William H. Force
William Hurlbut Force (May 11, 1852 – May 19, 1917) was an American merchant.
Early life[edit]
Force was born in Brooklyn, New York on May 11, 1852. He was a son of William Force Jr. (1824–1867) and Mary Sophia (née Emmons) Force (1821–1892). His sister, Julia Bancroft Force, was the wife of John Dean Fish, and his brother, George Wilbur Force.[1][2] His uncle was Ephraim S. Force.[3]
Force was educated at the Dutchess County Academy in Poughkeepsie, New York.[4]
Career[edit]
Force was a member of a well-established business family and he owned the successful shipping firm William H. Force and Co. (established in 1873),[4] and his father had been prosperous in the manufacturing industry. His firm was located at 78 Front Street.[5]
He was also a director of the Staten Island Rapid Transit R.R. Co., and United Casualty Co., and the New York Board of Trade and Transportation.[4]
Personal life[edit]
In 1889 Force was married to New Jersey native Katherine Arvilla Talmage (1863–1939), a daughter of Tunis V. P. Talmage and Magdalene (née de Forest) Talmage. She was also a granddaughter of former Brooklyn mayor Thomas G. Talmage. Together, they were the parents of:
- Katherine Emmons Force (1891–1956),[6] who married Lorillard S. Spencer in 1922.[7][8]
- Madeleine Talmage Force (1893–1940), who married John Jacob Astor IV in 1911 shortly before his death aboard the Titanic in 1912. She married William Karl Dick in 1916. They divorced in 1933, the same year she married Enzo Fiermonte. They marriage also ended in divorce in 1938.
William owned a well regard art collection and was part of Brooklyn high society.[9] He was also a member of several prestigious clubs in the city.[10]
Force died at 11 East 68th Street, their residence in Manhattan, on May 19, 1917.[5] His widow, who inherited his entire estate, died at Chastellux, their daughter Katherine's villa in Newport in August 1939.[11]
Descendants[edit]
Through his daughter Madeleine, he was a grandfather of John Jacob Astor VI (1912–1992), William Force Dick (1917–1961), and John Henry Dick (1919–1995).[12]
References[edit]
- ^ Association, New York State Historical (1936). New York History: Quarterly Journal of the New York State Historical Association. The Association. p. 209. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ Howes, Durward (1937). American Women. Richard Blank Publishing Company. p. 218. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "E. S. FORCE DIES AT 92" (PDF). The New York Times. March 12, 1914.
- ^ a b c Men and Women of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries. L.R. Hamersly. 1909. p. 632. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ a b "WILLIAM H. FORCE DEAD. | Father of Mrs. William K. Dick Was a Commission Merchant". The New York Times. 20 May 1917. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "Mrs. Lorillard Spencer. Widow of New York Banker, a Resident of Newport, Dies" (PDF). The New York Times. September 9, 1956. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
Mrs. Katherine Force Spencer of Chasteullux, Newport, died at her home this morning of a heart attack. She was 63 years old....
- ^ "How the Beautiful Katherine Force, Sister of Madeleine, Who Was Mrs. John Jacob Astor and Is Now Mrs. Dick, and Other Society Girls Are Carving Out Careers for Themselves' by Hard Work". The Milwaukee Journal. July 25, 1920.
- ^ "LORILLARD SPENCER DEAD IN NEWPORT; Was Decorated by France and the U.S. for 'Extraordinary Heroism in Action' AN EX-AIRPLANE OFFICIAL He Had Served With Several Corporations--III Since He Suffered Stroke in 1934 Took Up Aviation in 1921 Landing Fields Chairman Legion of Valor Member" (PDF). The New York Times. 10 June 1939. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ^ Brooklyn Blue Book and Long Island Society Register. Brooklyn Life Publishing Company. 1919. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ Howard, Henry Ward Beecher; Jervis, Arthur N. (1893). The Eagle and Brooklyn: the record of the progress of the Brooklyn daily eagle. Cornell University Library. Brooklyn] : The Brooklyn daily eagle. p. 379.
- ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (14 August 1939). "MRS. WILLIAM H. FORCE; The Grandmother of John Jacob Astor Dies in Newport". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "William K. Dick". Accuracy Project. Retrieved January 1, 2012.