Thursday, February 11, 2010

Patrick A. Valentine - Husband of Mary Lester Armour

P.A. Valentine was born at Forres, Scotland, on December 13, 1851. He was educated at Victoria College, Channel Islands. He came to America when he was young and made his way to Chicago.  He found employment with a firm at the Board of Trade and was very successful.  His success was noticed by P. D. Armour, Jr. and he was invited into the House of Armour. He became Philips' best friend and closest confidant. As we have noted, he was one of the pallbearers and one of the executors of Philips' estate.

This is how the newspaper described the situation:  "He had become the warm friend of P.D. Armour, Jr., and when the latter died the widow, who had been Miss Mary Lester, turned to Mr. Valentine for advice.  She had an estate of over $8,000,000 to look after and she felt she could not master the business complexities.  Mr. Valentine took charge of her affairs and managed them so well that they greatly increased in value.  Their business relations brought them frequently together and eventually she announced their engagement."

They were married in New York at the Hotel Netherland.  The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Dr. Thaddeus Snively, rector of St. Chrysostom's Church, Chicago.  It was a simple ceremony with no attendants much like her first wedding.  She wore a pale blue satin gown, veiled with chiffon and embellished with a profusion of exquisite lace. After  an elaborate dinner, the couple sailed on the Kron Prinz for a tour of Europe.

They lived at 8 East Sixty-ninth street in New York City  and  their summer home was Danforth Lodge, in Oconomowoc, WI.  P.A. Valentine died on August 21, 1916 of Bright's disease.  He was 55 years old and had been ill for five months.  He is buried in Oconomowoc.  His estate was valued at 10 million.  The bulk of the estate went to his only son, Patrick Anderson Valentine.

Mary Lester Armour Valentine did not die until 1965.  She was 95 years old.  She was the mother of Philip D. Armour III; Lester Armour and P. A. Valentine, Jr. of Greenwich. Conn.  Grandmother of 9, great-grandmother of 17 and one great-great grandchild.  She is thought to be buried at Oconomowoc.

So ends the story.

6 comments:

  1. A bit of clarification on Patrick Anderson Valentine's early life - PA was born in Forres in 1861, and his parents, while both originally from Scotland, were from Chicago, having lived there since the 1850s. I am trying to discover why his mother traveled to Scotland in the first place. She brought PA back with her and they were back in Chicago by the 1870 US Census. His father, John Ross Valentine from Brechin, was a successful real estate broker in Chicago, married to Johanna Gordon McKay (from Huntley) in 1854. The Valentines and Armours were good friends. PA's sister Clara married Robert Wilson, who went on to manage the Armour Company's British operations. His daughter Muriel became an accomplished artist. PA was Philip's closest friend, and he did end up marrying May after Philip's death.
    PA's brother Gordon was my great-grandfather.

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    1. i am P.A.'s great grandson..thank you for more info...also i think PA was one of the bankers involved with the Federal reserve act of 1913...

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    2. Please contact me at wrethford@comcast.net

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  2. Talking recently to a descendent of close friends and cousins of the Armours, he informed me that Philip D. Armour Jr.'s unexpected and unexplained death it was spoken of at the time (between family members and their close friends), to have been suicide due to his wife's unfaithfulness. As I read here about her marriage to his best friend, Patrick A. Valentine, it seems plausible.

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    1. I came across that story as well but decided to discard it. It such a greatr love story, why ruin it?

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  3. Please contact me at wrethford@comcast.net

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