In the Dutchess County Spotlight
Extraordinary Women and Their Hudson Valley Homes
March is Women's History Month!
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) was a devoted advocate of those in need, an experienced speaker and an accomplished political dignitary. As the wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor traveled around the country and the globe to represent a variety of causes, including women’s rights. Eleanor was a member of many influential women’s groups, and in 1924, the Democratic National Committee even asked her to chair its platform committee on women's issues.
While FDR was in office, Eleanor became the first wife of a president to hold all-female press conferences. Covered by women reporters only, these conferences were held to keep information before women voters and to urge them to speak their minds on politics, policy, and their individual hopes and dreams. Known as the First Lady of the World, Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the first United States delegates to the United Nations in 1946.
Val-Kill, (Hyde Park), the only National Historic Site dedicated to a first lady, was originally a furniture factory started by Mrs. Roosevelt to teach young men from the area a trade during the depression. When the factory closed in 1936, Eleanor Roosevelt converted the factory into a retreat home. It became Mrs. Roosevelt’s permanent residence after the death of FDR in 1945. The Roosevelt family enjoyed picnics and swimming parties at Val-Kill, where they also entertained world leaders such as the king and queen of England, and child star Shirley Temple.
Val-Kill, the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, is open November thru April, with scheduled tours at 1pm and 3pm. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Tours cost $8 per person, 15 & under are free.
Janet Livingston Montgomery (1743-1828) was the wife of the first hero of the American Revolution, General Richard Montgomery. After his death in the battle for Quebec, Janet became a revered widow, a status she cultivated for half a century.
Janet Livingston was born into the famous Livingston family of New York. She spent her girlhood at Clermont, the family home on the banks of the Hudson River. Janet enjoyed entertaining family and friends, as well as tending to her garden of flowers and fruit trees.
When Richard left for the war in 1775, he and Janet lived in a small home in Rhinebeck. In 1802, a 59 year old Mrs. Montgomery surprised her family by acquiring a working farm and building a new house she named "Château de Montgomery." She built it to honor General Montgomery's memory and to provide a fitting legacy for his heirs. Here she developed a prosperous commercial enterprise of orchards, gardens, a nursery, and a greenhouse.
Montgomery Place (Annandale-on-Hudson) has recently increased public access, and the grounds are now open daily to everyone free of charge, from 9am to 4pm. The main house on the estate will be open for tours from May to October 2010, Thursdays through Sundays from 11am to 4pm. Tickets are $10, free for kids under 5.
Margaret (Daisy) Suckley (1891-1991) was a cousin and confidante of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She traveled extensively with FDR during his presidency, gave him his famous black Scottish terrier Fala and helped to establish his library in Hyde Park. Daisy was with FDR when he passed away at Warm Springs, Georgia in 1945.
Their friendship was without pretense, and from 1933 to 1945 they exchanged letters. After Daisy's death in 1991, at the age of 99, the President's letters to her, along with her diary, were found in her bedroom and turned into a book, Closest Companion, by Geoffrey C. Ward, Roosevelt's biographer. Click here to view a slideshow of pictures of Daisyand FDR, narrated by Geoffrey C. Ward.
Wilderstein Historic Site (Rhinebeck) was home for Daisy, as well as three generations of Suckleys. The books, letters, photographs, furniture, paintings, art objects and china in the home - some ordinary and some exquisite - are intriguing to the scholar and the casual visitor alike. The estate is open for house tours from May to October, Thursday through Sunday, from noon until 4pm (last tour begins at 3:30pm). Tickets are $10 adults, $9 students & seniors, children under 12 free.
Catheryna Rombout Brett (1687 - 1764) was born in to a well-to-do family in New York City, and came to Dutchess County in 1708 with her husband, British Navy lieutenant Roger Brett, and her three sons. The family built a home on land Catheryna’s father, Francis Rombout, had purchased from the Wappinger Indians.
Madam Brett, as she was called in later generations, found herself widowed at an early age when her husband drowned during a storm while sailing up the Hudson River. Catheryna remained in the wilderness to raise her sons and ran several successful business ventures. One of her greatest responsibilities was maintaining and running the grist mill at the mouth of the Fishkill Creek. She is buried under the pulpit of the First Reformed Church of Fishkill, which she helped to found.
Madam Brett Homestead (Beacon) is Dutchess County's oldest homestead, with 17 rooms of furnishings, porcelain, paintings, books, tools and gardens. After Catheryna’s death it was subsequently occupied by her descendents until 1954, spanning a total of seven generations. During the American Revolutionary War, the building was used as a shelter and storage facility by the Americans; and Revolutionary leaders such as George Washington are said to have stayed there. Hours: Monthly, second Sat. 1-4pm and by appt. Grounds open daily from dawn to dusk. 845/831-6533.
