Clarence Cary (March 18, 1845 – August 27, 1911) was an American lawyer who was prominent in New York society during the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and We ...

Early life

Clarence Cary was born in Fairfax County, Virginia on March 18, 1845,"Mrs. Constance Cary Harrison," in into a

planter class The planter class, known alternatively in the United States as the Southern aristocracy, was a racial and socioeconomic caste of pan-American society that dominated 17th and 18th century agricultural markets. The Atlantic slave trade permitted ...

family. His parents were Archibald Cary and Monimia (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Fairfax) Cary. His sister, the author

Constance Cary Constance Cary Harrison (pen name, Refugitta; April 25, 1843 – November 21, 1920), also referred as Mrs. Burton Harrison, was an American playwright and novelist. She and two of her cousins were known as the "Cary Invincibles"; the three sewed t ...

, was married to

Burton Harrison Burton Norvell Harrison (July 14, 1838 – March 29, 1904), was a lawyer, American Democratic politician, and private secretary to Confederate States of America president Jefferson Davis. Harrison's support for the pro-slavery South countered ...

, the former private secretary for Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Through his sister, he was the uncle of

Fairfax Harrison Fairfax Harrison (March 13, 1869 – February 2, 1938) was an American lawyer, businessman, and writer. The son of the secretary to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Harrison studied law at Yale University and Columbia University befo ...

, who was a President of the Southern Railway Company, and

Francis Burton Harrison Francis Burton Harrison (December 18, 1873 – November 21, 1957) was an American statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and was appointed governor-general of the Philippines by President of the United States Woodro ...

, who served as a

Governor-General of the Philippines The Governor-General of the Philippines ( Spanish: ''Gobernador y Capitán General de Filipinas''; Filipino: ''Gobernador-Heneral ng Pilipinas/Kapitan Heneral ng Pilipinas''; Japanese: ) was the title of the government executive during the co ...

. The family lived at

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...

, where his father was editor of its leading newspaper, ''The Cumberland Civilian''. His paternal grandparents were Wilson Jefferson Cary and Virginia (née Randolph) Cary. His maternal grandparents were

Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1762–1846), was an American born Scottish peer, who along with his father, on 11 December 1799, was among the last guests at Mount Vernon before Washington died. Early life and family Thomas Fairf ...

(who never assumed the English title) and Margaret (née Herbert) Fairfax, herself the granddaughter of John Carlyle and Sarah Fairfax. Cary was also the great-grandnephew of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...

. Among his large and prominent family members was uncle

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to the ...

of ''

Morrisania Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 161st Street to the south, and Webster Avenu ...

'', who married Anne Cary Randolph.Louise Pecquet du Bellet, ''Some Prominent Virginia Families'', p. 81,2
/ref> When Archibald died in 1854, his mother moved the family to his grandmother's plantation, known as

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label=Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Fairfax County, Virginia. Following the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

, Vaucluse was seized and torn down to construct Fort Worth as a part of the defenses of

Washington, D.C. ) , 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 Morgan, ...

The family moved again to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, staying there during the War.

Career

During the War, Cary served as a midshipman in the

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American ...

and reportedly, "did some very clever acting during the war on the amateur stage and on the naval war boards. In his sailor role he served on the blockade runner, ''

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

'', on the ''

Palmetto State )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

, off the Carolina coast and on the James River fleet, proving himself a good officer." After the war, he studied law and practiced in New York, founding the successful firm of Cary & Whitridge, where he was a trusted advisor to

Varina Davis Varina Anne Banks Howell Davis (May 7, 1826 – October 16, 1906) was the only First Lady of the Confederate States of America, and the longtime second wife of President Jefferson Davis. She moved to a house in Richmond, Virginia, in mid-1861, ...

, the widow of Jefferson Davis. Following his brother-in-law

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Po ...

's return to the United States after the Civil War, they practiced law together. Cary was a fan of Oriental culture and art, traveling for extended periods to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The te ...

, setting up a committee with other businessmen known as the "Committee on American Interests in China." He was known for ridiculing Secretary of State

John Sherman John Sherman (May 10, 1823October 22, 1900) was an United States, American politician from Ohio throughout the American Civil War, Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Par ...

by calling Sherman's reluctance to Chinese trade as "quaint and dangerous". He worked as the legal counsel for the American China Development Company, and helped found the American Asiatic Association in 1898.

Society life

In 1892, Cary and his wife were included in

Ward McAllister Samuel Ward McAllister (December 28, 1827 – January 31, 1895) was a popular arbiter of social taste in the Gilded Age of late 19th-century America. He was widely accepted as the authority as to which families could be classified as the cream o ...

's " Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in ''

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 ...

''. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into

Mrs. Astor Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn Astor (September 22, 1830 – October 30, 1908) was a prominent American socialite of the second half of the 19th century who led the Four Hundred. Famous for being referred to later in life as "the Mrs. Asto ...

's ballroom. He also translated several of the classic Latin poets, particularly

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ...

Personal life

In 1878, Cary was married to Elisabeth Miller Potter (1856–1945), the daughter of

Howard Potter Howard Potter (July 8, 1826 – March 24, 1897) was an American industrialist, investment banker, diplomat and philanthropist, and a partner in Brown Bros. & Co. Early life Potter was born in Schenectady, New York on July 8, 1826. He was the sec ...

, a diplomat and investment banker with Brown Bros. & Co., and his wife, Mary Louisa (née Brown) Potter. Together, they were the parents of: * Guy Fairfax Cary (1879–1950), a lawyer with

Shearman & Sterling Shearman & Sterling LLP is a multinational law firm headquartered in New York City, United States. The firm's lawyers come from some 80 countries, speak more than 60 languages and practice US, English, EU, French, Spanish, German, Hong Kong, OHA ...

who married Cynthia Burke Roche (1884–1966), the widow of

Arthur Scott Burden Arthur Scott Burden (August 11, 1879 – June 15, 1921) was an American banker, equestrian, and member of the young set of New York society during the Gilded Age. Early life Burden was born on August 11, 1879, in Troy, New York. He was the yo ...

, in 1922. Cynthia was the daughter of

James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (28 July 1851 – 30 October 1920), was a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons, and he held a title in the Peerage of Ireland during the final two months of his life. He was a great-gr ...

and

Frances Ellen Work Frances Ellen Work (October 27, 1857January 26, 1947) was an American heiress and socialite. She was a great-grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her great-great-grandchildren include the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, ...

. * Howard Cary (1881–1906), a

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

graduate who reportedly committed suicide at the age of 24. Cary died on August 27, 1911, in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

. He was buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia.

Descendants

Through his son Guy, he was the grandfather of Guy Fairfax Cary II (1923–2004), who died unmarried, and Cynthia Cary (b. 1924), who married Charles Bingham Penrose Van Pelt (1922–2003) and had three children. She later married

Edwin F. Russell Edwin Fairman Russell (July 15, 1914 – December 22, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher who had joined the Royal Navy to fight Germany before the United States entered World War II. Early life Russell was born on July 15, 1914 in Elizabet ...

(1914–2001).

References

External links

*
1893 Portrait of Mrs. Clarence Cary
by

Katherine Arthur Behenna Katherine Arthur Behenna (born 1860 – 21 September 1926), also known as Kathleen Arthur Behenna, was a Scottish-born portrait miniaturist, poet, spiritualist, and suffragist. She sometimes wrote articles using the masculine pseudonyms John Pren ...

at the

New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cary, Clarence 1845 births 1911 deaths American socialites Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Alexandria, Virginia) Cary family of Virginia Confederate States Navy personnel Fairfax family Lawyers from Cumberland, Maryland Lawyers from New York City People from Fairfax County, Virginia Lawyers from Richmond, Virginia Randolph family of Virginia Military personnel from Cumberland, Maryland