90 Fifth Avenue NYC - Arthur and Countess Annie Leary Cottage - 1890

This a rough sketch of one of the lesser known members of Mrs. Astor’s 400 Society types from the late nineteenth into early twentieth century gilded era New York.

I began, out of curiosity, a search for existing records and images on the Internet for a picture of 90 Fifth Avenue in 1893, the year of death of Arthur Leary, one the extremely few Roman Catholics on “The” Mrs. Astor’s “400” society list. He made the cut not I think by social graces as much as by sheer wealth and having gone to school as a child with “The” Mrs. Astor’s husband, William B Astor Jr..

That personal and probably business as well  connection of Arthur’s was in imitation of the original part of Arthur’s inherited wealth of his father James, who in turn was a business client and associate of William B. Astor Jr’s grandfather, John Jacob Astor, the German born immigrant that founded the American Astor family dynasty line. 

James Leary had been a hatter, using the infamous Astor monopoly controlled beaver pelts, in a shop in the basement of the original luxury hotel “The Astor House” in downtown NYC across from City Hall and before the Civil War.

The three older Leary brothers Arthur, Daniel and George seemed to have made a fortune off of shipping during the Civil War and beyond which ended up being invested soundly in Insurance Companies and Banks by Arthur.

Arthur was unmarried and so his old maid sister Annie Leary usually accompanied him to society balls and to Newport in summer to visit with their peers, the gilded age rich in their million dollar plus “cottages” on the ocean.  After Arthur's death, sister Annie spent the next twenty six years giving much of his estimated anywhere from seven to twenty million dollar fortune away to charity, mostly to Catholic related charities and building projects. 

Anne became “Countess”Annie Leary after the early 1900s who had a Papal title bestowed on her for philanthropy and charity work and most notably towards NYCs Italian immigrant community.

“I began, out of curiosity, a search for existing records and images...” because of the Arthur Leary NYT’s Obit in typical effete NYT’s fashion describing his house at 90 Fifth Ave. as “quaint”. It was no doubt a small simple house not reflective of his immense wealth and social standing as compared to the other urban castles of the rich built further up Fifth Avenue. 

Leary NYT Obit 1893

The Leary’s I suspect were very frugal. From what I have read the house at 90 Fifth Ave may have been rented at one time, waiting for its original owner Dr. Thaddeus Halsted (not Halstead) to die about 1870. He has various addresses in various NYC directories for his doctor’s practice and or residence. I suspect that as a rental property, it did not have many changes or alterations along the time line from when it was built around 1835 as three small houses for the children of William Halsted who had a big mansion built there at the same time at 1 West Fourteenth Street and or “84” Fifth Ave on the lot per city lot maps. The three children’s houses were of course “86”, “88” and “90” Fifth Ave.

Fifth Avenue – Old and New 1824-1924 by HenryCollins Brown (Pages 39 and 40)

  

As the other buildings on the block went commercial with rebuilds, upgrades and add-ons I suspect that the Leary Cottage remained a simple house, probably two rooms on two rooms in a house footprint of 18’8” X 100’ on an 18’8” x 199’ lot per the Bromley 1891 Atlas of the City of New York Lot Map.

Papal Countess Annie Leary of NYC
Photo by Theodore C. Marceau 1859-1922
(original copyright expired)

Countess Annie Leary - Find A Grave 

.

Arthur Leary - Find A Grave 

..

Countess Annie Leary 1832 / 1919 - Forgotten Female Philanthropist of New York's Gilded Age - Bio Sketch

Papal Countess Annie Leary of NYC
Photo by Theodore C. Marceau 1859-1922
(original copyright expired)

http://www.smr.org/en/news.php?a=2&id=45

Annie Leary was born in 1832, the second of James and Catherine Leary’s six children. The Leary family was originally from Ireland but had been established in New York for at least two generations. By the time of Annie’s birth her father was a very successful business man who could send his two daughters and four sons to the best private schools.  James Leary was an associate of John Jacob Astor, one of the wealthiest men in the United States. Remarkably, Leary and Astor amassed a fortune buying and selling beaver pelts that were used to make the tall hats worn by gentlemen in Europe and America. 

The demand for beaver pelts was such that the beaver population in North America almost became extinct. In addition, James Leary had a hat factory in which he employed poor Irish immigrants; there he developed a process that revolutionized the industry by making more affordable hats using less expensive napped nutria pelts. When the European market began to favor silk in the manufacture of hats, he was the first to introduce it in the U.S. market. His shop was the most fashionable in New York’s Chatham Square and later in Hannover Square. He was known as the “arbiter of hat fashion” in the city. At his death he left his entire fortune to his unmarried daughter Annie and not one penny to any of his other five children.

A search through the social pages of the New York Times mentions Annie in every list of fashionable parties and in every charitable board. She loved to entertain in her palatial home in the city and during the summer in Paul Cottage, Newport, Rhode Island, which she shared with her brother Arthur. Annie loved music and was a regular at the opera.  Her musical soirées featured the best chamber music and the likes of Enrico Caruso.

Her homes were furnished lavishly with Persian rugs, crystal chandeliers, antique Japanese vases, and huge gilt-framed mirrors, 68 of them. The N Y Times, August 20, 1905 describes her in formal attire: “Miss Leary is a conspicuous figure in her white satin gowns cut high, having elbow length sleeves draped with rare old lace, and wearing a small headdress of white ostrich plumes and white satin ribbon.”

When her brother Arthur, a bachelor, described as a “Beau Brummell,” one of the best know men in business and society, died in 1893, he left her a huge fortune. Her wealth was estimated to be between five and twenty million dollars.

Mentioned many times in the society pages for throwing lavish parties, Annie is many more times noted for her generosity towards the Catholic Church, and for her efforts to alleviate the plight of the poor and ill. Her love of the Eucharist led her to donate altars to poor churches both in the States and abroad. After the death of her brother Arthur she built a chapel in his name on the grounds of Bellevue Hospital in New York, the oldest and poorest in the city.  

She created the Arthur Leary Mission to care for destitute patients, to assure them access to the sacraments, and to provide them with books, toiletries, coffee and cigarettes. She was vice-president of Stony Wold, a beautiful sanatorium for destitute tuberculosis patients in the Adirondack Mountains and also vice-president of the Flower Guild, since she was especially interested in the establishment of small gardens for children in the poorer quarters of New York. Annie contributed a considerable sum of money to provide for the establishment of the community of the Fathers of the Blessed Sacrament in New York in 1900. Shortly after their arrival from Montreal, Archbishop Corrigan entrusted to them the church of Saint Jean Baptiste which served the French speaking Catholics. They continue their ministry there to this day. 

For all her good works, Pope Leo XXIII conferred on her the title of Countess on October 11, 1901; Pope Pius X later re-conferred the title.

.