Winthrop Astor Chanler (October 14, 1863 – August 24, 1926)[1] was an American sportsman and soldier who fought in the
Spanish–American War and
World War I.[2]
Chanler, a descendant of many prominent American families including the Dudley–Winthrop,
Livingston, and
Stuyvesant families, and his wife were also prominent in New York society during the
Gilded Age.[3]
Early life
Rokeby, the Chanler family estate in
Barrytown, built in 1811
Chanler, who was known as "Wintie"[a][4] was born on October 14, 1863, in New York City. He was the second son of eleven children born to Margaret Astor (
née Ward) Chanler (1838–1875) and
John Winthrop Chanler (1826–1877), a
U.S. Representative from New York.[5]
He and his siblings became orphans after the death of their mother in December 1875 and their father in October 1877, both to
pneumonia. The children, known as the "Astor Orphans", were raised at their parents' estate in
Rokeby, New York, built by
John Armstrong Jr., his mother's great-grandfather.[6][7] His father's estate was valued between $1,500,000 (equivalent to $42,918,750) and $2,000,000 (equivalent to $57,225,000 in 2023 dollars).[8] John Winthrop Chanler's will provided $20,000 a year for each child for life (equivalent to $470,563 in 2018 dollars), enough to live comfortably by the standards of the time.[9] Winthrop himself inherited all of his father's personal property in his New York City home, located at 192 Madison Avenue, all of his real estate in
Delaware County, and a house on Cliff Lawn in Newport.[10]
Chanler prepared for University at
Eton College[11] and at St. John's Military Academy in
Sing Sing, New York.[7] In 1885 Winthrop graduated from
Harvard College, which his brother
William also attended from 1886 to 1888.[1][12] While at Harvard, Winthrop was part of a prank played on
Oscar Wilde when he appeared before the College to give a speech at the
Boston Music Hall in 1882.[4] Chanler, along with 60 other Harvard students, "marched down the center aisle in pairs, all carrying sunflowers and wearing Wildean costumes of knee breeches, black stockings, wide-spreading cravats, and shoulder length wigs."[4] His great-aunt
Julia Ward Howe, who considered Winthrop her favorite, was in the audience and was apparently aghast at the prank.[4]
During the Spanish–American War, Chanler did not enlist in the regular
U.S. Army but instead joined the
1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, better known as the "
Rough Riders", including his younger brother William, to join the Cuban volunteers under General
Emilio Núñez.[12] His brother received a
Captain's commission from President
William McKinley to serve under U.S. General
Joseph Wheeler and Winthrop received a conditional commission as
Lieutenant colonel under the Cuban government. On June 30, 1898 in the
Battle of Tayacoba, Chanler led twenty-five
Rough Riders.[19][12] Chanler, Captain Jose Manuel Núñez (brother of General Núñez), and
William Louis Abbott and about 30 men went ashore near
Trinidad, Cuba to ensure the safety of the landing site. They were discovered by Spanish scouts and came under heavy fire.[20] During the battle, Captain Núñez was killed[21] and Chanler was shot through the right elbow.[1] They had to take cover in a
mangrove swamp until they could be rescued by the American steamship Florida. Chanler returned to his home in Barrytown to recover from his injuries.[22] By the time his arm healed, the war was over, so Chanler sailed to Europe where he stayed for several years in
Sorrento, Italy[12] taking a "life of hunting."[11] During
World War I, he served as an aide to General
John J. Pershing, who served as the commander of the
American Expeditionary Force on the
Western Front from 1917 to 1918.[1]
Society life
Chanler's cottage in Tuxedo Park, NY,
c. 1886
Due to his elder brother's mental issues, Winthrop became the
de facto head of the Chanler family.[23] The Chanler's spent the winter of 1891 to 1892 in New York where three of his sisters were introduced to society.[18] Thereafter, they moved to
Tuxedo Park, New York which according to his wife, "seemed dull in its exclusiveness; the tendency of Anglo-Saxons to separate into 'social sets and hierarchies' was in striking contrast to the hospitality and cosmopolitanism of Roman society" where she had grown up.[18] In the late 1890s, they lived in
Newport, Rhode Island where Chanler paid taxes on an estate valued at $96,300 in 1895.[24]
In 1892, both Chanler and his wife Margaret were included in
Ward McAllister's
"Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times.[25] Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.[26] His wife described the list of New York's elite as "not unlike Dante's description of Paradise."[27]
Chanler, a member of the
Society of Patriarchs, attended the Patriarch's Ball organized by McAllister for his fellow "American aristocrats" at
Delmonico's in December 1892.[28]
In 1903, Chanler moved from
Newport to
Geneseo, New York in
Livingston County.[29] While in Genseo, he served as master of the hounds of the Genesee Valley Hunt Club. He reportedly spent most of his time fox hunting and horse breeding at his estate,
Sweet Briar Farms,[1] which was once owned by the
Wadsworth family.[30] In 1913, his wife, who was Catholic,[11] built the Chapel of St. Felicity at the Farm.[31]
Personal life
On December 16, 1886,[32] Chanler was married to
Margaret Louisa Terry (1862–1952),[2] a first cousin, once removed,[d] in
Rome, Italy.[32] Margaret's grandparents (Julia Rush Cutler and Samuel Ward Jr.) were also Chanler's maternal great-grandparents. Margaret, who grew up in the
Palazzo Odescalchi in Rome, was the daughter of Louisa (née Ward) Crawford Terry and artist Luther Terry (d. 1900),[2][e] a half-sister of
F. Marion Crawford and a niece of
Julia Ward Howe.[33][34] Together, they were the parents of:
John Winthrop Chanler II (1889–1894), who died young.
Beatrice Margaret Chanler (1891–1974), who married Pierre Francis Allegaert (1896–1961).[36]
Hester Marion Chanler (1893–1990), who married Edward Motley Pickman, a descendant of
Dudley Leavitt Pickman, in 1915. Hester was a bridesmaid at the wedding of
Ethel Roosevelt Derby in 1913.[37]
Marion Winthrop Chanler (1895–1931), who drowned.[38]
Margaret Gabrielle "May" Chanler (1897–1958), who married Porter Ralph Chandler (1899–1979).[39]
Hubert Winthrop Chanler (1900–1974),[40] who married Gertrude Laughlin (1914–1999),[41] daughter of Ambassador
Irwin B. Laughlin.[42]
Theodore Ward Chanler (1902-1961),[43][44] who married Maria De Acosta Sargent (1880–1970).[45] Theodore's godfather was President Theodore Roosevelt, who attended his christening in Newport in 1902.[4]
On August 5, 1926, Chanler suffered a stroke following a fall from his horse.[46] He died at
Brigham Hall in
Canandaigua, New York on August 24, 1926.[29] He was buried at
St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in
Geneseo, New York.[47] After his death, his widow wrote several novels and a memoir entitled Roman Spring, published in 1934.[18] A second memoir, entitled Autumn in the Valley, was published by Little, Brown and Company in 1936.
Descendants
Through his son Hubert, he was the grandfather of Susanne Felicity Chanler, who married Stephen Young; Gay Chanler, who married John Andrew Gunther; and Elizabeth Chanler, who married
Bruce Chatwin (1940–1989), the English writer, novelist, and journalist.[31]
References
Notes
^As a child he was nicknamed Wintie, but as an adult it was frequently written as Winty.
^His paternal grandparents were Rev. Dr. John White Chanler, an Episcopalian clergyman, and Elizabeth Shirreff Winthrop. Elizabeth was a great-great-granddaughter of
Wait Winthrop and
Joseph Dudley and a 3x-great granddaughter of
Peter Stuyvesant.
^
ab"STROKE FATAL TO MAJOR CHANLER | Noted Horseman dies in Canandaigua After Months Illness - Served in Spanish American and World War". Livingston Democrat. September 1, 1926.