by Andrea Marroquin, Programming Coordinator

While many Jekyll Island Club Members were known as “Captains of Industry,” lawyer Robert Weeks De Forest was dubbed the “Captain of Philanthropy” for his lifetime of social service.

The Charity Organization Society was just one of many organizations De Forest created to assist others. It coordinated relief for New York’s poor.

Starting the Christmas of 1912, the Charity Organization Society took an active part in the New York Times’ first Christmas fund drive asking its readers not to forget their jobless, orphaned, aged, injured, homeless, and ill neighbors struggling to make ends meet. Headlines read, “Santa Clause please take notice! Here are New York’s 100 neediest cases.” One of four organizations involved in the campaign’s early years, the Charity Organizajtion Society collected stories about the poor and their struggles. It told personal stories of fathers, mothers, small children, and elderly citizens in distress. The appeals did not request money, but simply presented their circumstances and stated their needs.

Aid was given in many ways. People were provided food, shelter, and medicine. The sick and injured were treated. Boys and girls were sent to school and taught skills to help their struggling families. One hundred percent of the funds raised went to the needy, with The New York Times supporting all the costs of the campaign.

Readers rushed to help those in need of Christmas generosity. Some donations were received from the wealthy, but the drive appealed to everyone according to their means. Letters showed that a dollar given by one meant as much as a thousand given by another, and all gifts were sent in the same spirit of generosity and good will. During the Christmas of 1916, De Forest wrote to thank the New York Times for giving readers an opportunity to help. De Forest wrote “The desire on the part of us who are more ‘blessed’ with prosperity to help those who are least ‘blessed,’ is I am glad to say, quite universal among our American people.” Donations poured in from all ages and social classes, and varied from less than one dollar to $1,600, raising $17,000 of Christmas joy that season alone. To De Forest, the Christmas drive was, in part, an opportunity to develop the spirit of giving in the young. “I have been accustomed to encourage each child of my acquaintance to give each year to some particular case on your list and I have provided each with the means for doing so,” he wrote. One child told him she helped a particular family “because the boys are so brave.” Through the touching stories, people came to care about helping others. The “100 Neediest Cases” fund became a year, the “100 Neediest Cases” has raised $250 million.

Robert Weeks De Forest devoted himself to numerous charitable, civic, and cultural activities. President Taft once called his services on behalf of others a “shining record.” Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. Capture the Holiday Spirit this Season!

This holiday season there are many needs in the local community. The Jekyll Island Authority has created some fun and easy ways to make a big difference locally through its sponsorship of United Way of Coastal Georgia. United Way advances the education, health, and financial independence of Glynn and McIntosh Counties through its many partner agencies. Here are some simple ways you can participate in the season of giving on Jekyll Island and help United Way:

United Way Golf Tournament - Support United Way November 14, 2009. 9:00 am Shot-Gun. 2 Person Scramble on Indian Mound’s Course. $50 per person (includes Golf/Cart, Boxed Lunch & prizes). For more information, contact the Jekyll Island Golf Course, 912-635-2368.

Tags: jekyll island club era, jekyll island history, jekyll island museum, jekyll island united way, philanthropy, robert weeks de forest, season of giving, united way golf tournament
Posted in Beachscape, November 2009 | No Comments »

A night-time excursion of Jekyll Island ventures inside Dubignon Cottage for spine-tingling tales!

Sheila Zynda, of Darien, GA, took Jekyll Island’s Folklore, Rumor & Myth tour last October and was enthusiastic.  “I think Jekyll Island is a fantastic place to come for ghost hunting,” she said.  “Besides the history, you might get to see something that you’re not expecting. “

Island visitors and staff alike have reported seeing unexplained orbs of light, smelling perfumes and cigars, hearing voices and laughter and Victrola music, experiencing cold spots, and sometimes even seeing spirits wearing period dress inside the shuttered buildings of the historic district.

In Zynda’s tour group, one woman captured an orb on her cell phone, while Zynda herself reported feeling a cold spot following her through a portion of the tour of Dubignon Cottage.  Others saw flickering lights in the empty buildings as the tour moved through the twilight under the moss-draped live oaks.

“It’s an experience that you might only get once in your lifetime,” Akins said with an enjoyable shiver.

These phenomena are by no means new.  Apparitions have been reported for many years throughout Jekyll Island’s 240-acre National Historic Landmark District.  Nearly every cottage has some deep mystery or restless soul associated with a grand love story, an untimely death, a great misadventure, or a little mischief.

Tour guides lean on their professional knowledge of the island’s past to interpret the supernatural happenings.  The Folklore, Rumor & Myth tour is peppered with stories of Jekyll Island’s historic characters in attempts to explain the reported sightings.

Guides note that different individuals have identified several spirits that have been encountered through comparisons with historical photographs.  Those that have been identified include William and Savannah Struthers, Eddie Gould, Jr., and Walter Jennings, as well as Peggy and Marian Maurice.  Others appear but remain nameless.

As the haunting mysteries multiplied over the years, Jekyll Island Museum staff began to collect the tales.  Annually, during the month of October, they share the unusual stories they have heard.  On the Folklore, Rumor and Myth Tour, guides usher guests to spots where apparitions have been sighted and unexplained events have occurred.  Guests are then led inside one of the historic district cottages for more spine-tingling stories as darkness falls.

Wes Gruenke, a museum guide, often brings his groups inside Dubignon Cottage, calling it “the most paranormally active house we’ve got.”  He notes that the Southern plantation home is the oldest house on the island, after Horton House.

To view a YouTube video preview of the tour, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/JekyllIslandMuseum .

The Folklore, Rumor & Myth Tour departs from the Jekyll Island Museum at 100 Stable Road on Friday nights, from October 2-31, 2009 at 7:00 pm.  Admission is $16.00 for Adults and $7.00 for Children 6-12.  The tour is recommended for ages 10 and above.  Reservations are requested.  For more information or for reservations, call 912-635-4036.

Tags: folklore rumore & myth tour, georgia coast, jekyll island club era, jekyll island historic district, jekyll island history, jekyll island hotels
Posted in Diversions, History comes Alive | No Comments »

On This Day in Jekyll History…

July 24, 1850, Jekyll Island Club Member John Claflin was born.

John Claflin, Courtesy of the Jekyll Island Museum

Born in Brooklyn, New York, John Claflin was the third son of five boys to Horace Brigham Claflin and Agnes Sanger. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from City College of NY in 1869 and started an extensive trip around the world. Even in later life he continued to be a world traveler, onetime crossing South America from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans in 1877.

Due to early deaths of two older brothers, John was called home to enter his father’s wholesale dry goods firm, H. B. Claflin & Co, becoming a Junior Partner in 1872 and President in 1885, upon his father’s death. He managed the firm until 1914. Using a work ethic of ten months work and two months vacation (usually in the Rocky Mountains), Claflin expanded the firm in both manufacturing and retail stores and he expanded the variety of goods sold. Working through a bankruptcy in 1893, Claflin used his personal fortune to keep the firm running. Reorganizing the H.B. Claflin & Co he consolidated his interest in dry goods into three holding companies: Associated Merchants Co., United Mercantile Co., and United Dry Goods Co., with thirty retail subsidiaries. He used modern techniques in sales, introducing “ready-to-wear’”, advertising, customer service and profit sharing. The panic of 1907 created financial difficulties and in 1914 the H.B.Claflin & Co. went into receivership. Claflin’s wife previously bought up some of the debt with her own money. John turned over his private fortune to meet creditor claims, including some of his wife’s, even though by law this would have been protected. The firm never recovered and was later liquidated. By 1915 the Claflin’s had recovered enough through wise investment of the wife’s money to buy back their NJ and Adirondack homes. John’s business talents were such that he was a director of numerous banks and insurance companies.

In 1890, Claflin married Mrs. Elizabeth Hopkins (Stewart) Dunn whose daughter Wilhemine, he adopted. They had three daughters of their own: Elizabeth “Bessie” Stewart , Agnes Sanger, and Mary Stewart. Claflin and his partner Edward E. Eames were invited to Jekyll by John E. DuBignon and Newton Finney as prospective purchasers of the island. Instead, Claflin loaned DuBignon $10,000 to buy other parcels and DuBignon wound up selling to the syndicate that became the Jekyll Island Club. Both Claflin and Eames became charter members. Claflin resigned his membership in 1912 due to financial difficulty but rejoined in 1921. In 1924 he bought “Mistletoe Cottage” from the Porter estate. He died in 1938 at his estate, “Lindenwold” in Morristown, New Jersey. Claflin was the last charter member of Jekyll Island Club to pass away.

Enjoy History?  Visit the Jekyll Island Museum, 100 Stable Road, Jekyll Island, GA www.jekyllisland.com/history

or become a Fan of the Jekyll Island Museum on Facebook

Tags: jekyll island club era, jekyll island club members, jekyll island history, John Claflin
Posted in History comes Alive | No Comments »

By Andrea Marroquin

On April 7, 1909, far from the warm waters and sandy shores of Jekyll Island, Georgia, American explorer Robert E. Peary was bundled in furs and battling ice. But on that day just one century ago, thanks in part to several Jekyll Island Club Members in the Peary Arctic Club, he still felt the warm glow of success. In a diary showing signs of wear from the polar trail, Peary wrote “The Pole at last. The prize of 3 centuries, my goal for 20 years. Mine at last!” With these words Peary struck his claim as the first person in history to finally reach the geographic North Pole. With him was African-American explorer Matthew Alexander Henson as well as 4 Inuit men Ootah, Egingwah, Seegloo, and Ookeah.

The quest for the North Pole was part of the continuing search for a Northwest Passage to the Orient. Prior attempts had failed to reach the North Pole despite great sacrifices of money and life. Some 756 men had died trying to find it. Peary credited the success of his own Arctic explorations in part to his financial supporters in the Peary Arctic Club, many of whom were prominent Jekyll Island Club Members. It was they, according to Peary, “who furnished the sinews of war, without which nothing could have been accomplished.”

Just five miles away from where Peary posted his “five flags at the top of the world” sat Camp Morris K. Jesup, where Peary declared his igloo “The Most Northerly Human Habitation in the World.” The camp was named for Jekyll Island Club Member Morris Ketchum Jesup. The first president of the Peary Arctic Club, Jesup had contributed $25,000 towards the construction of the Arctic S.S. Roosevelt, the ship which had battled the ice between Greenland and Ellesmere Island to attain the record furthest point north ever reached by ship under her own steam. It was from this ship that Peary and his dogsled teams had embarked on their quest for the North Pole.

Peary had unloaded his ship and established a packing box village of supplies and equipment that protected the party against the loss of the SS. Roosevelt on the ice. This winter camp was named Hubbardville after Jekyll Island Club Member General Thomas Hamlin Hubbard, a Civil War veteran, lawyer and railroad director, who was also a President of the Peary Arctic Club. Peary had launched his dog sled drive for the Pole from this point.

Upon his return, Peary entrusted to General Hubbard the proof of his claims that he had reached the Pole. It was fortunate for Peary that he had influential backers. He soon learned that Frederick Cook claimed to have reached the Pole in 1908, although Cook was eventually discredited. Throughout the Peary-Cook controversy, Hubbard supported Peary, publishing a piece addressed “To Students of Arctic Exploration” with mathematical evidence suggesting that Peary had indeed passed within 1.6 miles of the North Pole. Peary gained the confidence of many in his own time, earning congratulations from President Roosevelt, who wrote “He has performed one of the greatest feats of our times; he has won high honor for himself and for his country.”
The National Geographic Society and The Royal Geographical Society acknowledged his success. In 1910, President Taft formally recognized Peary’s achievement. Peary was given the Thanks of Congress by a Special Act in 1911. On the anniversary of his journey a century later, some doubts remain whether Peary actually reached the North Pole. There was no one on the last stage of the journey to confirm his exact location. Some technical navigational issues could allow for some variation in his position. Experts do, however, agree that Peary and his companions put themselves at great risk and traveled hundreds of miles from safety to reach the close vicinity of the North Pole.

A number of Jekyll Island Club Members supported Peary’s Polar campaigns in addition to Jesup and Hubbard. Other Club Members who actively contributed to the Peary Arctic Club were F.G. Bourne, James J. Hill, Mrs. Morris K. Jesup, Moses Taylor Pyne, and J.H. Smith. Peary wrote several books about his Polar travels. They include Northward over the Great Ice and The North Pole. Matthew Henson also wrote an account of the journey entitled A Negro Explorer at the North Pole. The movie Glory and Honor by Kevin Hooks dramatizes the 1909 expedition to the North Pole.

Jekyll Island Club Members shaped the world in many ways, contributing to many significant events in their day. Call or visit the Jekyll Island Museum on Stable Road for information about its daily tours throughout Jekyll Island’s 240-acre National Historic Landmark District telling their stories, (912) 635-4036.

Tags: african american explorer, artic exploration, artic explorers, artic pole, artic ss roosevelt, camp morris k jesup, ellesmere island, five flags, frederick cook, georgia explorers, greenland, jekyll island, jekyll island artic exploring, jekyll island club era, jekyll island club members, jekyll island explorers, jekyll island history, jekyll island museum, mathew alexander henson, most northerly human habitation, north pole, northweat passage to the orient, peary artic club, robert e peary, thomas hamlin hubbard, winter camp hubbardville
Posted in April 2009, Beachscape | No Comments »

By Andrea Marroquin, Museum Specialist

In April of 1886, Marshall Field became a charter member of the Jekyll Island Club. Like many of Jekyll Island’s prominent Club Members, Field was a self-made man with humble beginnings. Born in 1834 near Conway, Mass., Field was the third of six children. When his father sold the family farm to his older brother, Field realized he would need to learn a trade. At 15, he obtained his first job as a clerk at a local dry goods shop, where his employer said that he would never be able to run a store. Nevertheless, at 21, he moved to Chicago and gained employment with the largest dry goods company in the city. He slept in the store to save his $400 annual salary, and became a partner by the time he married Nannie Douglas Scott in 1863. They would have two children together, Marshall Field, Jr. and Ethel Field. In 1865, Field opened a dry goods business with some other investors. The company soon moved to a prominent building on State Street known as the “Marble Palace.”

The six-story building burned down and $3.5 million of merchandise was lost, however, during the catastrophic Chicago Fire of 1871. Then, in 1873, the store reopened only to be
razed by fire again just five years later. It was determinedly rebuilt yet again. By 1881, Field had bought out the company. His store, “Marshall Field & Co.,” catered to fashionable middle and upper class women. He offered personal shoppers, unconditional refunds, home delivery, an interior decoration department, telephone services, a library, a nursery, and restful places to meet and socialize. His store was the first to offer in-store dining, as well as a bridal registry. When streetcars were introduced, Field also ensured the availability of convenient transportation. Field’s policy was, “Give the lady what she wants.” In 1887, Field also opened a 500,000 square foot wholesale store that sold items in bulk to retailers throughout the central and western United States. The small-town farm-boy had achieved big-time financial, social, and political success.

Hobnobbing on Jekyll Island, he frequented the Clubhouse and Fairbank Cottage along
with the nation’s other business leaders. In 1904, his name was put forward as a potential
Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, but he refused to consider the position. Field, widowed in 1896, was remarried to a longtime friend and neighbor, Delia Spencer Caton, in September of 1905. Field died a few months afterwards, on January 16, 1906, in New York City. He had developed a case of pneumonia from playing golf in Chicago on New Year’s Day.
At the time of his death, Marshall Field employed 12,000 people in Chicago. He was the wealthiest man in the city, one of the wealthiest in the country, and the richest merchant in the world. What was the secret of his success? Field left the following advice: 1) Never give a note,  2) Never buy stock on margin,  3) Don’t speculate,   4) Don’t borrow,  5) Don’t mortgage your business,  6) Always pay cash,  7) Sell on shorter time than your competitors,  8)Sell the same quality for less,  and 9) Hold your customers accountable for their obligations.

Field left a philanthropic legacy to the city of Chicago, as well. He helped found what would become the Art Institute of Chicago. He established the Field Museum of Natural
History. He also donated the original tract of land to the University of Chicago, a portion
of which is known today as Marshall Field. John Shedd was appointed to serve as the company’s president after Field’s death. Shedd completed Field’s plans for a 12-story expansion of the State Street store, which would later become a National Landmark. With its grand reopening in 1907, the store briefly gained the glorious title of “the world’s largest department store.”

To learn about other members of the Jekyll Island Club, visit the Jekyll Island Museum
on Stable Road, (912) 635-4036. Exhibits are open to the public free of charge and tours
of the historic district depart daily.

Tags: jekyll island club era, jekyll island georgia, jekyll island history tours, jekyll island museum, marshall fields
Posted in April 2008, Beachscape, History comes Alive | 2 Comments »