Arbre généalogique Smith/Bais » Joseph Murphy (Hon.) Gazzam (1842-1927)

Données personnelles Joseph Murphy (Hon.) Gazzam 

• Il est né le 2 décembre 1842 dans Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
• Il est décédé en l'an 1927 dans Philadelphia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, il avait 84 ans.
• Un enfant de (Dr.) Edward Despard Gazzam et Elizabeth Antoinette de Beelen

Famille de Joseph Murphy (Hon.) Gazzam

(1) Il est marié avec Nellie Mae Reed (Nell) Andrews.

Ils se sont mariés le 7 septembre 1893 à Pennsylvania, Somerset, Pennsylvania, il avait 50 ans.

Enfant(s):

1. Joseph Murphy (Lieut.) Gazzam  1896-1960 
2. Olivia May de Beelen (Debby) Gazzam  1896-1999 

(2) Il est marié avec Mary Anna Reading.

Ils se sont mariés le 30 octobre 1878, il avait 35 ans.

Enfant(s):

1. Antoinette Elizabeth Gazzam  1883-1940 
2. Sada Sarah Reading Murphy Grandin  1879-1880

Le couple est divorcé.

Notes par Joseph Murphy (Hon.) Gazzam

General Notes:




These notes found on-line, at Pennsylvania State University
(http://libraries.psu.edu./do/digitalbookshelf/29893541/29893541.part_11.pdf)

This section titled "Makers of Philadelphia".

Notes on William Gazzam or Edward D. (Dr.) Gazzam, collected also, can be

found in the notes section of their pages in this genealogy file.

Notes on Hon. Joseph M. Gazzam are as follows...noted here this

day...3/26/07/ln

Hon. Joseph M. Gazzam...

  Joseph M. Gazzam, lawyer, ex-State Senator, son of Edward D. Gazzam and
Elizabeth Antoinette, daughter of Constantine Antoine de Beelen (de Berthoff)
and granddaughter in male descent, of Baron Antoine de Beelen de Berthoff,
Austrian Minister to the United States from 1783 to 1787.

  The paternal grandfather, William Gazzam, an English journalist, compelled in
1792, through the resentment of King George III, to seek refuge in the American
Colonies, whose rights he had openly maintained, settled first in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, later in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and eventually in Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania, of which port he was appointed collector by President Madison,
becoming later a magistrate (at that time an office of dignity), and, having twice
married, died there in 1811, leaving several children. His fourth son, Edward D.
Gazzam, above mentioned, was an eminent physician, lawyer, and an important
factor in Pennsylvania politics, assisting with Salmon P. Chase and others in
founding "The Free Soil Party" at the memorable "Buffalo Convention" in 1848,
becoming the first candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania, and, notwithstanding
defeat, being again selected as the candidate for the State Senate in 1855.
Again unsuccessful, he was, nevertheless, elected to that office in the following
year by the Union Republican Party by a majority of about one thousand.  Dr.
Gazzam died in 1872.

  "Joseph M. Gazzam, the subject of this sketch, was born in Pittsburg, December
2, 1842.  He was educated at the Western University of Pennsylvania.  In
December of 1860 he entered the law office of David Reed, Esq., and was

admitted to the bar of Alleghany County at the age of twenty-one.  In 1867 he was
admitted to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in 1869 to the Circuit and District
Courts of the United States, and in 1870 was accorded the distinction of being
among the youngest attorneys ever admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of
the United States.

  In 1872 he entered into a law partnership with Hon. Alexander G. Cochran.  The
firm continued until 1879, when it was dissolved, owing to Mr. Cochran's removal
to St. Louis.

  In 1869 Mr. Gazzam was elected to represent the First Ward in the Common
Council of Pittsburg, and in 1876 he became, by acclamation of the nominating
convention, the Republican candidate for the Forty-third Senatorial District, and
was elected by a large majority.  As a member of the Senate, Mr. Gazzam quickly
took rank as a man of ability and character.  Owing to his courtesy and frankness,
many of his warmest friends were found in the ranks of his political adversaries,
and at the close of his term he was a recognized leader of his party.

  In November, 1879, Mr. Gazzam removed his law offices to Philadelphia.  He
was one of the promoters of the Beech Creek Railroad in 1882 (at that time
known as the Beech Creek, Clearfield, and South-western Railroad), a railway
beginning at Jersey Shore and having its terminus at the thriving borough of
Gazzam.  He is President of the Philadelphia Finance Company, the Bridgewater
Cordage Company (Philadelphia), the Kenilworth Inn Company and Kenilworth

Land Company (Asheville, North Carolina), the Etowah Iron Company (Georgia),
and the Wilkesbarre and Western Railroad Company (Pennsylvania).  He is Vice-
President of the Quaker City National Bank (Philadelphia), of the Ames-Bonner
Company (Toledo, Ohio), Auer Light Company (South America), Central Coal and
Coke Company (Pennsylvania), Dent's Run Coal Company (Pennsylvania).  He is
director in the Spring Garden Insurance Company (Philadelphia), the Delaware
Company, and eight other corporations, making a total of twenty-six corporations
in which he is a director.

  Despite these great business interests, Mr. Gazzam has been able to devote
great attention to literary and other pursuits.  He has been three times elected
President of the Pennsylvania Club, a prominent Republican club of Philadelphia.
He is a life member of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, the Fairmount Park
Art Association, and of the Horticultural Society, and is a member of the Union
League Club of Philadelphia, of the Philadelphia Cricket Club, of the Lawyer's
Club, and of the Germantown Cricket Club, of Philadelphia, the American

Academy of Political and Social Science, University Archaeological Association,
the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Citizens'
Municipal Association, the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, and the

Pennsylvania Fish Protective Association."

1850 US Federal Census

Name: Joseph M Gazzam

Age: 8

Est. Birth: abt 1842

birthplace: Pennsylvania

Gender: Male

Home in 1850: Pitt, Allegheny, Pennsylvania

Household Members:

Charles J. Bown...age 10

A W Gazzam...age 14

Edward D Gazzam...age 47

Elizabeth Gazzam...age 33

Emma L Gazzam...age 12

Joseph M Gazzam...age 8

Alice McWolter...age 22

James McWolter...age 22

Maria S Parker...age 21

Mary Jane Parker...age 18

1870 US Federal Census:

Name: Joseph M Gazzam

Est. Birth: abt 1843

Age in 1870: 27

Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Home in 1870: Pittsburgh Ward 1, Allegheny, Pennsylvania
Race: White

Gender: Male

Post Office: Pittsburgh

Household Members:

Joseph M Gazzam

Antoinetta E Gazzam

Frank Mc Kenna

Kate Mc Fadden

Bridget Cochran

1910 US Federal Census:

Name: Joseph M Gazzam

Age in 1910: 68

Est. Birth: abt 1842

Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Relationship to Head:  Head

Father's birth: Pennsylvania

Mother's birth: Pennsylvania

Spouse's Name: Nellie M

Home in 1910: Philadelphia Ward 8, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Marital Status: Married

Race: White

Gender: Male

Household Members:

Joseph M Gazzam...age 68

Nellie M Gazzam...age 42

Joseph Man Gazzam...age 14

Olivia W S B Gazzam...age 13

Wilson McDaw...age 45

Frances Twitty...age 35

Additional Information




More Information regarding Joseph M. Gazzam...

  Men of 1914 Biographical Sketches

Page 36

Gazzam, Joseph, M., lawyer; born in Pittsburgh, Dec. 2, 1842, son of Dr. Edward Despard
Gazzam, physician, lawyer, statesman, one of organizers of the Free Soil party and its first
candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, and Elizabeth Antoinette de Beelen de Bertholff,
daughter of Constantine Antoine de Beelen de Bertholff, and granddaughter of Baron Frederick
Eugene Francois d Beelen de Bertholff (Austrian Minister to the United States from 1783 to
1787). He was educated at the University of Western Pennsylvania. Admitted to the Allegheny
County Bar, Jan. 6, 1864; to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in November, 1867; to the
Circuit and District Courts of the United States in May, 1869, and to the Supreme Court of the
United States, March 19, 1870. He practiced at Pittsburgh until 1879; member of the law firm of
Gazzam & Cochran (Mr. Cochran ex-member of Congress and vice-president Missouri Pacific
Railroad) from 1872 to 1879; and removed, 1879, to Philadelphia. He has since practiced law in
the latter city and associated with William S. Wallace and formerly Gazzam, Wallace & Lukens,
but now retired. Mr. Gazzam is a Republican in politics. He was a member of the city council of
Pittsburgh in 1869-1873 and elected state senator in 1876, from the forty-third senatorial district
of Pennsylvania. While so serving he introduced a bill for a marriage license law which was
almost identical with the law now in force, but which was defeated in the lower House. He was
author of the law which did away with the calls for special elections for state officers and thus
effected a great saving to the State, and many other important acts. He was appointed by
Governor William A. Stone commissioner from Pennsylvania to represent the State at the South
Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition of 1902, and also a member of the Pennsylvania
Commission by. Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St.
Louis. Mr. Gazzam is president of the Rees Welsh Digest and Law Publishing Company, was
one of the organizers of Quaker City National Bank of Philadelphia and fourteen years its vice-
president. He is president of the Ames-Bonner Company of Toledo, 0., vice-president of the
Dent's Run Coal Company, Pennsylvania; chairman of the board of directors of Peale, Peacock
& Kerr, Incorporated; director in the Delaware Company and others. He was one of the projectors
of the Beech Creek Railroad and the town of Gazzam was named for him. Mr. Gazzam is a life
member of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, the Fairmount Park Association, the Franklin
Institute, Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Forestry Association,
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Zoological Society, the American Academy of Political and
Social Science, the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, the Archaeological and
Palaeontological Society of the University. He is a member and el-president of the Pennsylvania
Club, a life member of the Union League and Lawyers' Club of Philadelphia; a member of the
National Arts Club of New York City, City Club of New York, and the Toledo Club, Toledo, 0. Mr.
Gazzam married, in 1893, Nellie M. Andrews of New Orleans, and they have two children:
Joseph M. Gazzam, Jr., and Olivia M. de B. Gazzam. Residence, 265 South 19th St.


Found on Ancestry.com, and noted gratefully here this day...9/23/09/ln

Newspaper Articles/1st Marriage




  From The New York Times...published:  June 9, 1892
Copyright c The New York Times

/ln

Titled..."Mrs. Gazzam Gets her Divorce."

  Philadelphia, June 8.- Mrs. Annie Reading Gazzam obtained in Common Pleas
Court, No. 3, to-day a decree of Divorce from ex-State Senator Joseph M.

Gazzam.  Both are well known in society circles in this city, New York, and
Pittsburg, and Mr. Gazzam is one of the most prominent figures in the business
and legal circles of Pennsylvania.

  The domestic troubles culminated in today's decree are of five or six years'
standing, although no active proceedings were taken in the matter until about a
year ago, when Mrs. Gazzam made an application for an absolute divorce.
  The testimony was taken quietly before a Master, and all possible means were
used to avert publicity.  Very little scandal was developed in the testimony, and
Mr. Gazzam interposed little objection to the final determination of the case, both
sides resting upon the old plea of incompatibility of temper.


This found on Google.com., and noted gratefully here this day...
9/30/10

/ln

From The New York Times, dated October 3, 1907...copyright @ the New York
Times...

HEADLINE...

"PUTS HER HATRED IN HER WILL..."

Mrs. Gazzam, leaving $1,250,000, tells her daughter to shun her father.

In the will of the late Mrs. Mary Anna Reading Gazzam of Cornwall-on-Hudson is
shown the hatred she had for the husband she divorced many years ago, and

whom she never forgave.  The clause in the will by which she leaves her estate
of $1,250,000 to her daughter, Antoinette Elizabeth Gazzam, directs that the
executors and guardian of her child shall guard against her over coming under
the care or influence of the father.

"I most solemnly charge and direct the  executor and the guardian of my beloved
daughter Antoinette Elizabeth Gazzam, that they guard and protect her from
coming at any time or in any manor under the care of or within the influence of or
into the personal or social contact of her father, John Joseph M. Gazzam," the
clause reads.

Mrs. Gazzam, who died a few weeks ago, had been the principal in a number of
lawsuits.  She was at one time defendant in a sensational suit, being charged
with having alienated the affections of her cousin, R. Charles Reading, from his
wife.  Mrs. Gazzam was forced to pay $25,000 damages finally, although she
fought the case from one court to another for years.

John Joseph Gazzam was formerly a State Senator in Pennsylvania.  After her
divorce, Mrs. Gazzam brought an action against her husband to compel him to
make an accounting for $500,000 belonging to the estate of her father, which he
had managed and controlled for many years.  In this suit she fought her former
husband bitterly.

Miss Gazzam, who is the chief beneficiary under the terms of the will, is to be
married to the Rev. A. H. Robinson, a Unitarian minister of Newburg.  She lived
with her mother at their country home ever since the divorce proceedings.  She
made a solemn promise to her mother prior to her death that she would never
have anything to do with her father, who has again married and is living in
Philadelphia.

More Information:




The following found on Google Digital Library, under "History of the Gazzam-
DeBeelen family".  I note it gratefully here this day...
10-20-09

/ln

JOSEPH MURPHY GAZZAM. (b. 1842) While it is true that many of the greatest names
on the pages of the world's history have been won by men of obscure parentage, yet
investigation will usually show that such have been especially endowed by nature with
indomitable will power, robust health or other advantages, they being thus, by a
combined strength of mind and body, enabled to acquire traits and habits not originally
inherent Such men necessarily mark an advance in the history of the family from which
they descend.

But there are men who have gained distinction in life without the incalculable aid of
strong physical condition, and in such cases one naturally looks for inherited mental
capacity, the individual's ability predicating the merit of those from whom he has sprung.

Joseph Murphy Gazzam, the subject of this sketch, may with propriety be classed among
the latter. Descended from parents of cultivation and refinement, it is to be expected that
he should have always evinced a desire for similar culture, and, despite almost
continuous ill-health, it is not singular that he should have acquired distinction in his
professional, political and social career.

He was born in the city of Pittsburg, December 2, 1842, being the second son and third
child of Dr. Edward Despard and Elizabeth Antoinette deBeelen-Gazzam. The first
fourteen years of Mr. Gazzam's life differed somewhat from the ordinary, owing to lack
of robust health, his parents considering it advisable to keep him from the ardors and
restraints of regular school life. At home, however, under the careful tuition of his father,
he gained the rudimentary elements of education, so that he was not by any means
deficient when, at this age, he entered the Western University of Pennsylvania. Here he
remained for three and a half years, at the end of which time his health compelled a
temporary suspension of study. An extended tour through- out the Western States greatly
benefitted him, however, so that when he returned he felt capable of beginning what
afterwards proved an earnest and exhaustive study of the law. On January 4, 1861, he
entered the office of David Reed, Esq., and three years later, January 6, 1864, he was
admitted to the Allegheny County Bar. In a short time his practice became so extensive
that he was able to decline all criminal cases save those of regular clients, this, too, in
face of the fact that he had made quite a reputation in this branch of the profession,
although the practice was always distasteful to him. In November, 1867, he was admitted
to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ; in May, 1869, to the Circuit and District Courts
of the United States, and March 19, 1870, upon motion of the late Hon. Benjamin F.
Butler, of Massachusetts, to the Supreme Court of the United States. In the latter body he
was remarked as one of the youngest members ever admitted to practice before it.

In 1871 he was elected a director for Pennsylvania in the United States Law Association,
and in 1872 he entered into a law partnership with Hon. Alexander G. Cochran. The firm
of Gazzam & Cochran became widely known throughout the United States, and was
continued until 1879, when, owing to the removal of Mr. Cochran to St. Louis, it was
dissolved.

Mr. Gazzam' s life at this period had become a very busy one. He was solicitor for a
number of leading corporations of Pittsburg, among them being the City Bank, the
Security Trust Company, the Iron City Fire Insurance Company, and others, besides
being president of the United States Building and Loan Association. Despite this
extremely active professional career, Mr. Gazzam found time to take a leading part in
numerous social organizations, being president of the Pittsburg Gymnastic Association,
president of the Hygeia Base Ball Club, as well as an officer, or officer and director, in
many other similar organizations.

A fondness for the political arena is one of the characteristics undoubtedly inherited by
Mr. Gazzam. In early life it induced him to take active part in the municipal government
of his native city. He was frequently called upon to speak at political meetings in various
campaigns, and his decisive and practical expressions advocating many needed reforms
soon attracted general attention. In consequence he became (in 1869) Republican
candidate to represent the First Ward of Pittsburg in City Councils. Being elected he was
subsequently enabled to carry many of these excellent ideas into effect, and to show
himself a capable and patriotic public official. His name at this time was prominently
mentioned in connection with the Select Branch of Councils, and also for the Mayoralty.
Concerning the former the Pittsburg Sunday Times, of November 10, 1872, said : —

"If strict attention to every duty and unceasing devotion to the best interests of the city
are commendable in a public officer, then Mr. Gazzam will certainly be rewarded with a
seat in the Select Branch of our City Legislature. During the year about to close Mr.
Gazzam has been prominent in all important legislation, and has ever been on the popular
side. His constituents will do themselves a good service by honoring Mr. Gazzam with
promotion."

Alluding to the nomination for the Mayoralty, the Pittsburg Evening Bulletin, of May 9,
1872, said : —

"Among the names suggested for the Mayoralty is that of Joseph M. Gazzam. Mr.
Gazzam is a young man of ability. He has represented the First Ward in the Common
Council for several years, and the people have the utmost confidence in his honesty and
integrity."

An important step in the career of Mr. Gazzam occurred in 1876, when, by acclamation
of the nominating convention, he became Republican candidate for the Forty-third
Senatorial District. He was elected by a large majority. As a member of the Senate he
soon ranked as of the highest ability and character. Fair-minded yet tenacious, pacific yet
thoroughly equipped for debate, he formed his opinions on public measures with
deliberation and candor, and defended them with courage and skill. He was a zealous
worker for Republican principles, though utterly devoid of all that savored of " offensive
partisanship," and so wise were his counsels that at the expiration of his term he had
gained a most enviable position in his party. One of the bills introduced by Mr. Gazzam
was for a marriage license law (similar to that now in effect in Pennsylvania), which was
then defeated.

In 1882 he was prominently mentioned throughout the State as a candidate for the
Lieutenant-Governorship. This was at a time, however, when private reasons urged Mr.
Gazzam to discourage all efforts made in his behalf by a legion of friends, and so his
name was not presented at the convention. The following extract from an editorial in the
Philadelphia News,  published at the time, will convey an idea of the general esteem in
which his political actions are held : —

"There are many names being brought forward for the Lieutenant- Governorship of this
State. The Press of this city refers as follows to the subject: "Various journals of the State
have presented the name of ex-Senator Joseph M. Gazzam as candidate for Lieutenant-
Governor on the Republican ticket. Mr. Gazzam has made an honorable record in public
life. He was the author of the law which prevented a session of the Legislature in 1880,
thus making a large saving for the State. He is recommended as affable and well versed
in parliamentary law and having the qualities to make a strong candidate if nominated. ' '
This complimentary notice is well deserved. Mr. Gazzam stands the peer of any man in
the State in purity of character, fullness of culture and clearness of intellect. Having had
years of experience in the State Senate, he is fully qualified to perform any service
required of the Lieutenant-Governor. And as the term of Governor has been extended to
four years, all the uncertainties which attach to a Presidential term attaches to it.
Therefore, whoever may be selected as candidate for Lieutenant-Governor should be
qualified, in the event of need, to act as Governor. This Mr. Gazzam is amply qualified to
do. Prudent, cautious, and with good judgment, he would fill the Executive chair with
ability and success. If the policy this year shall be to make up a ticket so unexceptionable
that all Republicans will be glad to support it, no better name can be selected for
Lieutenant-Governor. And this is the policy which should obtain. Locality this year
should give place to quality in candidates. It is the one thing that is important above all
else. And if this policy shall prevail, Mr. Gazzam will be in the front for the Lieutenant-
Governorship."

Unfortunately the policy above indicated did not prevail in the convention that followed.
A slated ticket was rushed through, which proved so distasteful to the Inde- pendent
Republicans throughout the State that they met in convention and put a ticket of their
own in the field, the final outcome being the defeat of both Republican tickets and the
election of the regular Democratic nominees. Senator Gazzam moved from his native city
to Philadelphia in 1879. Upon this occasion all the Pittsburg papers commented upon his
removal in the most flattering terms. The Critic said :

"Pittsburg's loss is Philadelphia's gain. The community has long since learned to respect
and esteem him for his manly qualities, his genial disposition, his inborn courtesy, his
strict integrity, his usefulness in pub- lic life and his devotion to all that Pittsburgers
regard as noblest and dearest."

After his arrival in Philadelphia Mr. Gazzam opened an office at 714 Walnut street, his
law practice increasing rapidly. Upon the completion of the Girard Building, at Broad
and Chestnut streets, Mr. Gazzam removed his offices to it, engaging six commodious
rooms, which he furnished luxuriously as business offices. Recently, however, he has not
actively practiced, owing to the pressing duties of the numerous offices filled by him in
various corporations, and his connection with sundry other business enterprises. He was
one of the projectors of the Beech Creek, Clearfield & Southwestern Railroad (later
known as the Beech Creek), a railroad which, beginning at Jersey Shore, Pa., had its
terminus in the thriving borough of Gazzam, named after the subject of this sketch. At
the present time (1894) Mr. Gazzam is president of the Philadelphia Finance Company,
and the Bridgewater Cordage Company (Philadelphia) ; of the Kenilworth Inn Company,
and Kenilworth Land Company (Asheville, N. C.) ; of the Etowah Iron Company
(Georgia), and of the Wilkes- barre and Western Railroad Company (Pennsylvania). He is
vice president of the Quaker City National Bank (Philadelphia) ; of the Ames-Bonner
Brush Company (Toledo, Ohio) ; Auer Light Company (South America); Central Coal
and Coke Company and Dent's Run Coke Company (Pennsylvania). He is a director in
the Spring Garden Insurance Company (Philadelphia), the Delaware Company, and eight
other corporations, making a total of twenty-nine corporations in which he is concerned
either as an officer or director.

With all his arduous business duties, however, Mr. Gazzam, owing to his methodical
habits, still finds time to devote to literary and other pursuits. He is a life member of the
Pennsylvania Historical Society, the Fairmount Park Art Association, and of the
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Club, one of
the leading political organizations of the State, of which he was for three years president,
declining nomi- nation for a fourth term recently tendered him. He is also a member of
the Union League Club, of Philadelphia, and of the Citizens' Municipal Association, of
the Philadelphia Cricket Club, of the Lawyers' Club, of the Germantown Cricket Club, of
Philadelphia ; the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the
Geneological Society of Pennsylvania, University Archseological Association, the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, and the Pennsylvania Fish Protective
Association, of which latter he filled the office of president recently.

Mr. Gazzam married, October 30, 1878, Anna, daughter of the late John G. Reading, one
of Pennsylvania's successful business men, and a great-grandson of Hon. John Reading,
Colonial Governor of New Jersey. Two children were the result of this union : —  Sada ;
born September i, 1879; died November 17, 1880, and Antoinette Elizabeth ; born March
8, 1883.

Mr. Gazzam married a second time September 7, 1893, Nellie May, daughter of
Benjamin and Olivia A. Andrews, of New Orleans, who still survives (1894).

Kenilworth Inn History:




Found online at Wikipedia.com., and noted gratefully here this day...
9/5/10

/ln

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

J


Kenilworth Inn


U.S. National Register
of Historic Places



graphic


Location:

60 Caledonia Rd., Asheville, North Carolina



Built/Founded:

1918


Architect:

Greene, Ronald; Carolina Wood Products


Architectural style(s):

Tudor Revival


Governing
body:

Private






Kenilworth Inn, located in Asheville, North Carolina, is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. It is a towering example of large-scale Gothic Tudor architecture

overlooking downtown Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountains and serves as tribute to
American architecture over the past 125 years.[citation needed]

The original Kenilworth Inn

The original Tudor-styled Kenilworth Inn was a multi-gabled structure that catered to
wealthy travelers visiting the Asheville region to seek rest and improved health in the
mountain air. The eight-story hotel was built during the city's railroad-driven boom period
and opened for business in 1890. The architect was Will Price of Philadelphia.

Described in various accounts as magnificent, handsome and luxurious, the inn was built
atop the second-highest vantage point in Asheville, overlooking the junction of South
Main Street and the Swannanoa River Road.

Visitors to the inn were treated to idyllic views of the Swannanoa during a five-minute
ride via carriage or on horseback up Macadam Drive on their way from the train depot to
the top of the knoll. Upon arrival they passed through the inn's imposing stone porte
cochere and into an expansive lobby.

Inside the entryway to Kenilworth's main floor, guests found contemporary amenities and
services at their disposal, including a newsstand, telephones, telegraph offices, pharmacy,
music hall, billiard room, various parlors and drawing rooms, and dining facilities.
Extensive porches along the front were a perfect area for socializing.

The inn's many guest rooms commanded splendid views of the surrounding Craggy and
Black Mountain, North Carolina ranges, including distant glimpses of Mt. Mitchell and
Mt. Pisgah. Along the valley floor to the south stretched the private park of George W.

Vanderbilt, a 7,000-acre tract that would eventually become Biltmore Forest
and Biltmore
Village. The hotel and its environs boasted sumptuous appointment, 20 acres of lawn,
tennis grounds, and a golf course. The lengths to which Kenilworth Inn went to pamper
visitors became part of its renown. One personal account seems almost to have been taken
from a hotel brochure:

“Each room has an entirely separate flue, and the air is changed in every room each five
minutes throughout the entire twenty-four hours. The inside finish is in native hard wood.
Kenilworth Inn has all of the modern conveniences, with everything for comfort, pleasure
and luxury. A superior cuisine, the purest water, no back rooms, rare views from every
room, electric lights, elevator, billiards, bowling, tennis, laundry and livery. Particular
attention has been given to plumbing and drainage.”

The property included an additional 140 acres of woodland drives and walkways,
providing the perfect environment for guests to take in the crisp morning air. One visitor
practically gushed with wonderment at Kenilworth’s peaceful grounds:

“A superbly wooded tract of the most varied forest growths, containing grand old Spanish
and stately white oaks, health-giving pines, delicate dogwoods, spice-wood, luxuriant
rhododendrons, azaleas, sweet shrubs, larkspurs, and small flora too numerous to mention.
The native birds, gray squirrels, partridges, and wild rabbits are here protected, and afford
unlimited entertainment.”

This original inn remained in operation into the early 1900s. The structure was destroyed
by fire in April 1909, ending Kenilworth's grand first era.

A New Kenilworth Inn, From the Ashes

At the time of the Kenilworth Inn fire in 1909, James “Jake” Madison Chiles had been
living in Asheville for a year. He had come to Asheville to establish himself in the furniture
business and purchased the property known as the old Patton Farm, where he settled and
began buying up land.

Chiles may well have been early Asheville's most avid developer and the site of the original
Kenilworth Inn held an attraction for him. His aunt had filled his head with ideas about
Kenilworth Castle in England, made famous by Sir Walter Scott's novel, Kenilworth,
which included a picturesque lake and a decaying castle.

In 1919, those same romantic notions also led Chiles to declare his determination to
rebuild another inn on the original Kenilworth Inn foundation. For Chiles, it would be like
a phoenix rising from the ashes. Funding was provided initially through a company that
Chiles incorporated in 1911, The Carolina Nova Cola Company. THE FOLLOWING
YEAR, CHILES SOLD CAROLINA NOVA AND PURCHASED A 151-ACRE

TRACT FROM JOSEPH M. GAZZAM, A FORMER PENNSYLVANIA State
Senator AND THE OWNER OF THE ORIGINAL KENILWORTH INN.

In 1913, Chiles formed Kenilworth Development Company to bring resources together to
construct the new Kenilworth Inn. By September everything was in place and work began
in earnest on the old Kenilworth Inn foundation. Chiles also formed Kenilworth Park
Company – created especially to facilitate the incorporation of the town of Kenilworth.
Under Chiles' vision a small suburb named Kenilworth was established with its own fire,
police and sewer services. Chiles became mayor of the community – one that was
considered experimental at the time.

Within this large property, work on the new Kenilworth Inn, (partially funded by Canadian
investors), continued over the next five years. It was during this period that Asheville
began experiencing a second period of growth in tourism, fueled by the increasing railroad
commerce from the South and East.

During 1916, the year of the great area flood, Asheville was proud of its reputation as a
city where fresh mountain air could relieve various pulmonary diseases, primarily
tuberculosis. The city's established hotels were experiencing a combined 250,000 visitors a
year. Chiles, in the midst of constructing a 500 guest per day resort hotel, felt his new inn
would be able to hold its own and could hardly wait for opening day.

The new construction got a shot in the arm during 1917 with help from newly established
Asheville architect Richard Greene, and the inn was completed by Carolina Wood
Products Company the following year, along with the addition of a separate Boiler House
to provide utility services.

The primary architecture of the newly constructed resort hotel was Tudor Revival,
including rough stone masonry and a re-worked porte-cochere entranceway. Masonry
contrasted nicely with stucco and a half timbered exterior, while the half hipped and
gabled dormers created a dramatic roof line.

Terraces and verandas were built to flow into open porches on all sides, allowing guests to
take in the mountain air from all sides of the inn. Furnishings were modern and elegant,
recreational facilities were varied, and the social atmosphere of the main floor and lobby,
including a ballroom, solariums, tea rooms, billiard lounges, and fireplaces ensured that
guests were satisfied all around.

Unfortunately, before Chiles could capitalize on his dream of a new Kenilworth Inn, the
Army saw the new construction as the perfect place for a wartime convalescence hospital.

U. S. Army General Hospital No. 12

James Chiles leased Kenilworth Inn to the U.S. Army in February 1918, just one month
after the building's construction was completed. The Army had been expressing their
interest in Kenilworth since 1917, when they announced their plans for a hospital to be
built in Azalea, NC. But the hospital would not be completed until September 1919.

The Army's decision to lease Kenilworth Inn while their new hospital was being built in
Azalea stemmed primarily from the emergent need for a facility that could house sick and
wounded soldiers, primarily those suffering from tuberculosis. So Chiles leased
Kenilworth to the Army and the building became US. General Hospital No. 12, alternately
referred to as U.S. Army Convalescence Hospital No. 12, or more plainly: Biltmore
Hospital.

Chiles, through circumstances brought about by the needs of a wartime military
commitment, found himself unable to provide the Asheville community with a luxury
hotel. He would have to wait to re-acquire the building once the military's lease expired in
September 1919.

Meanwhile, the Army began making significant interior renovations that would convert the
luxurious building into a hospital. This work included extensive changes to the building's
electrical and plumbing systems to allow for autopsy rooms, dark rooms, various
examination rooms, x-ray rooms, surgical rooms, as well as changes to some
administrative offices and storage spaces.

Of primary significance to Kenilworth Inn's history during the period of its occupation by
the Army is the admission of sick German aliens from the Hot Springs, N.C. internment

camp during the summer of 1918. These prisoners were described by the Army as
“civilians under governmental but nonmilitary control.”

Hot Springs had long been nationally renowned as a resort and spa area. It was
conveniently located on the main railroad line and the Mountain Park Hotel was a major
tourist attraction for the area. In 1917, the Army saw Hot Springs as a suitable area for
their internment camp and leased the hotel for $1,500 a month. They began holding
prisoners at the newly constructed camp in June. Nearly 3,000 Germans were held at Hot
Springs until August 1918, when the Army transferred them to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.

A typhoid outbreak among the internees resulted in 180 of them being transferred 50 miles
to the Inn. The cases of typhoid were so severe that 18 of the patients transferred to
Kenilworth eventually died.

According to Army records, “The epidemic was directly traceable to accidental
contamination of the water supply of one section of the camp, which was connected, for
fire-prevention purposes only, with an intake from the French Broad River, afterward
found to be contaminated.”

While it may be speculated by some that those prisoners who acquired typhoid may have
deliberately drank contaminated water to avoid being transferred from Hot Springs to Fort
Oglethorpe, Ga., there is no record extant that reveals this to be true. In fact the Asheville
newspaper account at the time clearly states that, “no suicidal evidence is disclosed…even
though the alien enemies expressed bitter disinclination to being transferred.”

Kenilworth Inn, 1923–1929

After resuming control over Kenilworth Inn in 1923, Chiles operated the resort hotel with
great success until the stock market crash of 1929. Hotel services offered at Kenilworth
were contemporary with other Asheville resorts, such as the Grove Park Inn. Both hotels
provided rooms that were replete with modern conveniences for the well-paying guest.

Throughout the inn's successful six-year run, it was the setting for social activities and
events that maintained a strong tie with the communities of Asheville and surrounding
Kenilworth. Luxury accommodations at Kenilworth Inn in the twenties provided sterling
views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and guests were encouraged to participate in tennis,
golf, horseback riding, Easter egg hunts, fireworks displays, and billiards.

Kenilworth Inn brochures and pamphlets invited and encouraged the general public to visit
the inn “any day or night of the week for dance, music and family fun” including picnics on
the front lawn and lavish holiday celebrations.

The Chiles family strongly advocated this sense of community through music concerts,
radio broadcasts and other noteworthy performances, including a performance by the
escape artist, Houdini.

Kenilworth Radio Concerts were broadcast from Kenilworth on local Asheville station
WFAJ. These concerts featured the Kenilworth Inn Orchestra, the Spenser Orchestra of
New York, and the famous Jan Garber Orchestra. Garber (billed as “The Idol Of The
Airwaves”) led a big band that was the epitome of that era's “sweet” music).

Kenilworth guests were encouraged to “get out and see the Asheville area” through
complimentary passes to Biltmore Forest and Asheville Country Clubs. Kenilworth Inn
hosted the first annual Kenilworth and Biltmore Forest Horse Show in August 1923, as
well as several art exhibits – most importantly the 1928 exhibit by Kenilworth Galleries.

The 1928 exhibit at Kenilworth was the largest showcase of paintings in the South to be
held at the time. More than 100 artists from 12 states and three foreign countries
presented their works, including Kiffin Rockwell, A.C. Wyatt, and Mrs. R. P. Royer.
Noted Italian and German artists exhibited their works in the U.S. for the first time during
this event. In the fall of that year a lavish art show was held on Armistice Day and
included guests of honor from the American Legion.

The Annexation of Kenilworth

In 1929, the onset of the Great Depression caused many banks to close and others to
severely curtail business. This financial belt tightening brought the heady era of luxury
resort living and notable community events at Kenilworth Inn to a halt.

With many of its own banks closing, the city of Asheville sought to protect itself
financially by annexing area suburbs, including Kenilworth. Kenilworth Mayor Leah Chiles
agreed with the city's plan for stability, but she fought any annexation unless the people of
the Kenilworth community were allowed to vote on the issue.

After many public meetings and much debate, Kenilworth residents were granted the right
to a vote and the results were nearly unanimous in favor of annexation. On June 30, 1929,
Mayor Leah Chiles surrendered the town of Kenilworth to the “bigger, better, and
wealthier” city of Asheville.

Soon after annexation of Kenilworth, bank closings in Asheville caused the Kenilworth Inn
Company to default on its payments to Carolina WoodProducts Company. The assets of
the Kenilworth Realty Co, including Kenilworth Inn, were sold on the Court House steps
for $1200. The Chiles' holdings were essentially wiped out.

Appalachian Hall, 1931–1943

After being sold, Kenilworth Inn sat empty for one year before reopening as a sanatorium.
The old structure, with its spacious interior, drew the attention of two local doctors,
William Ray Griffin, Sr., and his brother, Mark Griffin, who purchased and then converted
the inn into a mental health facility in October 1931.

With an increasing number of patients in need of treatment during the depression, the two
doctors were challenged. Their burgeoning practice had outgrown Appalachian Hall, the
facility which had operated on French Broad Avenue in Asheville from 1916 until 1931.

The Griffin brothers quickly found that Kenilworth Inn, with its generous use of space,
quiet halls, and impressive exterior grounds, suited their method of treatment for mental
disorders. The building was renamed Appalachian Hall to maintain the connection with
their previous facility.

In order to preserve the layout of the original construction as much as possible, little was
changed beyond the name and the addition of examination and treatment rooms. The
Griffins also resisted changing the surrounding property so that patients not needing to be
placed in isolation might be encouraged to participate in the same outdoor activities as
guests of Kenilworth Inn had enjoyed in previous years.

In an era when many of their contemporaries were still providing treatments solely upon
physical ailments, the Griffins approach to psychiatry went beyond the standard treatments
of hydrotherapy, thermo therapy and electro therapy. The facilities at Appalachian Hall
provided a means for treatments that were varied according to the individual and usually
included a mixture of approved recreational, occupational, and physical therapies.

There were other privately owned mental health facilities in Asheville, but Appalachian
Hall, under the supervision of the Griffin brothers, fostered a more forward thinking
approach to treatment of psychiatric disorders.[citation needed]

U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital, Kenilworth Park

During the Second World War, the United States government again found it necessary to
seek locations for battle-weary and wounded soldiers to convalesce. In February 1943,
Kenilworth's Appalachian Hall was pressed into service as “U.S. Naval Convalescent
Hospital, Kenilworth Park,” and the Griffin brothers' treatment center was temporarily
moved into two Asheville area hotels, the Princess Anne Hotel on Furman Street and the
Forest Hill Inn in Kenilworth.

The Navy's previously maintained convalescent center had been located at Grove Park Inn
Asheville and while both Grove Park and Appalachian Hall facilities shared a common
practice of treating convalescing soldiers and sailors with rest and relaxation, the
Kenilworth Park hospital added recreation to the program. Patients were sent to
Kenilworth Park Hospital after reaching the convalescent stages of recuperation from
injuries or illness contracted during duty and enjoyed the same amenities as Kenilworth
Inn guests and Appalachian Hall patients had in previous years, in addition to new
recreational fixtures added by the Navy.

Significant changes made to Appalachian Hall by the Navy were construction of a stage in
the building's ballroom so patients could watch motion pictures and a bowling alley in the
basement. The building once again became a social center for dances, picnics, motion
pictures and stage shows, all hosted by the U.S. Navy. In addition, the dining hall was
opened to the public to support the idea that public interaction with convalescing soldiers
and sailors would boost patient morale and promote a quicker recovery.

According to accounts printed in the Asheville Times, as many as 7,000 patients of all
nationalities were treated at the Navy's Convalescent Hospital, Kenilworth Park during the
government's tenure.

Appalachian Hall

In 1946, the Navy vacated Appalachian Hall and the hospital there was deactivated. The
building was then reoccupied by Dr. William Griffin and his brother, Dr. Mark Griffin, and
reopened as Appalachian Hall.

In the early 1950s, the Griffins helped to incorporate the latest medical advances and
treatments at Appalachian Hall, including the use of tranquilizers, application of newly
developed diagnostic methods, and labs set up for neurological science and diagnosis.

From the 1950s through the early 1970s, the Griffins made Appalachian Hall a leading
light in the Asheville community as a place where patients were provided the latest
diagnostic and treatment methods, as well as a relatively secluded and relaxing atmosphere
where recreation was as significant to recovery as psychiatric method.

Recent Kenilworth history

Economics again played a role in Kenilworth's history when, in the 1980s, the Griffins sold
Appalachian Hall to Magellan Enterprises, a real estate holdings
company. The sale of
Appalachian Hall can be attributed to increasing costs of maintaining such a large structure
as a viable hospital, as well as increasing pressure from major insurance companies looking
for shorter treatments and faster results, which naturally went against the grain of the
Griffin brothers' long-standing treatment philosophy.

Charter Behavioral Health System purchased Kenilworth Inn in 1994 and the building
became known as Charter Asheville. Charter Asheville operated as a 139 bed psychiatric
hospital employing 175 people until it closed in 1999.

The Kenilworth Inn Apartments

E. F. Howington, the building's current owner, purchased Kenilworth Inn and the
surrounding 25 acres from Charter in October 2000 and was successful in his bid to place
the building on the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Register of Historic Places.
Located in the historic suburb of Kenilworth, the property at Kenilworth Inn still
impresses visitors with views of deep green magnolias, shady oaks, evergreen trees and a
panoramic view of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains.

For 117 years, from its first construction in 1890, to its rebirth on the original building's
foundation in 1923; from its use by both the Army and Navy as convalescent facility
during both World Wars; from its various uses as a psychiatric hospital and through its
current configuration as a collection of 93 unique apartments – the many names and
functions applied to Kenilworth Inn have continued to preserve both property and building
as one of Asheville's lasting treasures.[citation needed]

[edit]
References

^ "National Register
Information System". National Register of Historic Places.
National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.

[edit] External
links

Historic Kenilworth website


NOTES ON THE ORIGINAL KENILWORTH INN AND THE FIRE...found
posted on Ancestry.com, and again, gratefully noted here this day...

9/5/10

/ln


Asheville, NC Kenilworth Inn Fire, Apr
1909

Posted July 22nd, 2008 by Stu Beitler

GUESTS FLED SCANTILY CLAD; FIRE BREAKS OUT IN THE FASHIONABLE
KENILWORTH INN NEAR ASHVILLE, N.C.

SEVENTY-FIVE GUESTS ALL ESCAPED.

MOST OF THEM LEFT BEHIND THEIR CLOTHES AND VALUABLES -- MEN
WORE PAJAMAS AND OVERCOATS WHILE SOME OF THE WOMEN GRABBED

BALL DRESSES AND OTHERS LITTLE OR NOTHING -- THOSE WHO WENT

BACK IN AN EFFORT TO SAVE PERSONAL PROPERTY HAD NARROW

ESCAPES -- LOSS ON HOTEL $140,000.

Asheville, N. C., April 14. -- Roused from their slumber after 2 o'clock this morning by an
alarm of fire, seventy-five guests of the fashionable Kenilworth Inn, three miles from this
city, barely had time to don some scanty articles of clothing and make their escape from
the burning building. The hotel was completely destroyed, the total loss being estimated at
$250,000. The insurance is placed at $75,000.

The fire started in the north end of the building over the boiler room. A strong wind was
blowing from the southwest and the flames were fanned to the other end of the frame
structure where the majority of the guests were asleep.

There was a wild scramble for the exits but there was nothing bordering on a panic among
either men, women or children in spite of the great confusion at the time. Half an hour
later when it was believed that all were out the roll was called and every person accounted
for. It was a motley array however, some of the women appearing in ball gowns, and
others in even more scanty and varying degrees of negligee. Many of the men wore
nothing but their underclothing covered by their overcoats. Almost every describable
manner of dress was represented.

Many persons after conquering the first thought of self preservation that had led to instant
flight ventured back to the smoke-filled halls and into their rooms to rescue their trunks
and other personal effects which they had abandoned.

Some brought forth rocking chairs wash stands and every manner of articles, which soon
littered the lawns.

As the fire kept raging, fanned by the rapidly increasing wind the heat became so intense
that all hope of saving possessions was abandoned. Several persons who had re-entered
the hotel not realizing that the fire had reached the south wing, were almost caught.
Shouts of friends from the outside were answered by yells for help and heroic efforts of
several guests and policemen alone saved them from being cut off from every avenue of
escape.

The scantily clad guests were taken in at the Battery Park hotel a nearby residence and
cared for the remainder of the night. The Kenilworth Inn was owned by Senator
GAZZAM of Philadelphia and was built 14 years ago by the Kenilworth Inn company at
a cost of $140,000. GEORGE W. VANDERBILT is believed to be the heaviest stock-
holder in the company which was composed largely of northern capitalists.

During the conflagration which destoryed the Kenilworth Inn early today several firemen
received painful burns. Former State Senator GAZZAM of Philadelphia, jumped from
the third story while the firemen were breaking open the door of his room. In the
descent he barely escaped striking against the stone arch at the front of the building.
He received numerous painful injuries and was removed to Baltimore hospital. A
negro porter was badly hurt by falling from the third floor, the fall being broken, however,
by his catching projecting windows and landing on a roof below them. All the guests were
accounted for except a MRS. TERRELL, whose address was not ascertained.

The Mansfield News Ohio 1909-04-14

__________________

Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!

Burial Information:




Found on Find A Grave.com, and noted gratefully here this day...
9/9/11

/ln

Birth: unknown Death: 1927

Burial:

Allegheny Cemetery

Pittsburgh

Allegheny County

Pennsylvania, USA

Plot: Section 16, Lot 185, Grave 1

Created by: rkh

Record added: Aug 27, 2011

Find A Grave Memorial# 75597784

False Obituary:




Found on Ancestry.com, and transcribed gratefully here this day...
2/24/12

/ln


Death of Miss Gazzam's Father...
  Joseph M. Gazzam, divorced husband of the late Mrs. Gazzam of Cornwall, died at
Asheville, North Carolina, a few days ago, of injuries received in leaping from the burning
Kenilworth Inn. He was a great-grandson of Baron Frederick Eugene Francois de Beelen
de Berthoffe,  first Austrian Minister to the United States.  His father is Dr. Edward d.
Gazzam of Pittsburg, Penn.  Mr. Gazzam was a brother of the late Gen. Audley Gazzam,
father of Mrs. Edward Hagaman Hall of New York.  Mr. Gazzam was born in Pittsburg,
Dec. 2, 1842.  He was a lawyer and served in the Pittsburg Common Council and the
Pennsylvania Senate.  He was a member of the City Club and the National Arts Club of
New York.

  Mrs. Gazzam was a daughter of John G. Redding, a man of large wealth who left her a
life interest in the estate, all of which came to Miss Antoinette Gazzam after her mother's
death, the other girl in the family having died.  Miss Gazzam lives in Cornwall.  She was to
marry the Rev. Mr. Robinson, of the Unitarian Church of this city, but it has been
announced that the engagement is off.  Miss Gazzam contributes $400 a year to the
support of the Unitarian Church here.

This obituary was later retracted - Mr. Gazzam did not die in the fire.

Avez-vous des renseignements supplémentaires, des corrections ou des questions concernant Joseph Murphy (Hon.) Gazzam?
L'auteur de cette publication aimerait avoir de vos nouvelles!

Barre chronologique Joseph Murphy (Hon.) Gazzam

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