James William Beekman Jr. (November 4, 1847 – August 7, 1908) was an American lawyer and philanthropist.
James William Beekman Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 31st President of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York | |
| In office 1890–1891 | |
| Preceded by | Edward Schell |
| Succeeded by | Frederic James de Peyster |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 4, 1847 Mount Pleasant, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 7, 1908 (aged 60) Oyster Bay, New York, U.S. |
| Relations | Phillip Milledoler (grandfather) |
| Parent(s) | James William Beekman Abian Milledoler Beekman |
| Alma mater | Columbia Law School |
| Awards | Order of Orange-Nassau |
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Early life
editBeekman was born on November 4, 1847, in Mount Pleasant, New York. He was one of five children born to James William Beekman (1815–1877)[1][2] and Abian Ann Steele (née Milledoler) Beekman (1819–1897). Among his siblings was Catherine Beekman, who married William W. Hoppin, Jr. (son of Governor William W. Hoppin);[3] Gerard Beekman; Philip Milledoller Beekman, who died young; and Cornelia Augusta Beekman. His father was a New York State Assemblyman and Senator who also served as the vice president of the New York Hospital.[4]
His maternal grandparents were Margaret (née Steele) Milledoler and Phillip Milledoler, the president of Rutgers University. His paternal grandparents were Catharine (née Saunders) Beekman and Gerard Beekman,[5] himself the son of James Beekman, a prominent merchant. Beekman was a direct descendant of Gerardus Beekman,[5] acting Mayor of New York City, and Wilhelmus Beekman,[5] who sailed to New Netherlands with Peter Stuyvesant and was an officer of the Dutch West India Company.[6]
Career
editBeekman graduated from Columbia Law School, and, after being admitted to the bar in 1871, he built up a large practice with an office located at 7 East 42nd Street.[7] Beekman was devoted to various charities, including as a trustee of the New York Hospital and a member of the Executive Committee of the New-York Historical Society.[8] He was a member of many clubs and patriotic societies, including the Downtown Club, the Union Club of the City of New York, the Knickerbocker Club, the University Club of New York, the New York Yacht Club, the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club and the Century Club.[9]
After his father's death in 1877, he inherited his father's Madison Avenue residence and his elder brother Gerard, also a lawyer, inherited The Cliffs, the family estate in Oyster Bay, New York, designed by Henry G. Harrison.[10] Both brothers and their sister Nellie lived at The Cliff's in the summer.[9]
In 1890, Beekman became the 31st President of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York, an organization his father was the 17th president of from 1868 to 1869. Due to his work with the Saint Nicholas Society, he was recognized by Wilhelmina, the Queen of the Netherlands, and made a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau in honor of "his services to the Officers of the Dutch Man-of-War Van Speijk during the Columbian Naval Review" in 1893.[8]
Personal life
editBeekman, who did not marry, died at The Cliffs in Oyster Bay on Friday evening, August 7, 1908.[11][12] His funeral was held at the Reformed Dutch Church at Fifth Avenue and 29th Street in New York.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Recent Deaths: Mr. James W. Beekman". The New York Times. June 16, 1877. p. 2. Retrieved August 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Funeral of the Late Mr. Beekman". The New York Times. June 20, 1877. p. 8. Retrieved August 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Allison Wright Post (d. 1961)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
- ^ "James William Beekman, Sr. (1815-1877)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
- ^ a b c York, Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New (1902). Genealogical Record of the Saint Nicholas Society: Advanced Sheets, First Series. Society. p. 9. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
- ^ Aitken, William Benford (1912). Distinguished Families in America, Descended from Wilhelmus Beekman and Jan Thomasse Van Dyke. Knickerbocker Press. p. 61.
- ^ Banta, Theodore Melvin; Winkle, Edward Van; Bogert, Henry Lawrence (1916). Year Book of the Holland Society of New York. Holland Society of New York. p. 168. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- ^ a b Portraits of the Presidents of the Society, 1835-1914. New York: Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. 1914. p. 63. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- ^ a b "J. William Beekman Dead. Member of Old Family Passed Away at Oyster Bay Last Night". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 9, 1908. p. 5. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Law Reports; Court Notes. James W. Beekman's Will". The New York Times. July 27, 1877. p. 6. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Died". New-York Tribune. August 11, 1908. p. 7. Retrieved August 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "James William Beekman, Jr. (1847-1908)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
- ^ "James William Beekman". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 12, 1908. p. 3. Retrieved August 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
edit- Guide to the Beekman Family Papers 1720-1920's at the New-York Historical Society.
- Portrait of James William Beekman Jr. by William M. Shettle at the New-York Historical Society.