John Fairfield Dryden (August 7, 1839 – November 24, 1911) was an American insurance executive and Republican politician who represented

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in the United States Senate from 1902 to 1907. Prior to his election, Dryden founded the

Fidelity Trust Company Fidelity Trust Company was a bank in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1866 as Fidelity Insurance, Trust, & Safe Deposit Company, the bank was later renamed Fidelity Trust Company, Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company, The Fidelity Bank, and F ...

and

Prudential Insurance Company Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American financial services company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both retail and institutional customers throughout the Uni ...

. He served as president of Prudential from 1881 until his death, when he was succeeded by his son

Forrest F. Dryden Forrest Fairchild Dryden (December26, 1864 – July20, 1932) was the president of Prudential Insurance Company of America (now Prudential Financial) from 1912 until 1922. Prudential was founded by his father, John F. Dryden, who was also a Unit ...

. He was known as the "father of industrial insurance".

Early life

Dryden was born in

Temple, Maine Temple is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The town was named after Temple, New Hampshire. It is located at the end of Maine State Route 43 (Temple Road), and is said to be one of only two towns in Maine to be situated at the e ...

, on August 7, 1839. He moved in 1846 with his parents to

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. He graduated from

Worcester Academy Worcester Academy is a co-ed private boarding school in Worcester, Massachusetts serving grades 6-12. It is the oldest school founded in Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducation ...

and later attended

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

Career

In 1875, he founded the Widows and Orphans Friendly Society (now

Prudential Financial Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American financial services company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both Investor#Retail_investor, retail and institutional cus ...

) in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, becoming its first secretary and in 1881 its president, serving in the latter position until his death in 1911. His son

Forrest Forrest may refer to: Places Australia *Forrest, Australian Capital Territory *Forrest, Victoria, a small rural township *Division of Forrest, a federal division of the Australian House of Representatives, in Western Australia *Electoral distric ...

succeeded him as president, serving until 1922. Dryden was one of the founders of the

and was involved in the establishment and management of various street railways, banks, and other financial enterprises in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Political career

He was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

William J. Sewell William Joyce Sewell (December 6, 1835 – December 27, 1901) was an American Republican Party politician, merchant, and military officer who served as a U.S. Senator from New Jersey for two non-consecutive terms from 1881 to 1887 and 1895 ...

, serving from January 29, 1902, to March 3, 1907. Dryden was a candidate for reelection but withdrew because of a deadlock in the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

, which at the time elected U.S. Senators. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Relations with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(57th Congress) and a member of the Committee on Enrolled Bills (58th and 59th Congresses).

Personal life

Dryden was married to Cynthia Jennings Fairchild (1842–1916). Together, they were the parents of: * Forrest Fairchild Dryden (1864–1932), who married Grace Marion Carleton (1865–1936). * Susan Fairchild "Susie" Dryden (1870–1932), who married prominent businessman and philanthropist Anthony R. Kuser. Dryden died in

, on November 24, 1911, from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, following removal of

gall stones A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of mi ...

two weeks earlier. After a funeral at the Third Presbyterian Church in Newark, he was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery there.

Legacy

His estate was valued at $50,000,000 at the time of his death (approximately $ in ). In addition to his home in

Bernardsville, New Jersey Bernardsville (Melisurgo, Len NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 23, 2017. Accessed December 1, 2024. "Same goes with the neighboring borough of Bernardsville. (It should be pronounced BERN-ards-vil.)") is the northernmost borough in Somerset C ...

, Dryden was in the process of constructing a home in High Point, New Jersey, that was to be one of the largest homes in the country. His daughter Susan used part of the Prudential fortune to donate for a state park at New Jersey's highest point.

John Dryden Kuser John Dryden Kuser also known as Dryden Kuser (September 24, 1897 – March 3, 1964) was a New Jersey politician and a member of an influential New Jersey family. He was the son of Colonel Anthony R. Kuser and grandson of Senator and Prudent ...

, Dryden's grandson, was a state senator and

Brooke Astor Roberta Brooke Astor (née Russell; March 30, 1902 – August 13, 2007) was an American philanthropist, socialite, and writer. She served as the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, established by her third husband, Vincent Astor, who wa ...

's first husband.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dryden, John Fairfield 1839 births 1911 deaths Worcester Academy alumni Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey) People from Bernardsville, New Jersey Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Politicians from Worcester, Massachusetts Prudential Financial people Republican Party United States senators from New Jersey New Jersey Republicans Deaths from pneumonia in New Jersey Businesspeople from Worcester, Massachusetts 19th-century American politicians Businesspeople from Newark, New Jersey People from Temple, Maine Yale College alumni 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American philanthropists 20th-century United States senators