Elinor Lehman Morgenthau (née Fatman; February 19, 1892 – September 21, 1949) was an American Democratic party activist, member of the

Lehman family The Lehman family (also Lehmann, Liehmann or Liehman) is a prominent family of Jewish German-Americans who founded the financial firm Lehman Brothers. Some were also involved in American politics. Members have married into the prominent Morgen ...

, and spouse of

Henry Morgenthau Jr. Henry Morgenthau Jr. (; May 11, 1891February 6, 1967) was the United States Secretary of the Treasury during most of the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He played the major role in designing and financing the New Deal. After 1937, whil ...

Biography

Born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the daughter of Lisette "Settie" (née Lehman) and Morris Fatman, a clothing manufacturer.Jewish Women's Archives: "Elinor Morgenthau (1891–1949) by Edna S. Friedberg
retrieved October 14, 2015 Her grandfather was

Mayer Lehman Mayer Lehman (January 9, 1830 – June 21, 1897) was an American businessman, banker, slave owner, and philanthropist. He was one of the three founding brothers of the investment bank Lehman Brothers. Early life Mayer Lehman was born in 1830 t ...

, a co-founder of

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1850. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merril ...

. She had one older sister, Margaret. She attended the Jacobi School for girls and then graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

with a degree in theater in 1913. After school, she taught acting at the

Henry Street Settlement The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founded under the ...

where she met her future husband

, the son of ambassador Henry Morgenthau Sr. They married in 1915 and settled in

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

where her husband became involved in local politics and operated a farm which they named

Fishkill Farms Fishkill Farms is a farm located in East Fishkill in Dutchess County, New York. It is of historic significance primarily because its founder Henry Morgenthau, Jr. and his wife, Elinor Morgenthau were close and enduring family friends of Fran ...

. Morgenthau also became active in politics and served as the speaker for the state Democratic Committee Women’s Division. In 1916, she and her husband became close friends with Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt; like the Morgenthaus, the Roosevelts were active Democrats in predominantly Republican Dutchess County. The Morgenthaus actively campaigned for FDR thereafter and after Roosevelt was elected president, her husband was appointed as

Secretary of Treasury A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

in 1934. The Morgenthaus were the only Jewish family with whom the Roosevelts were intimate, and Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the Colony Club of New York in protest of its refusal to admit her friend. In 1941, Elinor Morgenthau became Eleanor Roosevelt's assistant in the Office of Civilian Defense. As a close personal friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, Morgenthau was influential in convincing the president to take a more active role in supporting World War II refugees through the creation of the

War Refugee Board The War Refugee Board, established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1944, was a U.S. executive agency to aid civilian victims of the Axis powers. The Board was, in the words of historian Rebecca Erbelding, "the only time in American hi ...

Personal life

Although Jewish by descent, the Morgenthaus were not religious. They celebrated both Christmas and Easter and they avoided purely Jewish social networks. The couple had three children: television producer

Henry Morgenthau III Henry Morgenthau III (January 11, 1917 – July 10, 2018) was an American author and television producer, and scion of the Morgenthau dynasty and member of the Lehman family. Biography Henry Morgenthau III was the son of Elinor (née Fatman), ...

; New York District attorney

Robert Morgenthau Robert Morris Morgenthau ( ; July 31, 1919July 21, 2019) was an American lawyer. From 1975 until his retirement in 2009, he was the District Attorney for New York County (the borough of Manhattan), having previously served as United States Attorn ...

, and physician Joan Morgenthau Hirschhorn.New York Times: "Joan Morgenthau Hirschhorn"
October 7, 2012 They had homes in

and at their farm in

. Morgenthau died of a stroke in New York on September 21, 1949.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgenthau, Elinor 1892 births 1949 deaths Vassar College alumni Lehman family American people of German-Jewish descent New York (state) Democrats Elinor Women in New York (state) politics