James J. Van Alen

James John Van Alen (March 20, 1848 — 1923) was a sportsman and politician. He was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Italy on October 20, 1893, but declined the appointment.^[1]

Biography

He was the son of James Henry Van Alen (1819—1886) who served as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War.

In 1876, he married Emily Astor (1854—1881), the eldest daughter of William Backhouse Astor, Jr. (1829—1892) and Caroline Webster Schermerhorn (1830—1908). James and Emily had three children.^[2] Van Alen was one of several very rich men who leased - but did not buy - Rushton Hall in Northamptonshire, England, from the Clarke-Thornhill family.^[3]

He was the grandfather of socialite and tennis enthusiast Jimmy Van Alen.

References

1. "James J. Van Alen (1846-1923)". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
2. "James J. Van Alen". University of Virginia. Retrieved 2009-08-04. James J. Van Alen (1846-1923) was a sportsman, politician, and member of an old-monied New York railroad family. Van Alen solidified his status as a member of upper-class society by marrying Emily Astor, daughter of society matron Caroline Schermerhorn Astor and William Backhouse Astor Jr. line feed character in |quote= at position 113 (help)
3. "James J. Van Alen Selling Flowers. His Gardens at Rushton Hall Producing Blooms for the London Market. Making Money On Estate. Likely to Get Back Part of the Big Sum He Was Compelled by Tradesmen to Expend." (PDF). New York Times. March 29, 1909. Retrieved 2009-08-17. James J. Van Alen is getting back some of the money he has spent in England. It will be remembered that several years ago he purchased Rushton Hall, a handsome country seat, on which he expended great sums, paying, if report be correct, extraordinary and unnecessarily high prices for certain pieces of furniture and bits of decoration which he required to complete the artistic ensemble he had planned out.