Valentine Gill Hall Jr. (March 27, 1834 – July 17, 1880) was an American socialite, banker, and merchant who was the maternal grandfather of First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

Early life

Hall was born in New York City on March 27, 1834, to Irish immigrant Valentine Gill Hall Sr. and Susan Hall, Tonnelé. His younger sister, Margaret Tonnelé Hall, was married to Edward Philip Livingston Ludlow, the older brother of his wife, two years after his marriage in 1861. Another sister, Catherine Tonnelé Hall, was married to

Eugene Schieffelin Eugene Schieffelin (January 29, 1827 – August 15, 1906) was an American amateur ornithologist who belonged to the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society and the New York Zoological Society. In 1877, he became chairman of the American Ac ...

, and a brother, John Tonnelé Hall, was married to Catherine Cruger Delafield, daughter of Rufus King Delafield, and niece of merchants

Richard Delafield Richard Delafield (September 1, 1798 – November 5, 1873) was a United States Army officer for 52 years. He served as superintendent of the United States Military Academy for a total of 12 years. At the start of the American Civil War, then ...

and Edward Delafield. His maternal grandparents were Rebecca (née Waterbury) Tonnelé, and John Tonnelé Sr, a Frenchman. His uncle was John Tonnelé Jr., the farmer and politician who was a member of the

New Jersey State Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

, and his grandmother Rebecca was the daughter of Revolutionary War General David How Waterbury, Jr.

Career

His father and his maternal grandfather were business partners in the New York City wool merchant firm of Tonnelé & Hall, who were considered "the most extensive Wool dealers in the country" in 1842. Through their firm, Hall's father was able to build a large fortune, estimated at $250,000 in 1842, which included "considerable holdings in New York City real estate," from 14th to 18th Street along

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas, is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The avenue is commercial for much of its length, and traffic runs northbound, or uptown. Sixth Avenue begins four blocks b ...

. After his grandfather retired, his uncle, John Tonnelé Jr. ran the business with his father, who retired in 1845 before age 50. Together, his uncle John and grandfather were worth $1,000,000 in 1842. Hall himself did not go into business but "lived the life of a leisured gentleman." He was a man of solemn dignity who attended theology school as a purported act of penitence for his youthful "sowing of wild oats." He devoted himself and his energy to religious study and became rather

puritanical The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

Personal life

On April 24, 1861, Hall was married to Mary Livingston "Molly" Ludlow in a marriage that "...united a member of a prominent New York merchantile family with

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

". Mary was the daughter of Dr. Edward Hunter Ludlow, another business partner of Hall's father, and Elizabeth (née Livingston) Ludlow, the granddaughter of the 11th

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a Constitution of New York, constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governo ...

, Edward Philip Livingston, and the great-granddaughter of

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Robert Livingston, of the

Livingston family The Livingston family of New York (state), New York is a prominent family that migrated from Scotland to the Dutch Republic, and then to the Province of New York in the 17th century. Descended from the 4th Lord Livingston, its members included s ...

. After the death of her parents, Valentine brought the family to live at the Ludlow home in

Clermont, New York Clermont is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Columbia County, New York, Columbia County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 2,058 at the 2020 census. The name of the town is French language, French f ...

(five miles north of Tivoli), building a Second Empire-style 8,375-square-foot mansion called Oak Terrace on Woods Road (also known as "The Oaks" or "Oak Lawn") in 1872 next to the house of his brother-in-law, which overlooks the Hudson River and the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

. Together, Valentine and Mary were the parents of seven children: * Anna Rebecca Hall (1863–1892), who married

Elliott Roosevelt Elliott Roosevelt may refer to: * Elliott Roosevelt (socialite) (1860–1894), American socialite, father-in-law of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, father of Eleanor Roosevelt, younger brother of President Theodore Roosevelt, and grandfather of G ...

(1860–1894), the son of

Theodore Roosevelt Sr. Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (September 22, 1831 – February 9, 1878) was an American businessman and philanthropist from the Roosevelt family. Roosevelt was also the father of President Theodore Roosevelt and the paternal grandfather of First Lady E ...

and brother of U.S. President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, in 1883. * Elizabeth Livingston Hall (1865–1944), who married Stanley Mortimer (1855–1932), son of William Yates Mortimer and Elizabeth (née Thorpe) Mortimer and brother of Richard Mortimer, in 1890. * Valentine Gill Hall III (1867–1934), a champion tennis player. * Mary Livingston Hall (1869–1872), who died young. * Edward Ludlow Hall (1872–1932), also a champion tennis player, who married Josephine Booraen Zabriskie (1878–1912), daughter of Augustus Zabriskie, in 1898. * Edith Livingston Hall (1873–1920), who married William Forbes Morgan, Jr. (b. 1877), son of William Forbes Morgan and Ellie (née Robinson) Morgan, in 1904. * Maude Livingston Hall (1877–1952), who married polo player Lawrence Waterbury (1878-1943), son of James Waterbury and Katharine (née Furman) Waterbury, in 1900. They divorced in 1912. Hall died at their estate in the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

, just north of Tivoli, at the age of 46, on July 17, 1880. He was buried in the Hall family vault at St. Paul's Episcopal Church Cemetery in

Tivoli, New York Tivoli is a village (New York), village in Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population is 1,012, according to the 2020 census. The village, which was incorporated in 1872 from parts of Upp ...

. His widow, who maintained various New York homes at 11 West 37th Street and 20 Gramercy Park (next door to

Stuyvesant Fish Stuyvesant Fish (June 24, 1851 – April 10, 1923) was an American businessman and member of the Fish family who served as president of the Illinois Central Railroad. He owned grand residences in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, entertai ...

at 19 Gramercy Park), also died at their Hudson Valley estate on August 14, 1919, at the age of 77. The Hudson Valley home was owned by their daughter Maude, which Eleanor continued to visit into the 1950s.

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter Anna, he was the grandfather of

First Lady of the United States First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never been Code of law, codified or offici ...

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

(1884–1962), who married her fifth cousin

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

(later

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

); Elliott Roosevelt, Jr. (1889–1893), who died young; and Gracie Hall Roosevelt (1891–1941).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Valentine Jr. 1834 births 1880 deaths Socialites from New York City Livingston family