# Robert Donaldson Jr.
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{{short description|American banker}}
{{infobox person
| name = Robert Donaldson Jr.
| birth_date = {{birth date|1800|06|15}}
| birth_place = [Fayetteville, North Carolina](/source/Fayetteville%2C_North_Carolina), U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1872|06|18|1800|06|15}}
| death_place = [Barrytown, New York](/source/Barrytown%2C_New_York), U.S.
| alma_mater = [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill)
| parents = Sarah Henderson Donaldson
Robert Donaldson Sr.
| spouse = {{marriage|Susan Jane Gaston
|1828|1866|reason=her death}}
| children = five
| relatives = [William Gaston](/source/William_Gaston) (father-in-law)
}}
'''Robert Donaldson Jr.''' (June 15, 1800 – June 18, 1872) was an American banker and patron of the arts.
==Early life==
Robert Donaldson was born on June 15, 1800, in [Fayetteville, North Carolina](/source/Fayetteville%2C_North_Carolina), the eldest of six children of Sarah ([née](/source/n%C3%A9e) Henderson) Donaldson and Robert Donaldson Sr., a Scottish born merchant who had consolidated his business at the trading center on [Cape Fear River](/source/Cape_Fear_River).[{{cite book |last1=Powell |first1=William S. |last2=Allcott |first2=J. V. |title=Dictionary of North Carolina Biography: Vol. 2, D-G |date=2000 |publisher=[Univ of North Carolina Press](/source/Univ_of_North_Carolina_Press) |isbn=9780807867013 |pages=91–92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BdAGnn0SZX0C&pg=PA92 |language=en}}] His sister Joanna Donaldson married Dr. [Oliver Bronson](/source/Oliver_Bronson), "heir to a wealthy Connecticut financier, banker, and real estate speculator."[{{cite book |title=A Biographical Record of the Kappa Alpha Society in Williams College, Williamstown, Mass: From Its Foundation to the Present Time. 1833-1881 ... |date=1881 |publisher=[Kappa Alpha Society](/source/Kappa_Alpha_Society) |page=188 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BMVBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA188 |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}][{{cite book |last1=Rinaldi |first1=Thomas E. |last2=Yasinsac |first2=Rob |title=Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape |date=2006 |publisher=[University Press of New England](/source/University_Press_of_New_England) |isbn=9781584655985 |pages=92–98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bJ6ai_KRL0C&pg=PA98 |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}] All of his sisters attended [Mordecai Female Academy](/source/Jacob_Mordecai) in Fayetteville.[{{cite news |last1=Richards |first1=Penny L. |title=The Mordecai Female Academy: 130., 131., 132. The Donaldsons (Eliza, Isabella, and Joanna) |url=http://mordecaischool.blogspot.com/2014/02/130-131-132-donaldsons-eliza-isabella.html |access-date=3 April 2019 |work=The Mordecai Female Academy |date=2 February 2014}}]
In 1818, he graduated from the [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill), after which he traveled for five months through the [mid-Atlantic](/source/Mid-Atlantic_(United_States)). In 1820, he traveled to England, Scotland, and France. While in London, he inherited $300,000 (equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|300000|1820}}}} today) from the estate of Samuel Donaldson,[{{cite journal |last1=Beach |first1=Laura |title=Hudson River Classics: Edgewater and Richard Hampton Jenrette |journal=[The Magazine ANTIQUES](/source/Antiques_(magazine)) |date=6 January 2012 |issue=January/February 2012 |url=http://www.themagazineantiques.com/article/hudson-river-classics-edgewater/ |access-date=3 April 2019}}]
==Career==
[[File:A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening MET DP206382.jpg|thumb|right|The cover of [Andrew Jackson Downing](/source/Andrew_Jackson_Downing)'s book, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape'' featuring Dondaldson's home, Blithewood.]]
After returning to Fayetteville, Donaldson built the Lafayette Hotel in anticipation of the visit by General [Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette](/source/Marquis_de_Lafayette) (to a town named in his honor) on March 4–5, 1825, during his [grand tour of the United States](/source/Visit_of_the_Marquis_de_Lafayette_to_the_United_States).[''Encyclopedia of North Carolina'', 3rd ed., Vol. 2 (1999), p. 254.]
In the early 1820s, Donaldson relocated to New York City and began working as a banker.[{{cite book |last1=Bidwell |first1=John |title=American Paper Mills, 1690-1832: A Directory of the Paper Trade, with Notes on Products, Watermarks, Distribution Methods, and Manufacturing Techniques |date=2013 |publisher=[UPNE](/source/UPNE) |isbn=9781584659648 |page=151 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vrbuwbBJZrQC&pg=PA151 |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}] He returned to North Carolina in 1828 where he married, after which he returned to New York with his wife, his younger brother, James, and two sisters. Once there, he became a patron of young artists and writers of the [Romantic movement](/source/Romantic_movement).[{{cite book |last1=Downing |first1=Andrew Jackson |title=Cottage Residences: Or, A Series of Designs for Rural Cottages and Cottage Villas, and Their Gardens and Grounds. Adapted to North America |date=1847 |publisher=Wiley and Putnam |page=[https://archive.org/details/cottageresidence00down_0/page/3 3] |url=https://archive.org/details/cottageresidence00down_0 |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}] He was friends with many prominent painters of the [Hudson River School](/source/Hudson_River_School), including [Asher Brown Durand](/source/Asher_Brown_Durand), owned several important artworks including ''Gypsying Party'' by [Leslie](/source/Charles_Robert_Leslie), ''[The School of Athens](/source/The_School_of_Athens)'', a copy of Raphael's fresco made by Morse for Donaldson in 1831, some Italian paintings, portraits, and several Dutch landscapes.[{{cite web |title=Donaldson, Robert, Jr. {{!}} NCpedia |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/donaldson-robert-jr |website=www.ncpedia.org |publisher=Dictionary of North Carolina Biography |access-date=2 April 2019}}] the daughter of [William Gaston](/source/William_Gaston), a judge and [U.S. Representative](/source/U.S._Representative) from North Carolina, and his second wife, Hannah (née McClure) Gaston.[{{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Laura F. |title=The People and Their Peace: Legal Culture and the Transformation of Inequality in the Post-Revolutionary South |date=2014 |publisher=[UNC Press Books](/source/UNC_Press_Books) |isbn=9781469619859 |page=307 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cU3CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA307 |access-date=2 April 2019 |language=en}}] Donaldson wanted to collect and publish his father-in-law's correspondences (including those with [Daniel Webster](/source/Daniel_Webster), [John Marshall](/source/John_Marshall), and [John Church Hamilton](/source/John_Church_Hamilton))[{{cite book |last1=Connor |first1=R. D. W. |title=William Gaston {{!}} A Southern Federalist of the Old School and His Yankee Friends -- 1778-1844 |date=October 1933 |publisher=[American Antiquarian Society](/source/American_Antiquarian_Society) |pages=381–446 |url=https://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/44817392.pdf |access-date=3 April 2019}}] and writings while Gaston was living, but he declined.[{{cite news |title=DONALDSON |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30225138/donaldson/ |access-date=3 April 2019 |work=[New York Daily Herald](/source/New_York_Herald) |date=March 9, 1872 |page=9 |language=en}}]
* William Gaston Donaldson (1841-1906), who did not marry.[{{cite book |title=The North Carolina Historical Review |date=1975 |publisher=North Carolina Historical Commission |pages=635, 428, 433 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1uU7AAAAIAAJ |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}] Robert Donaldson Bronson (1845–1912).[{{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=William R. |title=St. Augustine and St. Johns County: A Historical Guide |date=2015 |publisher=[Rowman & Littlefield](/source/Rowman_%26_Littlefield) |isbn=9781561649006 |page=73 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5lxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT73 |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}][{{cite news |title=Mrs. J. W. Cromwell |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30224792/mrs_j_w_cromwell/ |access-date=3 April 2019 |work=[Asheville Citizen-Times](/source/Asheville_Citizen-Times) |date=December 27, 1961 |page=3 |language=en}}]
* Mary Susan Donaldson (1850–1868).[{{cite book |last1=Crimmins |first1=John Daniel |title=St. Patrick's Day: Its Celebration in New York and Other American Places, 1737-1845 ; how the Anniversary was Observed by Representative Organizations, and the Toasts Proposed |date=1902 |publisher=The author |page=[https://archive.org/details/ldpd_5847168_000/page/n361 356] |url=https://archive.org/details/ldpd_5847168_000 |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}]
Donaldson died at Edgewater on June 18, 1872, in [Barrytown, New York](/source/Barrytown%2C_New_York).[{{cite news |title=Robert Donaldson |work=Rhinebeck Gazette |date=June 20, 1872 |quote=Robert Donaldson died 6.18 at 72 years in Barrytown.}}]
===Residences===
[[File:Villa for Robert Donaldson, Fishkill Landing, New York (perspective and plans) MET DP169712.jpg|thumb|right|Design by [Alexander Jackson Davis](/source/Alexander_Jackson_Davis) for an unbuilt villa for Donaldson in [Fishkill Landing, New York](/source/Fishkill_(town)%2C_New_York), {{Circa|1834}}.]]
In 1827, Donaldson purchased a house at 15 [State Street](/source/State_Street_(Manhattan)) in Manhattan, overlooking the [Battery](/source/The_Battery_(Manhattan)), previously owned by the merchant [Archibald Gracie](/source/Archibald_Gracie), and in 1819 the birthplace of the author [Herman Melville](/source/Herman_Melville).[{{cite book |last1=Voss |first1=Frederick |last2=Frazee |first2=John |last3=Montagna |first3=Dennis |last4=Henry |first4=Jean |last5=Institution) |first5=National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian |last6=Athenaeum |first6=Boston |title=John Frazee, 1790-1852, sculptor |date=1986 |publisher=[National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution](/source/National_Portrait_Gallery_(United_States)) |isbn=9780934552462 |page=33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_ZJAQAAIAAJ |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}] paintings by [Samuel F. B. Morse](/source/Samuel_F._B._Morse) and [Charles Robert Leslie](/source/Charles_Robert_Leslie), and furniture by [Duncan Phyfe](/source/Duncan_Phyfe).[{{cite journal |last1=Kenny |first1=Peter M. |title="The Consummation of Earthly Bliss": – Classical American Homes Preservation Trust |journal=Classical American Homes Preservation Trust |url=https://classicalamericanhomes.org/essay/the-consummation-of-earthly-bliss/ |access-date=3 April 2019}}] a {{convert|92|acre|ha}} estate on the [Hudson River](/source/Hudson_River) from John Church Cruger, the son-in-law of [Stephen Van Rensselaer](/source/Stephen_Van_Rensselaer) and the father of [Stephen Van Rensselaer Cruger](/source/Stephen_Van_Rensselaer_Cruger). Donaldson renamed the estate "Blithewood".[{{cite web |title=Robert Donaldson (1800–1872) {{!}} Cultivating a Taste for Scenery |url=https://omekalib.bard.edu/exhibits/show/scenery/robert-donaldson |website=omekalib.bard.edu |publisher=Stevenson Library Digital Collections |access-date=3 April 2019}}] The property was originally part of the Schuyler patent. In 1795 [John Armstrong Jr.](/source/John_Armstrong_Jr.) purchased a part of the Van Bentheusen farm, and converted the existing barn into a two-story twelve-room [Federal style](/source/Federal_style) home.[{{cite book |last1=Dunwell |first1=Frances F. |title=The Hudson: America's River |date=2008 |publisher=[Columbia University Press](/source/Columbia_University_Press) |isbn=9780231509961 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/hudsonamericasri0000dunw/page/148 148]-150, 152, 177 |url=https://archive.org/details/hudsonamericasri0000dunw |url-access=registration |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}] and hired friend and horticulturist and landscape designer [Andrew Jackson Downing](/source/Andrew_Jackson_Downing) to build an English garden with winding roads, waterfalls, and bridges.[{{cite book |last1=Kenny |first1=Peter M. |last2=Phyfe |first2=Duncan |last3=Brown |first3=Michael Kevin |title=Duncan Phyfe: Master Cabinetmaker in New York |date=2011 |publisher=[Metropolitan Museum of Art](/source/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art) |isbn=9781588394422 |pages=129–130 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cO9YUWUq9PMC&pg=PA130 |access-date=2 April 2019 |language=en}}] In 1853, he sold part of Blithewood to [John Bard](/source/John_Bard_(philanthropist)), who maintained the home and landscape and donated a portion of the estate to found St. Stephen's College (today known as [Bard College](/source/Bard_College)).[{{cite book |last1=Mason |first1=Willit |title=Guidebook to Historic Houses and Gardens in New England: 71 Sites from the Hudson Valley East |date=2017 |isbn=9781532025419 |page=227 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDMuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT227 |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}][{{cite web |title=Blithewood Garden: Remember the Past · Blithewood Garden: Structured Beauty |url=https://omekalib.bard.edu/exhibits/show/blithewoodgarden/past |website=omekalib.bard.edu |publisher=Stevenson Library Digital Collections |access-date=3 April 2019}}]
====Edgewater====
In 1853, Donaldson purchased the [Edgewater](/source/Edgewater_(Barrytown%2C_New_York)) estate in [Barrytown, New York](/source/Barrytown%2C_New_York), after the death of its original owner, Rawlins Lowndes Brown, from Brown's widow, Margaretta (née [Livingston](/source/Livingston_family)) Brown.[{{cite book |last1=Jenrette |first1=Richard Hampton |title=Adventures with Old Houses |date=2005 |publisher=Gibbs Smith |isbn=9780941711760 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=668GiB6giAwC&pg=PA98 |access-date=3 April 2019 |language=en}}] In 1902, the executor of the Donaldson estate sold the house to [Elizabeth Astor Winthrop Chanler](/source/Elizabeth_Astor_Winthrop_Chanler). Years later, it was owned by writer [Gore Vidal](/source/Gore_Vidal) and financier [Richard Jenrette](/source/Richard_Jenrette).