Francis (Frank) Boardman Crowninshield (April 22, 1869 – May 19, 1950) was an international yachtsman and the husband of Louise Evelina du Pont. He was an amateur painter and writer and was also interested in architecture and design, and boat racing.

Biography

Crowninshield was born 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 ...

on April 22, 1869. He was a member of the

Crowninshield family The Crowninshield family is an American family that was historically prominent in seafaring, political and military leadership, and the literary world. The founder of the American family emigrated from what is now Germany in the 17th century. T ...

from

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

. Crowninshield attended St. Paul's School in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

and graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1891. He rode with Troop K of

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

in 1898 and saw combat in the Cuban campaign in the

Battle of San Juan Hill The Battle of San Juan Hill (), also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish–American War fought between an American force under the command of William Rufus Shafter and Joseph Wheeler against a Span ...

. On June 28, 1900, he married Louise du Pont. The couple were married for 50 years and did not have children. During their married life, they traveled back and forth between their three primary residences: Seaside Farm, in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsu ...

;

Eleutherian Mills From 1802 to 1921, Eleutherian Mills was a gunpowder mill site used for the manufacture of explosives founded by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, which grew into the DuPont company. The name also refers to the house on the hill above the mills, wh ...

, in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

; and Las Olas, in

Boca Grande, Florida Boca Grande is a small residential community on Gasparilla Island in southwest Florida. Gasparilla Island is a part of both Charlotte County, Florida, Charlotte and Lee County, Florida, Lee counties, while the actual village of Boca Grande, wh ...

. Crowninshield was a professional yachtsman all his life and many of the trophies he won were on display at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead at the time of his death, including one he and his team won in a race in Spain. His family at one time owned an oceangoing yacht called ''

Cleopatra's Barge ''Cleopatra's Barge'' was the first oceangoing yacht built in the United States. It was built in 1816 at Salem, MA by shipbuilder Retire Becket for owner George Crowninshield Jr. Crowninshield died in 1817 after a single pleasure voyage to the ...

'', about which Crowninshield published a book in 1913. In addition to writing, Crowninshield also liked to sketch and paint in watercolors. His subject matter was typically the homes and gardens of his three residences. In 1944, the Ferargil Galleries in New York City held an exhibit of his work. Crowninshield Garden

Even though Crowninshield and his wife only spent a couple months out of the year at their home in Delaware, he devoted a lot of his time researching and traveling overseas studying gardens and

neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

in order to create Crowninshield Gardens, a garden of neoclassical ruins on top of the Eleutherian Mills site that had been ruined by time and neglect. Crowninshield died on May 19, 1950, at the age of 81 at Eleutherian Mills. He is buried in Wilmington, Delaware.

References

{{Authority control Harvard College alumni 1869 births 1950 deaths

Biography

See also

References