Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen, Sr.

:"This article is about the U.S. senator. For his son, see Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen, Jr."

Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen, Sr. (March 12, 1869 – February 8, 1948) represented New Jersey as a Republican in the United States Senate from 1917 to 1923.

Biography

He was born in Raritan, New Jersey on March 12, 1869. He comes from a historic New Jersey political family, he is a cousin of current congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen. He married Emily Macy Brewster, and had a daughter: Victoria Frelinghuysen who married John Grenville Bates, Jr.; and a son Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen, Jr. [cite news |first= |last= |quote=Victoria Frelinghuysen, daughter of onetime Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen of Manhattan and Far Hills, N. J., whose family has included four Senators, whose great-great-grandfather served on Washington's staff and was a member of the Continental Congress; to John Grenville Bates Jr., member New York Stock Exchange; in Bernardsville, N. J. |coauthors= |title=Married |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,927889,00.html |work= |publisher=Time (magazine) |date=September 17, 1928 |accessdate=2007-05-14 ]

After fighting in the Spanish-American War and starting an insurance business, Frelinghuysen was elected to the state Senate in 1905 and became president of that body in 1909. He held several state-wide offices before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1916. He was New Jersey's first directly elected senator following ratification of the 17^th Amendment to the Constitution in 1913. In 1921, American president Warren G. Harding signed the Knox-Porter Resolution, officially ending America's involvement in World War I at the estate of Frelinghuysen in Raritan, New Jersey. [cite web |url=http://www.scbp.org/visit/historic.html |title=Historic Sites |accessdate=2008-07-02 |quote=In 1921, President Warren G. Harding, visiting the estate of his friend, Sen. Joseph S. Frelinghuysen, in Raritan, finished his golf game, returned to the mansion, and signed the Knox-Porter Resolution, officially ending World War I. |publisher=Somerset County Business Partnership |accessdate=2008-07-02 |] The President stayed on the estate until at least July 4th. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Spends Afternoon Reading Newspapers on Senator Frelinghuysen's Front Porch. |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A05EED8163EEE3ABC4C53DFB166838A639EDE |quote=President Harding attended church today and with the exception of a short automobile ride with Mrs. Harding through the hills of Somerset County, spent the rest of the day at " The Hill," home of Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen. |publisher=New York Times |date=July 4, 1921 |accessdate=2008-07-01 ] After a failed reelection bid in 1922, Frelinghuysen returned to the insurance business. He died on February 8, 1948 in Tucson, Arizona, and was interred at St. Bernard's Cemetery in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

Legacy

A memorial plaque was placed on the estate grounds commemorating the Knox-Porter Resolution officially ending America's involvement in World War I. Today the estate is long gone and suburban sprawl has replaced it with mini-malls. The marker remains in a patch of grass near a Burger King parking lot along Route 28, just north of the Somerville traffic circle. [cite web |url=http://www.scbp.org/visit/historic.html |title=Historic Sites |accessdate=2008-07-02 |quote=In 1921, President Warren G. Harding, visiting the estate of his friend, Sen. Joseph S. Frelinghuysen, in Raritan, finished his golf game, returned to the mansion, and signed the Knox-Porter Resolution, officially ending World War I. |publisher=Somerset County Business Partnership |accessdate=2008-07-02 |]

External links

*CongBio|F000370
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Frelinghuysen&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=19087& Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen, Sr.] at Findagrave

References