Frelinghuysen, Peter H.B., Mrs.

Biography

Adaline Havemeyer was the daughter of sugar refiner Henry Osborne Havemeyer [1847-1907] and his wife, née Louisine Waldron Elder [1855-1929]. Louisine Waldron Elder was born in New York City, the daughter of George W. Elder [1831-1873], also a sugar refiner, and his wife, née Mathilda Adelaide Waldron [1834-1907]. In 1873, while attending the fashionable Paris boarding school of Mme. Marie Del Sarte, Louisine met the American painter Mary Cassatt, who helped to introduce her to the avant-garde schools of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Soon afterward, Louisine became the first American patron of Degas. Louisine married Henry Osborne Havemeyer [1847-1907] on 22 August 1883. Henry was divorced from Louisine's aunt, Mary Louise Elder [1847-1897]. Henry and Louisine had three children: Horace [1886-1956], Adaline, and Electra [later Mrs. James Watson Webb, 1888-1960]. In 1899 the Havemeyers built a mansion on Fifth Avenue, with an interior designed by Louis C. Tiffany studios, where Mrs. Havemeyer entertained a diversified group of celebrities. The Havemeyers soon became dedicated and discerning art collectors. Mrs. Havemeyer herself made more than 30 transatlantic buying trips. At her death, Louisine bequested the collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Adaline Havemeyer married a banker, Peter H.B. Frelinghuysen [1882-1959], of New Jersey, with whom she had four children: Frederica [later Mrs. Emert, b. 1909], George Griswold [b. 1911], and twins Peter H.B., Jr. and Henry H.O. [b. 1916]. Mrs. Frelinghuysen maintained homes in Morristown, NJ and Palm Beach, FL. In New Jersey she bred miniature poodles at her Smilestone Kennel.

Bibliography

1963

"Mrs. Peter Frelinghuysen, Mother of Representive." The New York Times (1963) April 14:

1986

Weitzenhoffer, Frances. The Havemeyers: Impressionism Comes to America. New York, 1986.

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