Thomas Forbes Cushing

Cushing was born in Boston, Massachusetts on December 19, 1838. He was third son of John Perkins Cushing (1787–1862){{cite news|title=GENERAL NEWS. {{!}} Mr. JOHN P. CUSHING|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1862/04/16/news/general-news.html|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=16 April 1862}} and Mary Louisa (née Gardiner) Cushing (1799–1862), the only daughter of the Rev. John Sylvester John Gardiner (1765–1830) of Trinity Church, Boston. His siblings included John Gardiner Cushing (1834–1881), who married Susan Prescott Dexter, and Robert Maynard Cushing (1836–1907), who married Olivia Donaldson Dulany (1839–1906).{{cite web|title=Letters from the Children of John Perkins Cushing, and to His Wife Marie Louise Cushing - China, America and the Pacific - Adam Matthew Digital|url=http://www.cap.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Details/Letters-from-the-Children-of-John-Perkins-Cushing--and-to-His-Wife-Marie-Louise-Cushing/BA_L144_1_4|website=www.cap.amdigital.co.uk|publisher=China, America and the Pacific {{!}} Trade & Cultural Exchange|access-date=20 June 2017}}

His father was a wealthy Boston sea merchant, opium smuggler, and philanthropist.{{cite web|title=Cushing, John Perkins, 1787-1862.John Perkins Cushing business records, 1832-1882 (inclusive): A Finding Aid|url=https://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~bak00115|website=oasis.lib.harvard.edu|publisher=Harvard University Library|access-date=20 June 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715144650/http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~bak00115|archive-date=15 July 2010}}{{cite web|title=Forbes Family Papers, 1732-1931|url=https://www.masshist.org/collection-guides/view/fa0269|website=www.masshist.org|access-date=26 October 2017|language=en}} His paternal grandparents were Robert Cushing and Ann Perkins (née Maynard) Cushing.{{cite book|last1=Shavit|first1=David|title=The United States in Asia: A Historical Dictionary|date=1990|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313267888|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWdZTaJdc6UC&pg=PA117|access-date=20 June 2017|language=en}} He was the uncle of Grafton D. Cushing, a master at the Groton School who distinguished himself during the Spanish–American War and later served as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. His father's Cushing ancestor had emigrated to Hingham, Massachusetts,{{cite news|title=WHAT IS DOING IN SOCIETY.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A05E4DC113BE733A25754C0A9609C946397D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=7 June 1902}} during the early years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.{{cite book|last1=Kienholz|first1=M.|title=Opium Traders and Their Worlds-Volume One: A Revisionist Exposé of the World's Greatest Opium Traders|date=2008|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=9780595910786|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YlO9qraI4MC&pg=PT276|access-date=20 June 2017|language=en}}

In 1892, both Cushing and his daughter Edith 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.{{cite news|last1=McAllister|first1=Ward|title=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.|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1892/02/16/108210917.pdf|access-date=26 March 2017|work=The New York Times|date=16 February 1892|language=en}} Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.{{cite book|last1=Keister|first1=Lisa A.|title=Getting Rich: America's New Rich and How They Got That Way|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521536677|page=36|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5dAtJf1hmAUC&pg=PA36|access-date=20 October 2017|language=en}} His New York residence was at 29 East 39th Street in Manhattan. He was "one of the best-known habitues of the Metropolitan Opera House. He and his daughter had orchestra stalls, and they never missed a performance. They were regular attendants at all the Sunday concerts."

He was a member, and governor, of the Newport Casino,{{cite news|title=RAIN KEEPS NEWPORT INDOORS.; Attendance at the Casino Light on Account of the Storm.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E05E3D9103CE433A25750C1A96E9C94699ED7CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=13 August 1898}} where he attended many dances, balls and social functions.{{cite news|title=Subscribers to the Casino Ball.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=950DEEDF1131E033A25750C1A96E9C94659ED7CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=13 August 1894}}{{cite news|title=DANCE AT NEWPORT CASINO.; A Brilliant Assemblage of Guests Present at the Function.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C03EED81738E433A25750C2A9619C94699ED7CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=23 July 1898}} He was also a member of the Knickerbocker Club, Manhattan Club, Metropolitan Club, Country Club, and of the Somerset Club of Boston.

Cushing was married to Fannie Leslie Grinnell (1842–1887).{{cite book|last1=Emery|first1=William Morrell|title=The Howland heirs; being the story of a family and a fortune and the inheritance of a trust established for Mrs. Hetty H. R. Green|date=1919|publisher=New Bedford, Mass., E. Anthony and Sons, inc.|url=https://archive.org/details/howlandheirsbein00emer|access-date=26 October 2017}} She was the daughter of U.S. Representative Moses Hicks Grinnell (1803–1877) and Julia (née Irving) Grinnell (1803–1872).{{cite news|title=THE LATE MOSES H. GRINNELL.; ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL--REMINISCENCES OF THE DECEASED GENTLEMAN.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=980DE1DF1130E03BBC4E51DFB767838C669FDE&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=26 November 1877}} Fannie's mother was a niece of Washington Irving, and her mother was a sister of James Kirke Paulding, a Congressman who served as the Secretary of the Navy under Martin Van Buren. Fannie's sister, Julia Grinnell (1838–1915),{{cite news|title=G.T. BOWDOIN HEIR TO ANOTHER ESTATE; 16-Year-Old Boy, Who Recently Inherited $2,000,000, Gets Legacy from Grandmother. BIG BEQUESTS TO CHARITY Mrs. Julia Irving Grinnell Bowdoin Leaves $30,000 to Grace Church -- $10,000 to Temperance Society.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E02E0DD123FE233A2575BC1A9659C946496D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=18 March 1915}} was married to George Sullivan Bowdoin (1833–1913), who were the parents of Temple Bowdoin (1863–1914), an associate of J.P. Morgan & Company.{{cite news| url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F03EFD61738E633A25750C0A9649D946596D6CF |title= Temple Bowdoin Dead, Partner In J. P. Morgan &, Co. and Stock Exchange Member| work= The New York Times| date= December 3, 1914| page= 13}} Together, they were the parents of: Edith Howard Cushing (1871–1920),{{cite news|title=Obituary Notes {{!}} Mrs. Blair Fairchild|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F02E0DE163CE533A25757C2A9679D946195D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=24 November 1920}} who married the composer J. Blair Fairchild in 1903.{{cite news|title=WEDDINGS OF A DAY.; Fairchild--Cushing|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A06E1DC1030E733A25751C0A9679C946297D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 2, 1903}}

Cushing's wife died in May 1887. Cushing was injured in Newport in 1900 "when he was knocked down and trampled on by a horse."{{cite news|title=Thomas F. Cushing Injured.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=980DE5DC1039E733A25757C1A96E9C946197D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=14 August 1900}}

He died in New York City on June 6, 1902. His estate, including his "horses, harness, jewelry, silver plate, furniture and other household effects," was left in trust to his daughter.{{cite news|title=THOMAS F. CUSHING'S WILL.; His Estate Left to His Daughter, Miss Edith -- No Inventory Filed.|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/06/24/101957056.html|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=June 24, 1902|language=en}}{{cite news|title=MRS. FAIRCHILD LOSES CASE; Court Rules That $250,000 of Father's Estate Is Principal, Not Income.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E01E2D9173FE633A2575AC2A9629C946296D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=29 April 1913}}

On December 3, 1870, Cushing bought a property with frontage on Marlborough and Dartmouth Street from George Wheatland Jr. in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. He then had a residence, known as 163 Marlborough, built by architects Snell & Gregerson, who also designed the Concord Free Public Library.{{cite web|title=163 Marlborough|url=https://backbayhouses.org/163-marlborough/|website=backbayhouses.org|publisher=Back Bay Houses {{!}} Genealogies of Back Bay Houses|access-date=26 October 2017|date=25 July 2013}} Cushing lived in the home until winter 1892 when he moved to Newport, Rhode Island,{{cite book|title=Social Register, Summer|date=1895|publisher=Social Register Association|page=67|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IW9IAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA67|access-date=26 October 2017|language=en}} and rented the home to U.S. Representative Charles Franklin Sprague. He eventually sold the home to William Endicott Jr., son of William Crowninshield Endicott in 1898.

Forbes's cottage in Newport was situated next to Frederick Vanderbilt's Rough Point cottage,{{cite news|title=Society As He Found It: Harry Lehr|url=https://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/social-history/2012/society-as-he-found-it-harry-lehr|access-date=26 October 2017|work=New York Social Diary|date=23 August 2012|language=en}} and was called "New Lodge." His cottage was described by The New York Times as "one of the handsomest of the fashionable residences of that resort". After his death, his daughter used the Newport cottage with her husband.{{cite news|title=SOCIETY AT NEWPORT.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E06E1DB153EE033A25754C0A9609C946597D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=7 June 1904}} Cushing and his wife built their Newport residence, designed by prominent society architect George Champlin Mason Sr., in 1869. Following Cushing's death in 1902, New Lodge passed to his daughter.{{cite news|title=THE NEWS OF NEWPORT.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E07E4DA143AE63AA15752C1A9669D946097D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=11 October 1901}} In 1916, she sold the estate to Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr. and his wife who remodeled the cottage in a classical revival style which they then referred to as Ames Villa.{{cite web|title=Mrs. Ogden L. Mills's 'Ocean View' Estate (left) and Roger W. Cutler's 'Ames Villa' Estate, Newport, RI :: Robert Yarnall Richie Photograph Collection|url=http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ryr/id/549|website=digitalcollections.smu.edu|publisher=Central University Libraries, Southern Methodist University|access-date=26 October 2017}} In 1931, Jessie Woolworth Donahue, the daughter of Frank Winfield Woolworth (founder of F. W. Woolworth Company) and mother of James Paul Donahue Jr., bought the Villa and renamed it "Rock Cliff." As of 2013, the home was owned by Samuel Mencoff, the founder of a Chicago private equity firm.{{cite news|last1=Flynn|first1=Sean|title=Restored Aloha Landing Boathouse earns praise|url=http://www.newportri.com/newportdailynews/news/local_state/restored-aloha-landing-boathouse-earns-praise/article_60cb2d8c-4442-5045-ab24-8e62d320c4df.html|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The Newport Daily News|date=September 6, 2013|language=en}}

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Category:1838 births

Category:1902 deaths

Category:Businesspeople from Boston

Category:19th-century American businesspeople

Category:Cushing family