Helen Smythe Jaffray (November 4, 1850 – July 11, 1932) was an American socialite 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

Helen was born on November 4, 1850, 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 ...

. She was one of the "three handsome Smythe girls" born to Henry A. Smythe and Mary (

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

Franklin) Smythe. Her father, a merchant, banker and conservative Union Republican, was a Collector of Customs in New York from 1866 to 1869 (alongside

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

) under President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

, who is most well known for his impeachment in March 1867, following accusations of corruption. He was later nominated for the position of U.S. Ambassador to Russia by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

in 1869, but was tabled by the Senate and did not receive his commission (

Andrew Gregg Curtin Andrew Gregg Curtin (April 22, 1815October 7, 1894) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the 15th governor of Pennsylvania during the American Civil War, helped defend his state during the Gettysburg Campaign, and oversaw the crea ...

was appointed instead). Helen's sister Fannie Smythe, was the second wife of Edward Padelford, who had a home (now known as Roosevelt Hall), in

Skaneateles, New York Skaneateles ( , ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York (state), New York, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 7,112. The name is from the Iroquois term ...

Society life

In 1892, both Helen and her daughter were listed as "Mrs. William Jaffray" and "Miss Jaffray", 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 1871, Helen was married to William Phillips Jaffray (1845–1887), a successful New York dry goods merchant. William was the eldest son of Edward Somerville Jaffray and an uncle to Florence Jaffray, who served as U.S. Minister to Norway and was the wife of

J. Borden Harriman Jefferson Borden Harriman (September 20, 1864 – December 2, 1914) was a New York financier and member of the Gilded Age's "hunting set". He was best known as the supportive husband of Florence Jaffray Harriman, a socialite who became a progr ...

. Florence was raised by William's parents, at 615

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

, as her parents both died young. Together, they were the parents of: * Mary Franklin Jaffray (1872–1962), who married her cousin Edward Woodriff Jaffray (1863–1939), the son of her grandfather's brother, Arthur Woodriff Jaffray, in 1893. * Arthur Woodriff Jaffray (1876–1919), who married actress Laura D. Shorter in 1899. They divorced and he married his first cousin, Mabel Evelyn Jaffray (1880–1922), daughter of Howard S. Jaffray in 1906. * Helen Frances Jaffray (1885–1929), who was popular in New York and London society and a close friend of Margaretta Armstrong Drexel, Viscountess Maidstone, the wife of the

Earl of Winchilsea Earl of Winchilsea is a title in the Peerage of England. It has been held by the Finch-Hatton family of Kent, and united with the title of Earl of Nottingham under a single holder since 1729. The Finch family is believed to be descended from He ...

. Helen married

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

graduate Walter Abbott (1867–1919) in 1912. After his death, she married J. Kingsley Rooker and lived at Mortimer House in Clifton. Her husband died in Astoria in September 1877 and his funeral was held at the

Church of the Transfiguration The Church of the Transfiguration (, ) is a Franciscan church located on Mount Tabor in Israel. It is traditionally believed to be the site where the Transfiguration of Jesus took place, an event in the Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured upo ...

. Jaffray died on July 11, 1932, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where she lived at 27 rue de Longchamp. She was buried in the family vault at the

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

Cemetery.

References

External links

Portrait of Jaffray
by Fernand Paillet at the

New-York Historical Society The New York Historical (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffray, Helen Smythe 1850 births 1932 deaths American socialites