Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen Sr. (March 12, 1869 – February 8, 1948) 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 ...

as a Republican in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

from 1917 to 1923.

Early life and family

He was born in

Raritan, New Jersey Raritan is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,835, its highest decennial census count ever and an ...

, on March 12, 1869, to Frederick Frelinghuysen (1818–1891) and Victoria Bowen (1830–1914). His father was a lawyer who studied under

Richard Stockton Field Richard Stockton Field (December 31, 1803 – May 25, 1870) was an Attorney General of New Jersey, a United States senator from New Jersey and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Edu ...

. He came from a historic New Jersey political family. His paternal grandparents were

John Frederick Frelinghuysen John Frederick Frelinghuysen (March 21, 1776 – April 10, 1833) was an American general and lawyer. Biography John Frelinghuysen was born in Millstone, then in the Province of New Jersey, on March 21, 1776, to Frederick Frelinghuysen and Ger ...

(1776–1833), a lawyer and brigadier general in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, and his second wife, Elizabeth Mercereau Van Vechten. His great-grandparents were

Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (August 4, 1817May 20, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician from New Jersey who served as a U.S. Senator and later as United States Secretary of State under President Chester A. Arthur. Frelinghuysen was ...

(1753–1804), lawyer, soldier, and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from

, and his first wife, Gertrude Schenck (1752/53–1794).

Career

After fighting in 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 ...

and starting an insurance business, Frelinghuysen was elected to the state

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1905 and became president of that body in 1909. He held several statewide offices before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1916. He was New Jersey's first directly elected senator following ratification of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution in 1913. While in the Senate, he frequented the

Chevy Chase Club Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a Town#Maryland, town, several Village#Incorporated villages, incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjo ...

and would often golf with his fellow Senators

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

, Stephen B. Elkins, and

Eugene Hale Eugene Hale (June 9, 1836October 27, 1918) was an American politician who was a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senator from Maine. Biography Born in Turner, Maine, he was educated in local schools and at Maine's Hebr ...

. In 1921, President

signed the

Knox–Porter Resolution The Knox–Porter Resolution () was a joint resolution of the United States Congress signed by President Warren G. Harding on July 2, 1921, officially ending United States involvement in World War I. The documents were signed on the estate of Jos ...

, officially ending America's involvement in World War I at Frelinghuysen's estate in

. The President stayed on the estate until at least July 4. After a failed reelection bid in 1922, Frelinghuysen returned to the insurance business. In 1938, after considering a run for one of the United States Senate seats in New Jersey, Frelinghuysen declined to run. Instead, he put his support behind fellow Republican, former Senator

W. Warren Barbour William Warren Barbour (July 31, 1888November 22, 1943) was an American Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 1931 to 1937 and again from 1938 until his death in office in 1943. He was also a bus ...

, for the Republican nomination. Barbour eventually won the Senate seat and served until his death in 1943.

Personal life

Frelinghuysen married Emily Macy Brewster. Together they had three children: *Victoria Frelinghuysen (1907–2002), who married John Grenville Bates Jr. *Emily Frelinghuysen, who married H. Edward Bilkey until his death in 1950 and later married Dr. Ross A. McFarland of the

Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

. * Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Jr. (1912–2005), who married Emily Lawrance (1911–2004), the daughter of

Charles Lawrance Charles Lanier Lawrance (September 30, 1882 – June 24, 1950) was an American aeronautical engineer and an early proponent of air-cooled aircraft engines. Early life Lawrance was born on September 30, 1882, in Lenox, Massachusetts, the son of ...

(1882–1950) and Emily Margaret Gordon Dix, and the granddaughter of Rev.

Morgan Dix Morgan Dix (November 1, 1827 – April 29, 1908) was an American Episcopal Church priest, theologian, and religious author. Early life Dix was born on November 1, 1827, in New York City. He was the son of Catherine Morgan, the adopted daughter ...

(1827–1908), the rector of Trinity Parish. His wife's portrait and that of Joseph Jr, were painted in 1916 by the Swiss-born American artist

Adolfo Müller-Ury Adolfo Müller-Ury, Order of St. Gregory the Great, KSG (March 29, 1862 – July 6, 1947) was a Swiss-born American portrait painter and Impressionism, impressionistic painter of roses and still life. Early life and education Müller was b ...

; it is today in the Newark Museum, New Jersey. Frelinghuysen owned an 88-foot houseboat called ''Victoria'' that Harding used for 12 days after he won the 1920 election for President, but before he was

inaugurated In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

in March 1921. He died on February 8, 1948, in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, and was interred at St. Bernard's Cemetery 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 ...

Legacy

A memorial plaque was placed on the estate grounds commemorating the

officially ending America's involvement in World War I. Today the estate is long gone and

suburban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

has replaced it with mini-malls. The marker remains in a patch of grass near a

Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

parking lot along

Route 28 Highway 28 may refer to: Australia * Cumberland Highway *Mountain Highway, Mountain Highway (Victoria) * – NT Canada * Alberta Highway 28 * British Columbia Highway 28 * Nova Scotia Trunk 28 * Ontario Highway 28 * Saskatchewan Highway 28 Cz ...

, just north of the Somerville traffic circle.

References

External links

* Barbour, Thomas (nephew of William Warren Barbour). ''Our Families (Volumes 1 & 2)''. Self-printed. 1983 * Hess, Stephen. ''America's Political Dynasties: From Adams to Clinton''.

Brookings Institution Press The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econ ...

, Nov 24, 2015
Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen Sr.
at Findagrave {{DEFAULTSORT:Frelinghuysen, Joseph S. Sr. 1869 births 1948 deaths Republican Party New Jersey state senators Frelinghuysen family Republican Party United States senators from New Jersey American politicians of Dutch descent People from Raritan, New Jersey Presidents of the New Jersey Senate Military personnel from Somerset County, New Jersey Politicians from Somerset County, New Jersey American military personnel of the Spanish–American War 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature