Clement March (November 21, 1862 – March 23, 1937) was an American soldier and New York City official who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age.

Clement March
Born(1862-11-21)November 21, 1862
DiedMarch 23, 1937(1937-03-23) (aged 74)
Kinderhook, New York, U.S.
Parent(s)John Pyne March
Mary Livingston Lowndes March

Early life

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March was born at the home of his grandfather, 23 Fifth Avenue, on November 21, 1862.[1] He was the son of John Pyne March, Esq. (1830–1873), a lawyer who attended but did not graduate from Columbia University,[2] and Mary Livingston (née Lowndes) March (1831–1893).[3][4] His elder brother, who was born in 1856, was Charles March.[5] His mother's estate was valued at $1,000,000 upon her death in 1893.[6][7]

His paternal grandfather was Charles March, whose ancestors came from England during the seventeenth century and settled in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, before moving to New York. His maternal grandparents were Major Rawlins Lowndes, a descendant of President of South Carolina Rawlins Lowndes (as well as the Middletons, Prestons, Hamptons and other prominent South Carolina families), and Gertrude (née Livingston) Lowndes, the daughter of New York City Recorder Maturin Livingston and granddaughter of New York Governor Morgan Lewis. Through the Lowndes family, he was related to Rawlins Lowndes Cottenet, another prominent member of New York society.[3] Among his maternal aunts were Julia Livingston (née Lowndes) James, Anne (née Lowndes) Chase, Harriet (née Lowndes) Schuyler (the wife of Philip Schuyler).

Career

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During the 1904 to 1909 administration of Mayor George B. McClellan Jr. (son of Civil War General George B. McClellan), he served on the New York City Board of Education as well as on the board of managers of the House of Refuge on Randall’s Island (the first juvenile reformatory established in the United States.[8]).[3]

During World War I, March served in the Department of Military Intelligence where he was responsible for the translation of all important editorials in Spanish and Portuguese.

Society life

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In 1892, March was included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times.[9] Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.[10] March was considered a "perennial partner at Mrs. Astor's dancing parties."[11]

Personal life

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For forty years, March lived in a brick townhouse at 25 North Washington Square.[11] In c. 1925, he moved to Greenland, on Lindenwald Rd. in Kinderhook, New York.[1][12]

March died at his home in Kinderhook, New York on March 23, 1937, after a "protracted illness."[3] His funeral was held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Kinderhook and he was buried in St. James churchyard in Hyde Park, New York.

References

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  1. ^ a b Bulletin. Columbia County Historical Society. 1936. p. 37. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  2. ^ University, Columbia (1897). Catalogue of Matriculants who Have Not Graduated, 1758-1897. Published for the University. p. 16. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d "CLEMENT MARCH, EX-CITY OFFICIAL; Member of Education Board Here Years Ago, He Dies at 75 in Kinderhook, N. Y." (PDF). The New York Times. March 24, 1937. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  4. ^ "DIED. March, Mary L." (PDF). The New York Times. September 11, 1893. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  5. ^ Prioleau, Horry Frost; Manigault, Edward Lining (2010). Register of Carolina Huguenots, Vol. 1, Bacot - Dupont. p. 95. ISBN 9780557242634. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Mrs. March's Bequests for Charity" (PDF). The New York Times. October 14, 1893. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  7. ^ Shrady, George Frederick; Stedman, Thomas Lathrop (1893). Medical Record. W. Wood. p. 564. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  8. ^ "New York House of Refuge". New York State Archives. Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2011-05-05. The New York House of Refuge was the first juvenile reformatory in the nation. ...
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ a b Patterson, Jerry E. (2000). The First Four Hundred: Mrs. Astor's New York in the Gilded Age. Random House Incorporated. p. 221. ISBN 9780847822089. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  12. ^ Romig, Walter (1986). Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities. Wayne State University Press. p. 238. ISBN 9780814318386. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
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