Jump to content
 







Main menu
   


Navigation  



Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
 




Contribute  



Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
 








Search  

































Create account

Log in
 









Create account
 Log in
 




Pages for logged out editors learn more  



Contributions
Talk
 



















Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 Life  





2 Dogs and Philanthropy  





3 Legacy  



3.1  Great Swamp  







4 References  





5 External links  














Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge






العربية
مصرى
 

Edit links
 









Article
Talk
 

















Read
Edit
View history
 








Tools
   


Actions  



Read
Edit
View history
 




General  



What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Cite this page
Get shortened URL
Download QR code
Wikidata item
 




Print/export  



Download as PDF
Printable version
 
















Appearance
   

 






From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 


Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge
Portrait of Geraldine Rockefeller in 1906 by Friedrich von Kaulbach - Dodge Room in the Morris Museum
Born

Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller


(1882-04-03)April 3, 1882
DiedAugust 13, 1973(1973-08-13) (aged 91)
OccupationPhilanthropist
SpouseMarcellus Hartley Dodge Sr.
ChildrenMarcellus Hartley Dodge Jr.
Parent(s)William Avery Rockefeller Jr.
Almira Geraldine Goodsell

Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge (April 3, 1882 – August 13, 1973) was the youngest child of William Avery Rockefeller Jr. and Almira Geraldine (Goodsell) Rockefeller. Giralda Farms was the name given to the New Jersey country estate where the family lived. She was a great patron of the arts and parts of her collection became the object of a lawsuit following her death.

Life[edit]

Rockefeller was born in New York City, New York on April 3, 1882, to Almira Geraldine Goodsell and William Rockefeller[1] She grew up at Rockwood Hall, her father's estate in Mount Pleasant, New York.[2]

She married Marcellus Hartley Dodge Sr., president of The Remington Arms Company and, she brought into the marriage an estimated personal fortune of $101 million. They were married on April 18, 1907, in Manhattan, where both resided, in a small ceremony at the residence of the bride's family, following the contemporary customs dictated by a mourning period after the death of the groom's father in February.[3]

Hartley Dodge Memorial Building in Madison, NJ
Madison Train Station

The couple had only one child, Marcellus Hartley Dodge Jr., whom they called "Hartley". He was killed in an automobile accident on August 29, 1930, in Mogesca, France. In his memory, his mother purchased a large parcel of land for twenty thousand dollars and gave Madison, New Jersey, the property and the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building which was dedicated on Memorial Day, Thursday, May 30, 1935, and used as the borough hall. The New York Times published that the building cost $800,000. Mrs. Dodge also donated the train station. These structures became the core of the Madison Civic Commercial District, which is listed on the State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places. They made many other significant donations in his name.

During the early part of their marriage they resided together at Hartley Farms. Eventually, while in New Jersey, they resided on separate, but abutting, country estates: Giralda Farms and Hartley Farms hers fronting the main route from MadisontoMorristown opposite a property his family owned and extending to another of his that faced south and fronted on Spring Valley Road in New Vernon, where he preferred to reside. A long private path extended for miles from one house to the other with gates at either side of Woodland Road, which defined the southern boundary of her property.

She died in 1973,[4] and was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Dogs and Philanthropy[edit]

Geraldine R. Dodge judged at major dog shows in every American state as well as the premier shows in Germany, Canada, Ireland, and England. She was the first woman invited to judge for the Westminster Kennel Club, where she was invited to judge the Best in Show.[5]

She was the author of two books, The English Cocker Spaniel in America, and The German Shepherd Dog in America, the latter of which was a collaboration with her curator of art, Josephine Z. Rine.

She was recognized as a philanthropist, a benefactor to communities, the arts, nonprofit and natural resource efforts, as an author, a judge of dogs, a breeder of dogs, the founder of the Morris and Essex Dog Club and its internationally recognized annual exhibition in May that was considered the most prestigious dog show held in the United States of America for decades, and the founder of a refuge for injured and lost animals.

She was a significant sponsor for American sculptor Cyrus Dallin who visited Hartley Farms several times with his wife. When Mrs. Dodge's significant art collection was posthumously auctioned, it included 20 bronze Dallin sculptures including Passing of the BuffaloorThe Last Arrow. In 1975 this sculpture sold for $150,000 a record for a piece of American Sculpture at the time.[6]

Legacy[edit]

At her death she left $85 million to establish the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, which continues her work, including the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival.[7]

Unfortunately, the historic residence of Geraldine R. Dodge was demolished by the insurance company that bought the estate following her death. The grand home was built in the style of GiraldainSeville. She also purchased the adjoining 80-acre estate of Charles W. Harkness, the third largest holder of stock in Standard Oil while she and her husband were assembling properties that adjoined.

Great Swamp[edit]

Mr. Dodge's property extended to the edge of the Great Swamp that is a remnant from the Glacial Lake Passaic. His property has been preserved through a conservation easement and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

They were instrumental in helping those in the Jersey Jetport Site Association, which began the campaign to save that vast swamp from development as an airport, by providing funds for the initial purchases of core properties in 1959.[8] Acquisition of a significant area of land was required for it to qualify as a large enough gift to the federal government that could be set aside, forever, as a federal park.

Her husband was one of the first trustees of the North American Wildlife Foundation that completed the acquisition. Legislation championed by then congressman Stewart L. Udall was passed on November 3, 1960, protecting the important natural resource. In 1964 the park was dedicated by Udall, who had become Secretary of the Interior to president John F. Kennedy and continued under Lyndon B. Johnson.[9][10] The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was dedicated in 1968 and named the M. Hartley Dodge Wildlife Refuge.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge obituary". The Miami News. August 14, 1973. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  • ^ "Did You Know That --" (PDF). The Daily News. No. 265, 54th year. Tarrytown, NY. March 13, 1962. p. 1. ISSN 1060-457X. OCLC 889945207. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  • ^ "Miss Rockefeller Wedded To Mr. Dodge. Ceremony at William Rockefeller's Home, with Only Near Ralatives Present". New York Times. April 19, 1907. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
  • ^ "Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, Founder of Kennel Club, Dead". New York Times. August 14, 1973. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  • ^ Haggerty, Arthur J. (April 21, 2004). "Morris & Essex Redux". morrisandessex.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  • ^ Francis, Rell G. (1976). Cyrus E. Dallin: Let Justice Be Done. Springville, Utah: Springville Museum of Art. pp. 29, 179–80. OCLC 756835891.
  • ^ "History and Mission". Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  • ^ "Letter from Marcellus Hartley Dodge to Nicholas Murray Butler". beatl.barnard.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on September 7, 2006. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  • ^ "Letter from Marcellus Hartley Dodge to Nicholas Murray Butler". Archived from the original (PDF) on September 7, 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2008.
  • ^ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (May 25, 1964). "Great Swamp in New Jersey, Donated to Government as Wildlife Area, to be Dedicated" (PDF) (Press release). Washington, DC. U.S. Department of the Interior. P.N. 46917-64. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 11, 2012.
  • ^ "Home". greatswamp.org.
  • External links[edit]


    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geraldine_Rockefeller_Dodge&oldid=1222101924"

    Categories: 
    1882 births
    1973 deaths
    American socialites
    Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
    Dog breeders
    People from Madison, New Jersey
    People from the Upper East Side
    Philanthropists from New York (state)
    Rockefeller family
    Hidden categories: 
    Articles with short description
    Short description is different from Wikidata
    Use mdy dates from February 2023
    Use American English from February 2023
    All Wikipedia articles written in American English
    Pages using infobox person with multiple parents
    Articles with hCards
    Articles with FAST identifiers
    Articles with VIAF identifiers
    Articles with WorldCat Entities identifiers
    Articles with LCCN identifiers
    Articles with SNAC-ID identifiers
     



    This page was last edited on 3 May 2024, at 22:08 (UTC).

    Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.



    Privacy policy

    About Wikipedia

    Disclaimers

    Contact Wikipedia

    Code of Conduct

    Developers

    Statistics

    Cookie statement

    Mobile view



    Wikimedia Foundation
    Powered by MediaWiki