J. Frederic Kernochan

Joseph Frederic Kernochan (December 8, 1842 – August 17, 1929)[1] was an American attorney and socialite who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age.

J. Frederic Kernochan
Born
Joseph Frederic Kernochan

(1842-12-08)December 8, 1842
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 17, 1929(1929-08-17) (aged 86)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materYale University
Columbia Law School
Spouse(s)
Mary Stuart Whitney
​
(
m. 1869; died 1922)
Children5
Parent(s)Joseph Kernochan
Margaret Eliza Seymour
RelativesJames P. Kernochan (brother)

Early life

Kernochan was born on December 8, 1842 in New York City in a house at 8th Street and Second Avenue.[1] He was the son of Joseph Kernochan (1789–1864) and Margaret Eliza (née Seymour) Kernochan (1804–1845). His siblings included William Seymour Kernochan, James Powell Kernochan, Elizabeth Powell Kernochan Garr, John Adams Kernochan, Henry Parish Kernochan, Ann Adams Kernochan, and Frank Edward Kernochan. His father, who was born in Scotland and came to America in 1790 as a baby, was a dry goods merchant and banker that was a founder of the University Club of New York.

His paternal grandparents were William and Esther Kernochan, Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who had a farm in Orange County, and his maternal grandparents were William Seymour and Eliza (née Powell) Seymour, an English family who lived in Brooklyn.[2]

He prepared for college at the Aaron N. Skinner's (former Presidents pro tempore of the Connecticut Senate) school in New Haven, Connecticut before enrolling, and later graduating, from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1863. At Yale, he was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Skull and Bones, and Phi Beta Kappa.[3] He then attended and graduated from Columbia Law School with a Bachelor of Laws in 1865,[2] where he was valedictorian of his class.[4]

Career

In May 1865, he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of New York County. After a year spent traveling abroad, he joined the law office of Abraham R. Lawrence in New York City working there from 1867 until 1869. In 1869, he formed a partnership with his brother Frank under firm name of F. E. & J. F. Kernochan in New York, operating until 1873 when decided to stop practicing law. After that point, he practiced independently focusing on testamentary law, dealing with trusts and estates.[2]

From 1898 until 1918, he was president of Arminius Chemical Company, which owned valuable mines in Virginia.[2] He was also a member of the board of directors of Astoria Steel Company.[2] From 1909 to 1929, he served as a director of Lawyers' Title Company and of the Stephen Whitney Estate Company.

Society life

In 1892, Kernochan and his wife Mary were included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times.[5][6] Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.[7]

From 1893 to 1901, Kernochan was the president of New York Free Circulating Library (which was later absorbed by the New York Public Library)[8] and was a charter member of New York City Bar Association in 1869. He was a warden of All Saint's Memorial Church in Navesink, New Jersey a member of vestry of Grace Church in New York City.[2]

Personal life

On April 15, 1869, Kernochan was married to Mary Stuart Whitney (1849–1922), the daughter of William and Mary Stuart (née McVickar) Whitney.[9] Her paternal grandparents were merchant Stephen Whitney and Harriet (née Suydam) Whitney.[9] For many years, they lived at 11 East 26th Street,[4] on the north side of Madison Square,[1] until Kernochan and his wife hired the prominent architectural firm of Cross & Cross to build a large five story mansion at 862 Park Avenue (and 77th Street) in 1914.[10] Together, they were the parents of five children:[11]

  • Eweretta Kernochan (1870–1954), who did not marry.[12]
  • William Kernochan (b. 1873), who died in infancy.[2]
  • Frederic Kernochan (1876–1937),[13] a Chief Justice of the Court of Special Sessions who married Elizabeth Howland (1885–1973).[14][15][16]
  • Mary Stuart Whitney Kernochan (b. 1880), who married Courtland Smith (1884-1970),[17] son of Orlando J. Smith, in 1929.[18]
  • Whitney Kernochan (1884–1969),[19] who married Helen (née Gaynor) Bradford (1894–1951), daughter of New York City Mayor William Jay Gaynor, in 1921.[20] She was divorced from Edward Thomas Bedford, a son of oilman E.T. Bedford.[4]

His wife died at their country home in Bernardsville, New Jersey on August 11, 1922.[9] He later resided at 907 Fifth Avenue.[18] Kernochan died in New York City on August 17, 1929,[1] and after a funeral service at Grace Church,[21] he was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, which was founded by his wife's grandfather.[10] His estate was split between his four living children.[22]

gollark: The "anti-lost" thing *does* sound convenient, I lose things a LOT.
gollark: Ah.
gollark: Why would you want a watch with really long range Bluetooth capability?
gollark: What's wrong with the cheap Chinese one? I kind of want one for no particularly good reason.
gollark: Yes, you've advertised them a lot.

References
  1. "J.F. KERNOCHAN, 86, DIES AFTER STROKE; Lawyer Was a Founder of the Bar Association of New York City. FATHER OF CHIEF JUSTICE He Had Practiced His Profession Here More Than 60 Years--His Funeral in Grace Church". The New York Times. August 18, 1929. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  2. A History of the Class of 1863, Yale College: Being the Fourth of Those Printed by Order of the Class. Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company. 1905. pp. 114–115. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  3. Millegan, Kris (2004). Fleshing Out Skull & Bones: Investigations into America's Most Powerful Secret Society. Trine Day. ISBN 9781937584047. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  4. Miller, Tom (13 January 2014). "The Lost Kernochan Mansion -- No. 862 Park Avenue". Daytonian in Manhattan. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  5. McAllister, Ward (16 February 1892). "THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED | WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  6. Patterson, Jerry E. (2000). The First Four Hundred: Mrs. Astor's New York in the Gilded Age. Random House Incorporated. p. 217. ISBN 9780847822089. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  7. Keister, Lisa A. (2005). Getting Rich: America's New Rich and How They Got That Way. Cambridge University Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780521536677. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  8. Bulletin of the New York Public Library. New York Public Library. 1921. p. 615. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  9. "MRS. J. F. KERNOCHAN DEAD. She Was the Mother of the Chief Justice of Special Sessions". The New York Times. August 12, 1922. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  10. "The J. Frederic Kernochan Residence". www.beyondthegildedage.com. January 7, 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  11. McVickar, Edward; Breed, William Constable (1906). Memoranda Relating to the McVickar family in America. New York: Private Press. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  12. "Deaths | KERNOCHAN--Eweretta". The New York Times. May 15, 1954. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  13. "FREDERIC KERNOCHAN" (PDF). The New York Times. January 11, 1937. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  14. "Deaths | Kernochan". The New York Times. January 10, 1937. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  15. "KERNOCHAN SERVICE WILL BE HELD TODAY; Boy Scouts to Honor Jurist More Tributes to Career Received by Widow" (PDF). The New York Times. January 12, 1937. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  16. Social Register: Contains the Summer Address where it Differs from the Winter Address of the Residents of New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cleveland ... [etc.]. summer ... Social Register Association. 1918. p. 150. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  17. "Courtland Smith, Film Executive For Early Newsreels, Is Dead" (PDF). The New York Times. August 13, 1970. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  18. "MISS M. KERNOCHAN BRIDE AT HER HOME; Daughter of J. Frederic Kernochan Is Quietly Married to Courtland Smith". The New York Times. February 9, 1929. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  19. "Obituary 1 -- No Title". The New York Times. April 19, 1969. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  20. "GAYNOR'S DAUGHTER SUES.; Mrs. Kernochan Demands $2,000 From Former Husband". The New York Times. August 22, 1922. p. 23. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  21. "RITES FOR J. F. KERNOCHAN.; Leading Members of Bar Attended the Funeral Services". The New York Times. August 21, 1929. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  22. "FOUR CHILDREN SHARE KERNOCHAN ESTATE; Lawyer's Only Other Bequest Was $3,500 Gift for His Secretary" (PDF). The New York Times. August 29, 1929. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
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