Thomas H. Howard

Thomas Howard Howard (December 6, 1862 – June 4, 1904) was an American clubman who was prominent in New York and Newport society during the Gilded Age. Early life Howard was born in Providence, Rhode Island on December 6, 1862. He was the son of Ezra Williams Howard (1818–1869), a graduate of Brown University (where he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi) and Harvard Law School, and Elizabeth Stuyvesant (née Neilson) Howard (1828–1902). Among his siblings were Elizabeth Stuyvesant Howard (who died young), John Neilson Howard (a real estate dealer), Ezra Williams Howard (who also died young), and Marion Clifford Howard. After his father's death, his mother donated $2,000 towards the erection of St. John's Memorial Church in Parsons, Kansas, which was organized in June 1874. His maternal grandparents were John Neilson and Margaret Ann (née Fish) Neilson. Through his maternal grandmother, he was a direct descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch Director-General of New Amsterdam, as she was the daughter of Nicholas Fish and sister of Hamilton Fish, who served as governor of New York, a U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of State. Through his maternal grandfather, he was a descendant of Col. John Neilson, an officer in the Revolutionary army and a founder of Rutgers University. Career After marrying Rose, Howard became involved in business and served as the manager of Hyde Park, the estate of his wife's uncle (by marriage), Frederick W. Vanderbilt located in Hyde Park, New York and built between 1896–99. While Vanderbilt was building his home, he also built a large home for the Howards near his home, that today is known as the Howard Mansion. The mansion, a two-story, six-bay, eclectic dwelling built of uncoursed fieldstone, was designed by architect Charles Follen McKim of McKim, Mead & White. In 1901, a two-story Tudor style carriage house was built that features a two-story, polygonal bay with a polygonal roof.