After the Revolutionary War, Janet (Livingston) Montgomery carried out plans for the estate she and her husband had envisioned before he became a war casualty. More than a century later, Duchess Louise (Clews) Campbell used Grasmere as a get-away from life in the fast lane. Fast forward another century and Grasmere figured in the wedding plans of a former American president's daughter.
Much of the Grasmere land has been restored to active farm use in recent years. The estate made news when the rehearsal dinner on the eve of the July 31, 2010 wedding of Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky was held in one of its grandly refurbished stone barns.
The Beekman and Livingston Families
Immigrants of the Beekman and Livingston families received large land patents and their descendants remained prominent in New York affairs. William Beekman, the immigrant, came to New York in 1647 with Gov. Peter Stuyvesant, and was a large landowner. Col. Henry Beekman, his son, served in the colonial assembly and used the words “Ryn Beck” to refer to his extensive lands in the area around the present village of Rhinebeck. His second wife was Janet Livingston and their daughter Margaret married Judge Robert Livingston (1718-1775).
Janet Livingston Montgomery, Mistress of Grasmere
Grasmere was the dream of Janet Livingston and her husband, Richard Montgomery. This daughter of Judge Robert and Margaret (Beekman) Livingston had inherited several hundred Rhinebeck acres from her grandfather, Col. Henry Beekman and the wife for whom she was named.
Janet was the sister of Robert R. Livingston, who, with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, drafted the Declaration of Independence. In 1789, Janet's brother Robert administered the Oath of Office to President George Washington.
Janet and husband Richard Montgomery had lived in what is probably Rhinebeck’s oldest home. (It is now home base for the Rhinebeck Chapter, D.A.R.). There they designed the manor house they would build on her inherited property. Then the Revolutionary War interfered. He went off as Gen. Richard Montgomery to conquer the English bastion in Quebec. Gen. Montgomery was, in 1775, the first high ranking officer to be killed in the Revolution.
Revolutionary War Widow Never Remarried
Janet (Livingston) Montgomery was too independent to remarry in an era when wives were regarded as the property of their husbands. She took the dream she had shared with her husband, and in 1774 built a manor house based on the one they had designed as centerpiece of the 800 acres overlooking the Hudson River. She lined the estate’s drive with locust trees in honor of her husband and lived there for 27 years.
This estate, consisting of a brick Georgian style manor house and impressive Edwardian stone barns, was bequeathed to a brother and remained in the Livingston family until 1893.
The Duchess at Grasmere
The next woman to nurture the continuing evolution of Grasmere was the Duchess of Argyll. The former Louise Hollingsworth Morris Clews, the duchess had a foot in two worlds. Her grandfather, Henry Clews, was a wealthy banker. Part of his fortune was amassed because his firm was the second largest marketer of federal bonds during the Civil War. He helped depose the corrupt “Boss Tweed” ring in New York City and served as an economic consultant to President Ulysses Grant.
Henry had enough money that son Henry Jr., a sculptor, could be a playboy living in a restored castle on the French Riviera near Cannes. This was the gateway to both the risqué society of people in the arts, as well as to the European aristocracy. The result? Enter Ian Douglas Campbell, a Scottish Peer from a respected ancient Scottish family and the 11th Duke of Argyll.
Campbell's first wife, Hon. Janet Gladys Aiken was the daughter of newspaper baron Lord Beaverbrook. Their daughter Lady Jeanne Campbell (1928-2007) was the third of controversial American writer Norman Mailer’s six wives. The Duke’s second wife was Louise Clews. Their children were Ian Campbell, 12 Duke of Argyle (1937-2001), and Lord Ivar Campbell, whose wife is known as a biographer of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Louise, the second of his four wives, found solace while she lived at Grasmere, overlooking the Hudson River. It was a respite from an otherwise eclectic life..
Chelsea Clinton’s Wedding Eve
Grasmere is now owned by philanthropist Steve Mensch, an architect, and his wife. Located at the end of a private dirt road, its buildings are often used for charity benefits. Its famous guest list now includes Marc Mezvinsky and his wife, the former Chelsea Clinton; her parents, former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; and, guests at the July 30, 2010 rehearsal dinner on the eve of the Mezvinsky-Clinton wedding.
Sources:
Chancellor Livingston Chapter, DAR, Rhinebeck, NY; website accessed July 30, 2010
Clews, Henry, obituary, July 29, 1937, New York Times
Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia; accessed July 29, 2010
Consortium of Rhinebeck (NY) History; website accessed July 29, 2010
Grasmere website; accessed July 29, 2010
Sewall Genealogy (online edition) by John Rees; accessed July 28, 2010
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