Frederic James de Peyster

Frederic James de Peyster (February 5, 1839 – May 10, 1905) was an American soldier, lawyer, and member of New York Society during the Gilded Age. and his second wife, Frances Goodhue (née Ashton) de Peyster (1805–1871). His father was a widower of Susan Maria Clarkson, with whom he had one child, Susan Maria de Peyster (1823–1910), who married Robert Edward Livingston (1820–1889) of Clermont. Through his half-sister Susan, he was the uncle of Goodhue Livingston, the prominent New York architect. His uncle was Frederic de Peyster. He graduated from College of the City of New York in 1860 with an A.B. degree and later an A.M. degree. He studied law at Columbia Law School, graduating in 1862 with an LL.B. degree, and in 1864 with an LL.M. degree.

Society life In 1892, both de Peyster and his wife Augusta 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. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom. De Peyster was a member of the Saint Nicholas Society, serving as president. During his time as president, he was awarded the Order of Orange-Nassau by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. a daughter of William Henry Morris (1810–1896) and his second wife, Ella (née Birckhead) Morris. Her half-brother was Augustus Newbold Morris. Together, they had a home at 11 East 86th Street in Manhattan and were the parents of:

Helen Van Courtlandt de Peyster (1872–1923), who married Dr. George Augustus Lung (1862–1921) in 1908. Frederic Ashton de Peyster (1875–1951), daughter of James Abercrombie-Miller, in 1908. They divorced in 1934 and he married Louise (née Slagle) Todd in 1939. Frances Goodhue de Peyster (1876–1935), Augusta Morris de Peyster (b. 1877), a philanthropist. Ella Morris de Peyster (b. 1881), who married William Brock Shoemaker (1883–1906), brother of Henry W. Shoemaker, in December 1905. Shoemaker was only 22 years old when he died in a tragic death in an elevator accident a few months after their wedding. She married Morton L. Schwartz, a banker and horse breeder, in 1915. They divorced in 1926, and she purchased Crossways, the former villa of Stuyvesant Fish and Marion Anthon Fish in Newport.

De Peyster died in Lakewood, New Jersey, where the family vacationed, on May 11, 1905. He was buried in his family's vault in Trinity Church Cemetery. His entire estate was left to his widow and five children with his widow receiving 3/8ths and each child receiving 1/8th.

Descendants Through his eldest daughter Helen, he was the grandfather of George Livingston de Peyster (b. 1909), in 1942. Through his son Frederic Ashton, he was the grandfather of Alice Townsend de Peyster (b. 1910), who married James Todd Jr.; Frederic Ashton de Peyster Jr. (b. 1911); and Helen Van Courtlandt de Peyster (b. 1913), who married Erica A. von Raits; James Abercrombie de Peyster, who married Dorothy Shelby Siems, the daughter of Princess Irbain-Khan Kaplanoff.