith, lived and died. John Cadwalader and James C. Carter have also a shooting box in Scotland, and Oliver H. Payne entertains in the most lavish manner at his castle and moor in the Highlands. Of bachelors in this country, Lispenard Stewart opens White Lodge, at Newport, in June. James Parker and Goold Redmond and Edward Bulkeley have cottages at Newport. Augustus Schermerhorn entertains at his Long Island place, at Gardner's Island, and on his yacht. Rogers Winthrop has a farm in the Meadow Brook region, and Alfred Beadleston has a place in New Jersey.

#9  May 22, 1904

One of the young bachelors who has come recently into prominence is George Blair Painter. This week he and Edward Bulkeley have opened their bungalow at Hot Springs in Virginia. He has been prominent here this Winter. Mr. Painter is from Allegheny, Penn. He is the son of Augustus E. W. Painter, who for many years has been a member of the Union Club of this city. His mother was a Miss Blair. An uncle, Christopher L. Painter, who is unmarried, also belongs to the Union. Augusustus E. W. Painter is the President of the Safe Deposit and Trust Company of this city.


#10 July 17, 1904

The announcement made recently in this column as to the possibility of the removal of the Meadow Brook Club from its present quarters to some locality in the Locust Valley neighborhood, where there is a most excellent hunting country, has been the subject of a most interesting and exhaustive article in The Brooklyn Eagle. The subject is one in which many of the Brooklyn club people are interested, as the Locust Valley country is peculiarly their own. The North Shore, and especially the neighborhood from Glen Cove to Oyster Bay, contains the homes of many wealthy residents of the City of Churches. The Meadow Brook Club house of today is a more imposing building than the original and it is the centre of a great social system. But the movement now is north and south. The vicinity about Hempstead is becoming more or less suburban. This same situation has been the means of lessening the interest in the Westchester Hunt. With the advent of rapid transit, the city, now extending far beyond the Bronx, will soon reach the State limit. where six years ago the Westchester Hunt chased the fox or the scent of the aniseed bag, to day there are mecadamized streets and trolley cars. Along the lines of the trolleys which go from the Sound to the Hudson are springing up in every direction small villa settlements. However, the Meadow Brook country is free from that invasion, as all the land from Roslyn and the Sound on the north to the ocean is owned by residents, and there is always a desperate fight at the invasion of the cheaper class of villa houses. Even if the Meadow Brook Club itself is moved to the North Shore or is abandoned as a hunt club, there will always be a nucleus there for some organization of an exclusive social character. The new clubhouse at Belmont Park will be one of the most commodious and complete on Long Island, and should it be arranged to keep it open, even during the time the races are not held, it will succeed to the Meadow Brook as the country club of that neighborhood, although not in the immediate vicinity of Hempstead. Of course, the country around Hempstead is quite large enough for two or more clubs without crowding.

#11 July 31, 1904

A new clubhouse at Saratoga this year is that of the Elks. It was formerly the residence of Dr. C.S. Grant and it has been thoroughly altered and done over and redecorated. A housewarming occurred last week. It is at the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Walton Street and it is said to have been originally one of the handsomest private residences in Saratoga. It is in the style of an Italian villa, with tower and large and spacious verandas and ample grounds. On the House Committee are Malcolm G. Annis, Carleton H. Lewis, John J. Maguire, Dr. Douglass C. Moriarty, and William D. Eddy.

#12 July 31, 1904

Morton Colton Nichols is one of the club bachelors who is seen a great deal in society. Mr. Nichols is a member of the Metropolitan Club, which he practically makes his home. He was graduated from Harvard in 1892. Besides the Metropolitan he belongs to the Union League, the Racquet, and the University. He is a stock broker and comes from an old New England family. Mr. Nichols is one of the house party staying with Mr. and Mrs. Reginald C. Vanderbilt at Newport.


#13 July 31, 1904

The Point Judith Country Club will have its polo tournament this week, and Narragansett Pier will be a Mecca for the Newport set who are interested in the matches. Among the Newporters who will take part in the tournament are R.L. Agassiz, R.G. Shaw second, and Maxwell Norman; representing Myopia; P.F. Collier, playing on the Rockaway team, and C.R. Snowden of Philadelphia, representing Bryn Mawr.

#14 September 25, 1904


William Waldorf Astor is not a clubman in the New York significance of the word. He was one of the founders of Tuxedo, and he retains his membership there. In other New York clubs where he is a member he is seldom seen. These comprise at present the Metropolitan and the Century. At one time he was a Vice President of the Union League, but he has since resigned. He was also in the Union, having joined in 1871. His name does not appear in the last books of that organization, and he no doubt withdrew from the club at the time of his departure for Europe. This is a bit odd, as the Union is the first club recognized abroad. In London he belongs to the Marlborough, which is the club of the King and the Prince of Wales, and the Carlton. He is one of the very few Americans, who have a membership in exclusive London organizations.


#15 September 25, 1904

The action of the Union Club of Chicago is suing William Havemeyer, Jr., for un-paid bills is one which is not exactly according to the ethics of a first-class club. However, it was done in New York by several leading, although not ultra-fashionable, organizations. In London clubs the general rule is that everything is paid spot cash, and it is only the American who gives limited or unlimited credit. At the Union Club in this city the credit is limited to $25, and the House Committee is very strict about the payment of bills. A member who does not settle within the required time is quickly dropped. But the Union, the Knickerbockers, the Racquet, the Calumet, the Metropolitan, and other social and semi-social organizations where there are men of social position have never aired their losses in court, although there is unfortunately from time to time a lapsing member. Many of the bills, however, are run up by foreigners who are put up in New York clubs by confiding members. As often stated, their club status at home is not looked into, and it takes years of experience to convince an American that a Londoner or a Frenchman who does not belong to a good club in his own home must have something wrong with his social position. Mr. William F. Havemeyer of this city has two sons, neither of whom is William F. Havemeyer, Jr. There are two Havemeyer families, and there are many collateral branches. The fortunes of these families have had a foundation in sugar. Mrs. Clara Laimbeer's first husband was a William Havemeyer, a son of a former Mayor of this city.