Ray takes us back to the turn of the last century in Chicago and elsewhere with life styles different from modern times, or so it seems.
Enjoy, as always.
Donald Jerrems. Greensboro, Georgia
Ray Jerrems, Sydney, Australia
Introduction
Here is a photo of a stamp featuring Amelia Earhart, who I will talk about later.
This is the latest article about the PJ Healy dynasty.
The connection between the Jerrems families and the Healy families is that Marquette Healy, one of the sons of Patrick Joseph Healy, married Annie Letitia Jerrems, the youngest daughter of William George Jerrems l.
In a previous article I described Annie and her marriage to Marquette Healy, and the music empire of Marquette’s father which became famous as Lyon & Healy. In a later article I described the life of Harriet Healy, one of PJ Healy’s grand daughters, who became renowned as a chef. I also included a photo of PJ Healy’s mausoleum in a recent article.
Patrick Joseph Healy’s children
Here is a photo of Anita’s father Patrick Joseph Healy.
Last year Susan Healy provided me with a detailed account of PJ Healy’s numerous children who survived childhood, who were as follows:
First marriage to Mary Ann Griffith
(a) James Edward (1866-1945) (descendant Susan Healy)
I have sifted through Susan’s account to find a theme for future articles, and have come up with aspects of the life of Anita Margaret Healy which I feel paint an interesting picture of her privileged life.
Anita Margaret Healy
This is a photo of Anita and her two sons Patrick and Francis.
Anita was born in Chicago in 1892. Like her siblings she travelled frequently, her first trip being to Europe in 1911, returning from France in SS America.
In 1914 she married Stuyvesant (“Jack”) Peabody Snr (1888-1946), the son of the millionaire Francis Peabody. After a honeymoon in Italy the couple returned to Chicago in the famous SS Lusitania, which I will refer to in a later article.
This is a photo of Anita’s husband.
The Chicago Daily Tribune reported the wedding:
“Miss Anita Healy, sister of Vincent E. Healy of 48 Schiller street, and Stuyvesant Peabody were married yesterday at the residence of Archbishop Quigley. Miss Mary V. Healy, sister of the bride, was maid of honor, and Vincent Healy was best man. The wedding was a quiet one, only the relatives and a few friends being present at the ceremony.
Enrico Tramonti, harpist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by another harp, played the wedding music.”
Francis Peabody
Anita chose her father in law very well. He was the wealthy coal baron Francis Stuyvesant Peabody, pictured here. At one stage Peabody was the owner of one of the largest coal companies in the United States, the Peabody Coal Company, which has since become Peabody Energy, the largest private sector coal company in the world.
Anita’s husband took over management of Peabody Coal Company in 1919.
In 1922 Peabody died at the age of 63 of a heart attack during a fox hunt on his property. He had amassed a personal fortune of $35 million and a business fortune of $75 million.
Previously in 1919 Francis Peabody began purchasing racehorses for the purpose of creating a stable of runners to compete in the sport of Thoroughbred racing. Although he had only been involved in racing for a few years he had an impact and his son, Stuyvesant Peabody, would continue the racing stable and eventually became President of the Lincoln Fields Jockey Club, owners of Lincoln Fields Race Track. He had built the Race Track with Colonel Winn in 1926.
The couple were keen racegoers at a national level, reported as attending the famous Kentucky Derby in 1929, although no doubt they frequently attended that illustrious event.
Children
The couple had two sons, Francis (“Stuyvesant”) Peabody (1924-86) and Patrick Peabody (1916-90).
House burglaries in 1916 and 1935
Anita obviously had expensive tastes in jewellery. We are told that in 1916:
“Stuyvesant PEABODY Sr.; was robbed of $5,000 in gems in a home burglary; County Line and Sixth street, Hinsdale, Dupage, Illinois, United States.
This was capped in 1935 when “Mrs. Stuyvesant Peabody, wife of the head of the Peabody Coal company, told last night of the theft on Feb. 25 of $11,000 in jewelry from her cottage at Nassau in the Bahamas. Mrs. Peabody returned Sunday to her home at 1525 North State parkway after a sojourn in the West Indies.
Mrs. Peabody, who was living in the Victoria cottage at Nassau, left there at 8 o’clock on the night of Feb. 25 to attend a party. A servant left an hour later and locked the doors. Returning to the cottage at 10:30 p.m., Mrs. Peabody said she found the door unfastened, but did not discover the loss of her jewels until the next morning. The thief took several valuable rings, but did not bother with other jewelry of less value. The stolen rings were insured for $10,000. A woman suspect was taken into custody by the Miami police, but was released later for lack of evidence.”
Dog Shows
Who said it was a dog’s life?
The couple were prominent dog fanciers and were the subject of a number of newspaper reports about their pampered pooches. In 1920 they entered their Irish Terriers (see photo of an Irish Terrier) in the Chicago Kennel Club competition. It was reported that:
“Society women are grooming their dogs for what promises to be the most spirited contest in years at the Chicago Kennel club’s annual show at the First Regiment Armory April 1, 2, and 3. Mr. and Mrs. Stuyvesant Peabody of Hinsdale, who were awarded the highest honors at the Westminster kennel show in New York, will show their Irish terriers.”
Perhaps it was particularly appropriate that the terriers were Irish because Anita’s father was Irish.
More dog stories
In 1940 the couple had expanded their menagerie, continuing the theme of small dogs:
“Seven Chicago dogs stood among the winners tonight as the judges finished selecting the best representative of each of the 89 breeds entered in the 64th annual Westminster Kennel Club’s show. They are survivors of a field of 2,738 dogs who paraded in Madison Square Garden. ..Also elevated to best of breed from Chicago kennels were…Stuyvesant Peabody’s Toy-Manchester terrier, Ch. Countess of Carrman. Mrs. Peabody’s Chihuahuas, Garrett’s Playboy and Ida’s Gameta Paqueta, stand as best of breed brace. The Peabodys also picked up a ribbon with Balleymooney Princess Mona, first in open competition for miniature Pinscher bitches.”
Winter in the tropics
Leaving her husband selling coal in Chicago, Anita and her children regularly escaped the notoriously cold and windy Chicago winters by spending time in the tropics. Previously I referred to jewellery being stolen from her cottage in the Bahamas. We also learn that in 1934:
“Mrs. Stuyvesant Peabody and her younger son, Patrick Healy Peabody…are among the Chicagoans aboard a cruise steamer that sailed last Friday from New York. Mrs. Peabody and Pat will leave the cruise at Jamaica to spend the rest of the winter on that delightful island.”
Later trips are recorded to Puerto Rico in 1937 (by ship) and Haiti (by seaplane) in 1940.
Prestigious number plate
Remember the days before personalised number plates were issued, and number plates containing only numerals were highly sought after? Readers will be pleased to hear that Anita comprehensively scooped the pool in this area.
In 1940 the Chicago Tribune published an item headed “Chicago Woman Is No. 1 On Auto Plate Hit Parade: 4th Person to Receive Cherished License.”, followed by the following details:
“Mrs. Anita Peabody, 1525 North State parkway, Chicago, will receive Illinois license plate No. 1 this year, it was announced today by Edward J. Hughes, Secretary of State. She becomes the fourth person to possess the numeral, deemed the ultimate distinction in Illinois motoring society. Stuyvesant Peabody, Chicago coal dealer and husband of the holder of No. 1, this year again receives No. 37, which he has held for several years.”
Needlepoint bags
Anita was active in public causes and the ladylike skills of needlework. In 1943 (during the Second World War) in the fashion pages of the Chicago Tribune we are illuminated that:
“Mrs. Stuyvesant Peabody is noted for the needlepoint bags she makes, and those friends who have been given one as a gift, and others who have won one as a door prize, count themselves fortunate indeed. Mrs. Peabody’s latest bag is no less a work of art for being the most utilitarian of purses. It is a Red Cross envelope bag with shoulder strap that she executed for Mrs. John S. Miller, Acting Chairman of the Gray Ladies’ Hospital and Recreation Corps, of which Mrs. Peabody is Vice Chairman.”
Chicago Historical Society
Anita was also one of the founders of the Guild of the Chicago Historical Society. In 1964 the Guild announced that “Planned as a tribute to the late Stuyvesant Peabody, Chicago industrialist and sportsman, a tea the Guild of the Historical society will give this afternoon will open an exhibition of Currier and Ives prints donated to the museum by his widow, who now lives in Florida. Many of the prints are known as among “the best 50,” and include treasured trotting horses, winter scenes, marines, and westerns.”
The hard life in Florida
Following the end of the Second World War, and following the death of her husband in 1946, Anita forsook her sojourns in the Tropics for the warm climes of Florida in her native United States.
The social pages of the Chicago Tribune in 1950 declared rather pompously that: “It’s Official–Season Is On at Palm Beach”, followed by:
“Mrs. Stuyvesant Peabody has arrived at Bahia Palma, the H. Mitchell Harper villa on the lake front, which she has taken for the balance of the season. With her is her son, Stuyvesant, who is remaining until after New Year. Another son, Patrick Peabody, and Mrs. Peabody of Los Gatos, Cal., are expected Jan 12.
The next year Anita told the Chicago Tribune that she thoroughly enjoys the quiet of the early season when entertaining is small and informal and that she fell so in love with Palm Beach that before she left she acquired a handsome villa on a handsome thorofare, Via del Lago.
Main Store Opening
In 1949 a Chicago Tribune article demonstrates that Anita, now aged 57, maintained contact with the vast musical empire founded by her father, and it also indicates that the empire was still thriving:
“Lyon & Healy Next Week Observes Its 85th Anniversary. Lyon & Healy, Inc., announced yesterday it will begin a week’s celebration of its 85th anniversary on Monday with a formal opening of its main store, 243 S. Wabash av. The redecorating and remodelling project was the last in a series comprising the company’s 1 million dollar expansion and modernization program involving eight of its 13 stores. Mrs. Stuyvesant Peabody Sr., daughter of the company’s founder, the late Patrick J. Healy, will attend the ribbon cutting ceremonies at the Wabash av. store Monday noon. Louis G. LaMair, president, will preside.”
Original factory
Here is a photo of the original Lyon & Healy factory in Chicago. The output from this factory continued at 100,000 instruments a year, which Anita’s father said equated to “an instrument every other working minute”, but I calculate the rate to be even higher!
Patrick showed his flair for publicity in the 1893 World Fair in Chicago (known as “The Columbian Exposition”), where he built a beautiful 2 storey building to house an orchestra which gave concerts every day for 6 months.
Harps
In later years the company specialised in harps and became famous for its pedal harp, shown here.
This harp was a vast improvement and it is said that the famous composer Siegfried Wagner specified that his compositions should only be played by orchestras that were equipped with this harp. Then (to quote Healy’s biography) followed triumphs in England, France, Italy, South America and Russia until the harp became the recognised standard of the world.
Amelia Earhart
This is a 1928 photo of the famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart (second from the left) with (from left to right) Stuyvesant Jnr, Colonel Winn and a very happy Anita. It appears that a race was named after Amelia.
Born in 1897, Amelia was an American aviation pioneer and author. She was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records and wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences.
Born in Atchison, Kansas, Earhart developed a passion for adventure at a young age, steadily gaining flying experience from her twenties. In 1928, by coincidence only a month after she was entertained by the Peabodys, Earhart became the first female passenger to cross the Atlantic by airplane (accompanying pilot Wilmer Stultz), for which she achieved celebrity status. In 1932, piloting a Lockheed Vega 5B, Earhart made a nonstop solo transatlantic flight, becoming the first woman to achieve such a feat. She received the United States Distinguished Flying Cross for this accomplishment.
Sadly, Amelia disappeared over the Pacific in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world.
Death of Anita’s husband
In May 1946 the writing was on the wall.
“Due to illness, Stuyvesant Peabody, president of the Lincoln Fields Jockey Club, was unable to witness today’s renewal of the rich Francis S. Peabody Memorial, which fixture honors the memory of Mr. Peabody’s father. In seasons past, Mr. Peabody has presented the Peabody Memorial trophy. He was taken ill several days after his return from Louisville where he was a Kentucky Derby guest of Col. Matt J. Winn, president of the American Turf Association.”
Under Winn, the Kentucky Derby had become the pre-eminent thoroughbred horse race in America. Being a student of military history I researched how he had become a colonel, only to discover that our erstwhile military hero had been made an honorary colonel by the Kentucky Government!
Stuyvesant died the following month at the comparatively young age of 57.
Anita the widow
The Chicago Tribune’s Social Pages explained in 1949 how Anita spent some aspects of her time after her husband’s death:
“Mrs. Stuyvesant Peabody, who says that she lives “a secluded life,” but who nevertheless has achieved distinction as a hostess of superb qualifications, “loves to have people in her house.” She is old fashioned in that she likes to have guests sit down to a four course meal–five at the most–and thinks eight is the perfect number for a dinner party. Her housekeeper, known to family friends of all ages as Mademoiselle, is a feminine maitre d’hotel. She runs the house, and has kept menus for 30 years to insure variety. There is nothing old fashioned about Mrs. Peabody’s after dinner entertainment preferences. Watching television and playing canasta are her favorite ways of spending the evening. Carnations are the flowers she most enjoys arranging.”
Anita dies
This is Anita’s simple gravestone.
Anita survived her husband by almost 30 years, passing after an extended illness (to quote her funeral notice) on 30 Dec 1975 at Palm Beach, Florida, aged 82, and was buried in Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery, Royal Palm Beach, Florida.
Conclusion
In a later article I will tell you about the numerous famous passenger liners used by the family.
