{{use mdy dates|date=August 2025}} {{use American English|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Thomas Forbes Cushing | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date|1838|12|19}} | birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts | death_date = {{death date and age|1902|06|06|1838|12|19}} | death_place = Manhattan, New York | parents = John Perkins Cushing<br/>Mary Louisa Gardiner | spouse = {{marriage|Fannie Leslie Grinnell||1887|reason=died}} | children = Edith Howard Cushing | relatives = John S. J. Gardiner (grandfather) }} '''Thomas Forbes Cushing''' (December 19, 1838 – June 6, 1902) was a prominent American member of Boston, New York, and Newport society during the Gilded Age.<ref name="TFCObit1902">{{cite news|title=THOMAS F. CUSHING DEAD; He Was Conspicuous in Society Here and in Newport, and Was Long a Famous Cotillion Leader.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F04E4DC113BE733A25754C0A9609C946397D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=7 June 1902}}</ref><ref name="1899Arrival">{{cite news|title=THE NEWS OF NEWPORT.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C03E7D71730E132A25754C0A9629C94689ED7CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=7 April 1899}}</ref>
==Early life== Cushing was born in Boston, Massachusetts on December 19, 1838. He was third son of John Perkins Cushing (1787–1862)<ref name="JPCobit1862">{{cite news|title=GENERAL NEWS. {{!}} Mr. JOHN P. CUSHING|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1862/04/16/news/general-news.html|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=16 April 1862}}</ref> and Mary Louisa (née Gardiner) Cushing (1799–1862), the only daughter of the Rev. John Sylvester John Gardiner (1765–1830) of Trinity Church, Boston.<ref name="amdigital"/> His siblings included John Gardiner Cushing (1834–1881), who married Susan Prescott Dexter,<ref name="amdigital"/> and Robert Maynard Cushing (1836–1907), who married Olivia Donaldson Dulany (1839–1906).<ref name="amdigital">{{cite web|title=Letters from the Children of John Perkins Cushing, and to His Wife Marie Louise Cushing - China, America and the Pacific - Adam Matthew Digital|url=http://www.cap.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Details/Letters-from-the-Children-of-John-Perkins-Cushing--and-to-His-Wife-Marie-Louise-Cushing/BA_L144_1_4|website=www.cap.amdigital.co.uk|publisher=China, America and the Pacific {{!}} Trade & Cultural Exchange|access-date=20 June 2017}}</ref>
His father was a wealthy Boston sea merchant, opium smuggler, and philanthropist.<ref name="harvard">{{cite web|title=Cushing, John Perkins, 1787-1862.John Perkins Cushing business records, 1832-1882 (inclusive): A Finding Aid|url=https://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~bak00115|website=oasis.lib.harvard.edu|publisher=Harvard University Library|access-date=20 June 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715144650/http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~bak00115|archive-date=15 July 2010}}</ref><ref name="masshist">{{cite web|title=Forbes Family Papers, 1732-1931|url=https://www.masshist.org/collection-guides/view/fa0269|website=www.masshist.org|access-date=26 October 2017|language=en}}</ref> His paternal grandparents were Robert Cushing and Ann Perkins (née Maynard) Cushing.<ref name="Shavit1990">{{cite book|last1=Shavit|first1=David|title=The United States in Asia: A Historical Dictionary|date=1990|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313267888|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWdZTaJdc6UC&pg=PA117|access-date=20 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> He was the uncle of Grafton D. Cushing, a master at the Groton School who distinguished himself during the Spanish–American War and later served as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.<ref name="CushingNewport1902"/> His father's Cushing ancestor had emigrated to Hingham, Massachusetts,<ref name="CushingNewport1902">{{cite news|title=WHAT IS DOING IN SOCIETY.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A05E4DC113BE733A25754C0A9609C946397D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=7 June 1902}}</ref> during the early years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.<ref name="Kienholz2008">{{cite book|last1=Kienholz|first1=M.|title=Opium Traders and Their Worlds-Volume One: A Revisionist Exposé of the World's Greatest Opium Traders|date=2008|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=9780595910786|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YlO9qraI4MC&pg=PT276|access-date=20 June 2017|language=en}}</ref>
==Society life== In 1892, both Cushing and his daughter Edith were included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in ''The New York Times''.<ref name="McAllister1892">{{cite news|last1=McAllister|first1=Ward|title=THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED {{!}} WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE.|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1892/02/16/108210917.pdf|access-date=26 March 2017|work=The New York Times|date=16 February 1892|language=en}}</ref> Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.<ref name="Keister2005">{{cite book|last1=Keister|first1=Lisa A.|title=Getting Rich: America's New Rich and How They Got That Way|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521536677|page=36|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5dAtJf1hmAUC&pg=PA36|access-date=20 October 2017|language=en}}</ref> His New York residence was at 29 East 39th Street in Manhattan.<ref name="TFCObit1902"/><ref name="1903Wedding"/> He was "one of the best-known habitues of the Metropolitan Opera House. He and his daughter had orchestra stalls, and they never missed a performance. They were regular attendants at all the Sunday concerts."<ref name="CushingNewport1902"/>
He was a member, and governor,<ref name="TFCObit1902"/> of the Newport Casino,<ref name="1898Rain">{{cite news|title=RAIN KEEPS NEWPORT INDOORS.; Attendance at the Casino Light on Account of the Storm.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E05E3D9103CE433A25750C1A96E9C94699ED7CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=13 August 1898}}</ref> where he attended many dances, balls and social functions.<ref name="1894Ball">{{cite news|title=Subscribers to the Casino Ball.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=950DEEDF1131E033A25750C1A96E9C94659ED7CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=13 August 1894}}</ref><ref name="1898Dance">{{cite news|title=DANCE AT NEWPORT CASINO.; A Brilliant Assemblage of Guests Present at the Function.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C03EED81738E433A25750C2A9619C94699ED7CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=23 July 1898}}</ref> He was also a member of the Knickerbocker Club, Manhattan Club, Metropolitan Club, Country Club, and of the Somerset Club of Boston.<ref name="TFCObit1902"/>
==Personal life== Cushing was married to Fannie Leslie Grinnell (1842–1887).<ref name="Emery1919">{{cite book|last1=Emery|first1=William Morrell|title=The Howland heirs; being the story of a family and a fortune and the inheritance of a trust established for Mrs. Hetty H. R. Green|date=1919|publisher=New Bedford, Mass., E. Anthony and Sons, inc.|url=https://archive.org/details/howlandheirsbein00emer|access-date=26 October 2017}}</ref> She was the daughter of U.S. Representative Moses Hicks Grinnell (1803–1877) and Julia (née Irving) Grinnell (1803–1872).<ref name="MHGObit1877">{{cite news|title=THE LATE MOSES H. GRINNELL.; ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL--REMINISCENCES OF THE DECEASED GENTLEMAN.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=980DE1DF1130E03BBC4E51DFB767838C669FDE&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=26 November 1877}}</ref> Fannie's mother was a niece of Washington Irving, and her mother was a sister of James Kirke Paulding, a Congressman who served as the Secretary of the Navy under Martin Van Buren.<ref name="Emery1919"/> Fannie's sister, Julia Grinnell (1838–1915),<ref name="1915GrinnellEstate">{{cite news|title=G.T. BOWDOIN HEIR TO ANOTHER ESTATE; 16-Year-Old Boy, Who Recently Inherited $2,000,000, Gets Legacy from Grandmother. BIG BEQUESTS TO CHARITY Mrs. Julia Irving Grinnell Bowdoin Leaves $30,000 to Grace Church -- $10,000 to Temperance Society.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E02E0DD123FE233A2575BC1A9659C946496D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=18 March 1915}}</ref> was married to George Sullivan Bowdoin (1833–1913), who were the parents of Temple Bowdoin (1863–1914), an associate of J.P. Morgan & Company.<ref name= "NYT Dead">{{cite news| url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F03EFD61738E633A25750C0A9649D946596D6CF |title= Temple Bowdoin Dead, Partner In J. P. Morgan &, Co. and Stock Exchange Member| work= The New York Times| date= December 3, 1914| page= 13}}</ref> Together, they were the parents of: Edith Howard Cushing (1871–1920),<ref name="EHCFobit1920">{{cite news|title=Obituary Notes {{!}} Mrs. Blair Fairchild|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F02E0DE163CE533A25757C2A9679D946195D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=24 November 1920}}</ref> who married the composer J. Blair Fairchild in 1903.<ref name="1903Wedding">{{cite news|title=WEDDINGS OF A DAY.; Fairchild--Cushing|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A06E1DC1030E733A25751C0A9679C946297D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 2, 1903}}</ref>
Cushing's wife died in May 1887. Cushing was injured in Newport in 1900 "when he was knocked down and trampled on by a horse."<ref name="1900Injury">{{cite news|title=Thomas F. Cushing Injured.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=980DE5DC1039E733A25757C1A96E9C946197D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=14 August 1900}}</ref> He died in New York City on June 6, 1902. His estate, including his "horses, harness, jewelry, silver plate, furniture and other household effects," was left in trust to his daughter.<ref name="1902Estate">{{cite news|title=THOMAS F. CUSHING'S WILL.; His Estate Left to His Daughter, Miss Edith -- No Inventory Filed.|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/06/24/101957056.html|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=June 24, 1902|language=en}}</ref><ref name="1913Estate">{{cite news|title=MRS. FAIRCHILD LOSES CASE; Court Rules That $250,000 of Father's Estate Is Principal, Not Income.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E01E2D9173FE633A2575AC2A9629C946296D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=29 April 1913}}</ref>
===Residences=== On December 3, 1870, Cushing bought a property with frontage on Marlborough and Dartmouth Street from George Wheatland Jr. in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. He then had a residence, known as 163 Marlborough, built by architects Snell & Gregerson, who also designed the Concord Free Public Library.<ref name="backbayhouses">{{cite web|title=163 Marlborough|url=https://backbayhouses.org/163-marlborough/|website=backbayhouses.org|publisher=Back Bay Houses {{!}} Genealogies of Back Bay Houses|access-date=26 October 2017|date=25 July 2013}}</ref> Cushing lived in the home until winter 1892 when he moved to Newport, Rhode Island,<ref name="SR1895">{{cite book|title=Social Register, Summer|date=1895|publisher=Social Register Association|page=67|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IW9IAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA67|access-date=26 October 2017|language=en}}</ref> and rented the home to U.S. Representative Charles Franklin Sprague. He eventually sold the home to William Endicott Jr., son of William Crowninshield Endicott in 1898.<ref name="backbayhouses"/>
Forbes's cottage in Newport was situated next to Frederick Vanderbilt's Rough Point cottage,<ref name="NYSD2012">{{cite news|title=Society As He Found It: Harry Lehr|url=https://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/social-history/2012/society-as-he-found-it-harry-lehr|access-date=26 October 2017|work=New York Social Diary|date=23 August 2012|language=en}}</ref> and was called "New Lodge." His cottage was described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the handsomest of the fashionable residences of that resort".<ref name="TFCObit1902"/> After his death, his daughter used the Newport cottage with her husband.<ref name="1904Cottage">{{cite news|title=SOCIETY AT NEWPORT.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E06E1DB153EE033A25754C0A9609C946597D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=7 June 1904}}</ref> Cushing and his wife built their Newport residence, designed by prominent society architect George Champlin Mason Sr., in 1869. Following Cushing's death in 1902, New Lodge passed to his daughter.<ref name="1901Cottage">{{cite news|title=THE NEWS OF NEWPORT.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E07E4DA143AE63AA15752C1A9669D946097D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=11 October 1901}}</ref><ref name="SR1895"/> In 1916, she sold the estate to Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr. and his wife who remodeled the cottage in a classical revival style which they then referred to as Ames Villa.<ref name="digitalcollections">{{cite web|title=Mrs. Ogden L. Mills's 'Ocean View' Estate (left) and Roger W. Cutler's 'Ames Villa' Estate, Newport, RI :: Robert Yarnall Richie Photograph Collection|url=http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ryr/id/549|website=digitalcollections.smu.edu|publisher=Central University Libraries, Southern Methodist University|access-date=26 October 2017}}</ref> In 1931, Jessie Woolworth Donahue, the daughter of Frank Winfield Woolworth (founder of F. W. Woolworth Company) and mother of James Paul Donahue Jr., bought the Villa and renamed it "Rock Cliff."<ref name="NYSD2012"/> As of 2013, the home was owned by Samuel Mencoff, the founder of a Chicago private equity firm.<ref name="Flynn2013">{{cite news|last1=Flynn|first1=Sean|title=Restored Aloha Landing Boathouse earns praise|url=http://www.newportri.com/newportdailynews/news/local_state/restored-aloha-landing-boathouse-earns-praise/article_60cb2d8c-4442-5045-ab24-8e62d320c4df.html|access-date=26 October 2017|work=The Newport Daily News|date=September 6, 2013|language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{find a Grave|120133197}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cushing, Thomas Forbes}} Category:1838 births Category:1902 deaths Category:Businesspeople from Boston Category:19th-century American businesspeople Thomas Forbes