Henry Asher Robbins (1829 – January 21, 1914) was an American manufacturer who was prominent member of New York society during the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

Early life

Robbins was born in 1829 in

Berlin, Connecticut Berlin ( ) is a town in the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,175 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It was incorporated in 1785. The geographic center of ...

. His father was the pastor of the Kensington Congregational Church in

Kensington, Connecticut Kensington is a census-designated place (CDP) and section of the town of Berlin in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The Berlin town offices are located in Kensington. The population was 8,459 at the 2010 census. The Henry Hooker Hous ...

for forty-three years. Robbins was a direct descendant of Asher Robbins, the

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

Career

Together with his brother Royal E. Robbins, he founded the

Waltham Watch Company The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Co. and the American Watch Co., was a company that produced about 40 million watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time delay fuses, and other precision instruments in the Un ...

, which merged with Robbins, Appleton & Co., a watch importing company based out of Boston that owned the

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the Technological and industrial history of the United States, American Industrial Revoluti ...

based

American Watch Company The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Co. and the American Watch Co., was a company that produced about 40 million watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time delay fuses, and other precision instruments in the Un ...

Society life

In 1892, both Robins and his wife were both 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 America, widely accepted as the authority to which families could be classified as the cream of New York society ( The Fou ...

's "

Four Hundred 400 (four hundred) is the natural number following 399 and preceding 401. Mathematical properties A circle is divided into 400 grads. Integers from 401 to 499 400s 401 401 is a prime number, tetranacci number, Chen prime, prime index p ...

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

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.

Personal life

In 1866, Robbins married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Pelham Bend (–1933). Lizzie was the sister of prominent banker George H. Bend. Together, they were the parents of two children, a son and a daughter: * Maud Robbins (d. 1955), who married Harry Whitney McVickar (1860–1905), in 1891. * Henry "Harry" Pelham Robbins (1874–1946), who graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1893 and became an architect. He married Emily Frances Welles (1888–1962), the daughter of Benjamin Welles and sister of

Sumner Welles Benjamin Sumner Welles (October 14, 1892September 24, 1961) was an American government official and diplomat. He was a major foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State from 1936 to 1943, dur ...

, the

Undersecretary of State Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

in the Roosevelt administration. Emily and Sumner were grand-nieces and grand-nephews of Caroline Astor. The Robbins built "Asher House" in

Southampton, New York Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stre ...

Grosvenor Atterbury Grosvenor Atterbury (July 7, 1869 in Detroit, MI – October 18, 1956 in Southampton, NY) was an American architect, urban planner and writer. He studied at Yale University, where he was an editor of campus humor magazine ''The Yale Record'' After ...

. Robbins died of pneumonia at his apartment in the

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story, Art Deco landmark des ...

in New York City on January 21, 1914. His widow died at her residence, 540

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

in New York, in July 1933. Her funeral was held at St. Andrew's Dune Church in Southampton.

References

External links

*
Lizzie at the Vanderbilt Ball
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robins, Henry Asher 1829 births 1914 deaths Businesspeople from Connecticut People from Berlin, Connecticut American manufacturing businesspeople American company founders American watchmakers (people) Deaths from pneumonia in New York City Date of birth missing 19th-century American businesspeople Bend family