Anna Livingston Reade Morton ( Street; May 18, 1846 – August 14, 1918) was the second wife of United States

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Levi P. Morton Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as United States ambassador to France, as a U.S. representative from New York, and as the 31st Governor of New ...

and

Second Lady of the United States The second gentleman or second lady of the United States (SGOTUS or SLOTUS respectively) is the informal title held by the spouse of the vice president of the United States, concurrent with the vice president's term of office. Coined in contrast ...

from 1889 to 1893. She was known as Anna Street Morton.

Early life

Anna Livingston Reade Street was born on May 18, 1846 in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeeps ...

, the daughter of William Ingram Street (died 1863) and Susan Watts ( Kearney) Street (1819–1893). Her paternal grandfather was Randall S. Street, a lawyer and member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Her uncle was Alfred Billings Street, a lawyer and prominent poet. Her maternal grandparents were Ann (née Reade) Kearney and Robert Kearney. Through her grandmother Ann, the daughter of Catherine Livingston and John Reade, she was a descendant of

Robert Livingston the Elder The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, 1st Lord of

Livingston Manor Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. History Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the colonial Province of New York granted ...

Career

After they married, her husband became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1879, serving until 1881 when he was appointed the

United States Minister to France The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations we ...

by President James A. Garfield in 1881. Morton was U.S. Minister until May 14, 1885 and Anna was noted for as a highly cultivated French scholar. During her husband's term as

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice p ...

under President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

, she was

from 1889 to 1893 and often handled entertaining duties for the administration due to

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non- monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...

Caroline Harrison Caroline Lavinia Harrison (; October 10, 1832 – October 25, 1892) was an American music teacher and the first lady of the United States from 1889 until her death. She was married to President Benjamin Harrison, and she was the second first la ...

's illness and ultimate death. During this time, the Mortons lived on Scott Circle in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morg ...

and Mrs. Morton "became the leader of society in Washington, and there was never a more brilliant and popular leader than she. It was her innate graciousness, her innate tact, and her kindness of heart . . . which won her admiration and respect of all". After the Mortons left Washington, Levi became the Governor of New York and Anna served as the First Lady of New York from 1895 to 1896.

Personal life

In 1873, Anna was married to Levi Parsons Morton (1824–1920), just two years after the death of his first wife, Lucy Young Kimball, in 1871. Together, Anna and Levi had five daughters and a son together. A son, Lewis died at the age of four months in London, and daughters Lena and Alice predeceased their mother. * Edith Livingston Morton (1874–1964), who married

William Corcoran Eustis William Corcoran Eustis (July 20, 1862 – November 24, 1921) was a captain in the United States Army and the personal assistant to General John J. Pershing during World War I. He was chairman of the inauguration committee for the first ina ...

(1862–1921), son of George Eustis, Jr. * Lena Kearney Morton (1875–1905) * Helen Stuyvesant Morton (1876–1952), who married Paul Louis Marie Archambaud, Boson de Talleyrand-Périgord (1867–1952), a son of the Charles Guillaume Frédéric, Boson de Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince de Sagan. * Lewis Parsons Morton (1877–1878), who died young. * Alice Morton (1879–1917), who married

Winthrop Chanler Rutherfurd Winthrop Chanler Rutherfurd (February 4, 1862 – March 19, 1944) was an American socialite from New York, best known for his romance with Consuelo Vanderbilt and his marriage to Lucy Mercer, mistress to American President Franklin D. Roosevel ...

(1862–1944), son of

Lewis Morris Rutherfurd Lewis Morris Rutherfurd (November 25, 1816 – May 30, 1892) was an American lawyer and astronomer, and a pioneering astrophotographer. Early life and work Rutherfurd was born in Morrisania, New York to Robert Walter Rutherfurd (1788–1852) ...

. * Mary Morton (1881–1932), who adopted two children, Lewis Peter Morton and Mirian Morton. She died at her home, "Ellerslie" in

Rhinebeck, New York Rhinebeck is a village in the town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well ...

, on August 14, 1918 at the age of 72."Mrs. Levi P. Morton Dies At Home in Rhinecliff, N.Y.", ''Boston Daily Globe'', Thursday, August 15, 1918, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Of America.

Philanthropy

In December 1904, the Mortons anonymously gave $600,000 to the

Cathedral of St. John the Divine The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhood ...

in New York City. In January 1905, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' revealed that the Mortons were the givers, including funds for the purchase of an organ in memory of their daughter Lena who died in Paris the June previous.

References

Sources

External links

Descendants of Robert Livingston, 1st Lord of Livingston Manor and Alida Schuyler
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Anna 1846 births 1918 deaths Second Ladies of the United States First Ladies and Gentlemen of New York (state) Morton family (United States) Livingston family Schuyler family