Elisha Dyer III (October 23, 1862 – June 2, 1917) was an American socialite prominent in Newport and 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

Dyer was born on October 23, 1862, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. His parents were

Rhode Island Governor The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The current governor is Dan McKee, a member of the Democratic ...

Elisha Dyer Jr. (1839–1906) and Nancy Anthony (

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 ...

Viall) Dyer (1843–1920), who was the daughter of William Viall and Mary Brayton Anthony. Together, they were the parents of his siblings including George Rathbone Dyer, who died young; Brig. Gen. George Rathbone Dyer, who married Grace Gurnee Scott; and Hezekiah Anthony Dyer, who married Charlotte Osgood Tilden. His paternal grandparents were

Elisha Dyer Elisha Dyer (July 20, 1811 – May 17, 1890) was an American politician and the 25th Governor of Rhode Island. Early life Dyer was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on July 20, 1811, to an old New England family which traced its Dyer ancestry ...

, also a Rhode Island Governor, and Anna Jones (

Hoppin) Dyer. Dyer was a descendant of

Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...

, founder of the

Rhode Island Colony The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious ...

Career

Dyer was educated at private schools in Providence and graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1883. He later graduated from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1885, and was admitted to the bar in that year. He worked as a broker with Ulman & Co.

Society life

In 1892, Dyer and his wife were 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. Dyer, a renowned dancer and

cotillion The cotillion (also cotillon or French country dance) is a social dance, popular in 18th-century Europe and North America. Originally for four couples in square formation, it was a courtly version of an English country dance, the forerunner ...

leader, was known as "one of the most popular men in the Newport Summer colony" and was an undisputed leader of society. Dyer was known to have introduced Harry Lehr, McAllister's successor, to the Newport colony. The Dyer's Newport home, known as Wayside, was located on

Bellevue Avenue The Bellevue Avenue Historic District is located along and around Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Its property is almost exclusively residential, including many of the Gilded Age mansions built as summer retreats aroun ...

. He was a member of the

Society of Colonial Wars The General Society of Colonial Wars is a patriotic society composed of men who trace their descents from forebears who, in military, naval, or civil positions of high trust and responsibility, by acts or counsel, assisted in the establishment, d ...

and the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

. He belonged to the

Union Club of the City of New York The Union Club of the City of New York (commonly known as the Union Club) is a private social club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City that was founded in 1836. The clubhouse is located at 101 East 69th Street on the corner of ...

, the

Knickerbocker Club The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick) is a gentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the most Aristocracy (class), aristocratic gent ...

, the Manhattan Club, the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

, the Country Club of New York, the Automobile Club of New York, the

Newport Casino The Newport Casino is an athletic complex and recreation center located at 180–200 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island in the Bellevue Avenue/Casino Historic District. Built in 1879–1881 by ''New York Herald'' publisher James Gor ...

, the Newport Reading Room, the Casino Club, the Clam Bake Club and the

Newport Country Club Newport Country Club, is a historic private golf club in the northeastern United States, located in Newport, Rhode Island. Founded in 1893, it hosted both the first U.S. Amateur Championship and the first U.S. Open in 1895. History Theodor ...

Personal life

Dyer was married to Sidney (née Turner) Swan (1857–1933), the daughter of Sidney (née Patterson) Turner and William Fauntleroy Turner. Sidney was also the grand-niece of

Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (February 6, 1785 – April 4, 1879) was an American socialite. She was the daughter of Baltimore merchant William Patterson (Maryland businessman), William Patterson and the first wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleo ...

and a great-granddaughter of a

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

merchant William Patterson. They did not have any children together, however, he was the stepfather of his wife's daughter from a previous marriage (to Donnell Swan), Laura Patterson Swan, who married Andrew Robeson in 1913. Upon his father's death in 1906, he and his siblings inherited $250 each with the remainder of the estate, valued at about $250,000, left to his mother. His father left $5,000 to Miss Francis E. Kinnicutt, his private secretary. He died of

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 ...

at his home in Newport on June 2, 1917. He was interred in

Swan Point Cemetery Swan Point Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1846 on a 60-acre (0.24 km2) plot of land, it has approximately 40,000 interments. History The cemetery was first organize ...

in Providence. In November 1917, his widow sold their five-story residence at 37 West 56th Street in New York City. After his widows death in 1933, the estate (valued in excess of $1,000,000) was left to Sidney's granddaughter, Lauretta Patterson Robeson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Elisha 1862 births 1917 deaths Brown University alumni Columbia Law School alumni Burials at Swan Point Cemetery General Society of Colonial Wars American bankers 20th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American businesspeople Dyer family