Marshall Orme Wilson
Marshall Orme Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | April 1, 1926 (aged 65) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Financier |
| Known for | Prominent New York financier and socialite during the Gilded Age |
Marshall Orme Wilson (June 20, 1860 – April 1, 1926) was a distinguished American financier and a notable personality within New York's high society during the Gilded Age.
Early life
Born in Nashville, Tennessee on June 20, 1860, Wilson was the eldest surviving son of the wealthy investment banker Richard Thornton Wilson Sr. and Melissa Clementine Johnston. His father hailed from Loudon, Tennessee, served on the Confederate Commissary-General’s staff during the Civil War, and made substantial investments in railroads following the conflict. The family’s residence was located at 511 Fifth Avenue, a property previously owned by Boss Tweed.
The Wilsons earned the moniker "Marrying Wilsons" due to their strategic matrimonial connections with influential families. His sister Grace Graham Wilson became the wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt III from the prominent Vanderbilt family. His brother, Richard Thornton Wilson Jr., wed Marion Steedman Mason. Another sister, Belle Wilson, married Sir Michael Henry Herbert, who served as British Ambassador to the United States under Theodore Roosevelt and was sibling to the Earl of Pembroke. Additionally, sister Mary Wilson married Ogden Goelet, a New York real estate magnate; their daughter later married into the Duke of Roxburghe lineage.
Career
Wilson completed his studies at Columbia University in 1882 and subsequently joined his father’s banking enterprise, R. T. Wilson & Co. Together with his wife—herself a daughter of New York Society matriarch Caroline Schermerhorn Astor—he maintained a prominent social presence in both New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. His memberships included prestigious organizations such as the Knickerbocker Club and the Automobile Club of America. In 1894, artist Léon Bonnat painted his portrait, which is currently part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Personal life
Wilson became acquainted with Caroline Schermerhorn "Carrie" Astor in the early 1880s and sought to marry her despite initial objections rooted in his Southern heritage and his father’s wartime profiteering reputation. After determined efforts by Carrie, her mother ultimately consented to their union.
The couple wed on November 18, 1884, at the Astor family mansion. Carrie was the youngest daughter of William Backhouse Astor Jr. and Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, who led the exclusive social circle known as the Four Hundred. Her brother, Colonel John Jacob Astor IV, perished aboard the RMS Titanic. They had two sons: Marshall Orme Wilson Jr., born in 1885, who was appointed United States Ambassador to Haiti by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944; and Richard Thornton Wilson III, born in 1886.
Wilson passed away on April 1, 1926, in New York City. His funeral took place at Trinity Chapel on 25th Street and was led by Bishop William T. Manning. He was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery. His will bequeathed their home and personal effects to his wife, while his residual estate—including assets from his father’s trust—was left to his sons in a manner designed to reduce Federal and State inheritance taxes.
Residences
Following their marriage, the couple took up residence at 414 Fifth Avenue, a property acquired by Carrie's father as a nuptial gift and decorated by Wilson's father.[1]
During a dispute within Carrie's family involving her cousin William Waldorf Astor, Wilson engaged the architectural firm Warren and Wetmore to create a home on East 64th Street.[2] Construction commenced in 1900 and reached completion by 1903, situated close to other Astor family estates, including Mrs. Astor's home designed by Richard Morris Hunt at Fifth Avenue and 65th Street.[3]
This five-level residence showcased a Beaux Arts style exterior crafted from Indiana Limestone, topped with a blue slate mansard roof, spanned sixty-five feet in width with five bays, and incorporated a circular atrium.[1]