Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Sr.

Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Sr.
United States Senator from New Jersey
In office March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1923
Preceded by	James E. Martine
Succeeded by	Edward I. Edwards
Personal details
Born	March 12, 1869 Raritan, New Jersey
Died	February 8, 1948 (aged 78) Tucson, Arizona
Resting place	Saint Bernards Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Emily Macy Brewster
Children	Victoria F. Bates Emily F. McFarland Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Jr.
Parents	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 State 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 (1881-1967) who was born in Rochester, New York.^[7] Together they had three children:

• Victoria Frelinghuysen (1907–2002), who married John Grenville Bates Jr.^[8]
• Emily Frelinghuysen, who married H. Edward Bilkey until his death in 1950 and later married Dr. Ross A. McFarland of the Harvard School of Public Health.^[9]
• Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Jr. (1912–2005), who married Emily Lawrance (1911-2004),^[10] the daughter of Charles Lawrance (1882–1950)^[11] and Emily Margaret Gordon Dix, and the granddaughter of Rev. Morgan Dix (1827–1908), the rector of Trinity Parish.^[12]

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. Hess, Stephen (2016). America's Political Dynasties: From Adams to Clinton. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. p. 800. ISBN 9780815727101. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
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". timesmachine.nytimes.com. The New York Times. June 8, 1938. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
5. "Frelinghuysen Declines to Run". timesmachine.nytimes.com. The New York Times. June 17, 1938. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
6. Barbour, Our Families 1 p. Barbour-22; excluding statistics re. 1932 election
7. Hartong, Dave. "Emily Macy Brewster Frelinghuysen". www.findagrave.com. Find A Grave Memorial. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
8. "Married". Time. September 17, 1928. 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.
9. "Paid Notice: Deaths MCFARLAND, EMILY FRELINGHUYSEN BILKEY". The New York Times. December 14, 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
10. "Emily Frelinghuysen, 93, resident of Far Hills". New Jersey Hills. December 29, 2004. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
11. "FRELINGHUYSEN, EMILY LAWRANCE". The New York Times. December 26, 2004. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
12. 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 7 April 2016.

External links

• Media related to Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen, Sr. at Wikimedia Commons

• United States Congress. "Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Sr. (id: F000370)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Barbour, Thomas (nephew of William Warren Barbour). Our Families (Volumes 1 & 2). Self-printed. 1983
• Hess, Stephen. America's Political Dynasties: From Adams to Clinton. Brookings Institution Press, Nov 24, 2015
• Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen Sr. at Findagrave