Edgar Alonzo Josselyn

Edgar Alonzo Josselyn was also called "Deedee," a name invented by his grandson Howard DeVoe as a baby and later used by other members of the family.

Edgar Alonzo Josselyn was born on 2 July 1861 at 40 Vernon Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts.^1,2,3 He was the son of Alonzo Josselyn and Caroline Augusta Morse.

Edgar Josselyn had blue eyes and red hair.⁴ In 1917 his height was 5 feet 0 inches and he weighed 130 pounds.⁵ He was a life-long Unitarian.⁶

His daughter Martha (Josselyn) DeVoe told H. DeVoe that she wished she knew more about her father's youth.⁷ She knew his stepmother Ruth Spooner Ellis did not care for him, and he was not fond of her; his father and stepmother did not think he was well enough to go to school until he was seven or eight.⁷ When he was young he made sketches to sell at fairs.⁷

Edgar Josselyn appeared on the census of 29 July 1870 at West Roxbury, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the household of his father; he was recorded as attending school.⁸ He won the second-place Allen prize at the English High School, Bedford Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts, on 20 June 1878.

Edgar Josselyn appeared on the census of 3 June 1880 at 30 Warren Street, Boston, Massachusetts, in the household of his uncle, Henry Morse, where he was described as "at school."⁹ He also appeared on the census of 15 June 1880 at Sharon, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the household of his father; he was recorded as being at school.¹⁰ He received his Diploma of Graduation from Roxbury High School in 1880.¹¹

Edgar Josselyn worked in the office of the Boston architectural firm of Bradlee, Winslow and Wetherell from 1880 to 1887.¹² Boston directories of 1885 and 1886 show him as a draughtsman at 18 Pemberton Square, Boston, Massachusetts (the address of Bradlee, Winslow and Wetherell), with residence at 30 Warren Street.^13,14

On 7 May 1887 Edgar Josselyn won the competition for the Rotch Travelling Scholarship, becoming its fourth holder.^15,12,16 A requirement for getting the scholarship was that he speak French, and this he was able to teach himself.¹⁷ He was a saloon passenger on the Cunard Line ship R. M. S. Cephalonia which departed Boston 9 June 1887 and arrived in Liverpool, England, 19 June 1887.¹⁵

He received a letter dated 14 August 1887 sending best wishes and signed by thirteen of his Boston friends.

From July 1887 to February 1889 Edgar Josselyn lived at 66 Rue de Seine, Paris, France (now the Welcome Hôtel.) From July 1887 to 1 March 1889 he was a student in the atelier of Jean-Louis Pascal.¹⁵ In March 1888 he passed the examinations for entrance into the École des Beaux-Arts.^12,15 His daughter Martha DeVoe recalled being told that the examiner for some reason disliked Edgar and set him a difficult mathematical oral problem that none of the others taking the exams could solve -- but Edgar was able to solve it.¹⁷

On 18 August 1888 Edgar Josselyn left Paris to travel first with a friend in France for a month, then by himself in southern France and Spain for two months.¹⁵

In January 1889 a group of the American architectural students in Paris were taking their meals together at the Café d'Orsay.¹⁸ One of them, Joseph McGuire, later wrote: After having had a Club Table at Duval’s Le Deux Magots, Blots and various other restaurants we finally settled down in the entresol of the Cafe d’Orsay on the Quay d’Orsay, a very celebrated old restaurant where we occupied the same room from which Edward VII in his gay youth as the Prince of Wales had been forced to escape by means of the window, when the police raided the place. This old landmark has since been razed. Here we would meet twice a day, sometimes only five or six but generally a dozen and occasionally as many as twenty. We all sat at one long table and decided the fate of the nations, and were entertained by the tales of Stephen Bonsal, Robert Chambers and other professional tellers of tall tales.¹⁹ In February of that year Edgar Josselyn's friend and fellow student John Prentiss Benson wrote to a family friend: we have had a fine time together this winter and I shall be extremely sorry when we break up -- we cannot expect to have such a congenial crowd together again.²⁰

Edgar Josselyn and other American students at the École des Beaux-Arts took a watercolor class that met four times weekly.¹⁸ The address of the studio in 1986 was École des Arts Decoratifs, 31 rue d'Ulm.²¹ Edgar Josselyn was in possession of three photographs taken by John Prentiss Benson of students in this class.²² In a letter to a family friend in London dated 15 February 1889, John Benson enclosed a copy of one of these photos and named the twelve students appearing in it, including Edgar Josselyn and himself.²⁰

It was Martha (Josselyn) DeVoe's understanding that the students exchanged paintings at the end of the watercolor class.²³ As of 2016, several watercolors given to Edgar Josselyn by his friends were in the possession of family members: three rural scenes signed A mon cher Ami E. L. Tilton / Fev 89 (February 1889); To E. A. Josselyn / from his friend, / L. de Sibourg; and 89 / M Saglio in possession of Howard DeVoe; and two paintings signed A. W. L. (Austin W. Lord) and J H McG Nov. 23 / 1888 (Joseph H. McGuire) in possession of Michael Webert.^24,25 A still life signed To my friend and bon voyager EAJ from J. F. Benson was sold by H. DeVoe in 2006 to Nicholas J. Baker of Pocasset, Massachusetts, whose wife was a granddaughter of the artist.

Whitney Warren, one of the American students at the École des Beaux-Arts, wrote: Not only did we want to keep the old crowd together with all its joyous memories, we wished also to continue our teachings and traditions, to keep the flame alive and to hand on the torch to those who were to come after us in our own country. . . . At these meetings in the Café d'Orsay we made ardent vows to accomplish our high purpose.^26,27

At a dinner at the Café d'Orsay on 22 February 1889 (Washington's Birthday), the students made plans for the formation of the organization that in the spring of 1894 became the Beaux-Arts Society of Architects in New York.^26,28 Edgar Josselyn saved his menu from this dinner in his scrapbook.²² It was signed by the 18 other men who were at the dinner. Many of the students at the dinner became prominent architects.²⁹

At the annual meeting of the Beaux-Arts Society of Architects on 21 November 1911, the architect Ernest Flagg gave a talk about the 1889 dinner (mistakenly claiming it had occurred on Thanksgiving Day 1890) and exhibited another copy of the menu.³⁰ In a letter to Whitney Warren in 1936, Joseph McGuire listed the 19 men present at the dinner and gave it as his opinion that this was the occasion at which the Society had its real inception.²⁸ The story of the 1889 dinner was published in an article by H. DeVoe in the March, 2009 issue of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.³¹

On 21 February 1889 Edgar Josselyn was issued a passport by the US Legation at Paris.⁴ He and John Prentiss Benson left Paris on 2 March 1889 for almost five months of travel together in Italy, Greece, and Turkey.^15,18,20 A photo exists that shows both travellers. Edgar Josselyn arrived back in Paris on 26 July, where he visited the International Exhibition of 1889 for which the Eiffel Tower had been built.¹⁵

Edgar Josselyn travelled in England for four weeks before departing from Liverpool on 12 September 1889 on his voyage back to America.¹⁵ On this voyage he was a saloon passenger on R. M. S. Catalonia.

Martha (Josselyn) DeVoe recalled that her father said that unlike some of the others, while in Europe he had abstained from smoking and visiting prostitutes.²³

Back in America, on 24 October 1889 Edgar Josselyn gave a talk about his travels and showed some of his drawings and sketches at the Boston Architectural Club.³² He kept up his friendships with John Prentiss Benson, Joseph McGuire, and Edward Tilton. Martha (Josselyn) DeVoe remembered the Josselyns being entertained by the Tiltons at a meal at their home in Scarsdale, New York, when she was about 8 or 10 years old.³³

Edgar Josselyn's address in 1890 was 108 West 38th Street, New York, New York.³⁴ From 1891 to 1893 he lived at 10 Waverly Place, New York.^35,36,37

Edgar Josselyn worked in the architectural office of Nathan Clark Mellen from 1893 to 1896 at 45 Broadway, New York, New York,, and in 1897 at 1 Broadway, New York.^12,38

Edgar Josselyn was a charter member of The Beaux-Arts Society of Architects, incorporated in January 1894 in New York by a group of American architects who had studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.³⁹ He was the Secretary of the Society for two terms during the years 1895-1898.^12,40,39 (According to a researcher of the history of the Beaux-Arts Society, Edgar Josselyn was the secretary before becoming a member, so was not actually a charter member).⁴¹ He was elected a member of the Committee on Education (Ernest Flagg, Chairman) for two years (1900-1901) at the Annual Meeting of the Society held 27 November 1899.^42,39 In 1912 the name of the Society was changed to Society of Beaux-Arts Architects.³⁹ The annual Beaux-Arts Ball became the event of the year in New York, attended by high society.⁴³

In 1895, as the first major project under his own name, he designed the original building (now called Old Main) for the Thomas S. Clarkson Memorial School of Technology in Potsdam, New York.^44,45 The school opened its doors on 2 September 1896.⁴⁶

Edgar Josselyn started his own architectural practice in 1897 at 883 7th Avenue, New York, New York.^12,47 From 1898 to 1901 his architectural office was at 3 West 29th Street which he shared with Joseph H. McGuire, who had been a fellow student in Paris.^48,49 Joseph McGuire (1866-1947) specialized in the design of Catholic churches and institutions, his most prominent commission being the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, Virginia.⁵⁰

Edgar Josselyn appeared on the census of 4 June 1900 at 230 West 105 Street, New York, New York. The head of household was shown as Charles A. Richards, a cousin born in Massachusetts in December 1865 who was an instructor at Columbia College. Also in the household was a male servant, Seivie Isawa, who was born in Japan in December 1873 and immigrated in 1899.⁵¹ The name Charles Richards was familiar to Martha (Josselyn) DeVoe; he was a friend of her father, rather than a relative.⁵² The correct name seems to be Charles Russell Richards.

Edgar Josselyn designed a building for the Horace Mann School, part of Columbia University, on the east side of Broadway between 120 and 121 Streets in New York City; the exterior of this building was completed by September 1900.^53,54 In 1901 his address was 36 East Twenty-second Street although it is not clear whether this was his office or his residence.^55,56 From 1902 to 1907, Edgar A. Josselyn and Joseph H. McGuire shared an architectural office at 45 East 42nd Street.^49,57,40 The room number was listed as 9 in 1905 and 1907, and as 10 in 1906.⁴⁹

Edgar Josselyn designed the Speyer School, built in 1902 at 14 West 126th Street, New York.^58,59,55 In 1905 he designed an eight-story brick school for 646-648 Park Avenue.⁵⁷ In 1905 he, together with Nathan Mellen, designed the Town Hall at Stamford, Connecticut, to replace an older Victorian Gothic town hall that had been destroyed by fire in February 1904.⁶⁰ The cornerstone was laid on 27 September 1905.⁶¹ In 1906 and 1908 he was listed as having an office at 51 Madison Avenue.⁶² He won the competition in 1908 to design the Town Hall at New Canaan, Connecticut.^12,63

According to Martha (Josselyn) DeVoe, her father had an apartment in the tower of the old Madison Square Garden, overlooking the rooftop garden where the architect Sanford White was murdered on 25 June 1906.⁶⁴ He didn't see the murder, but used to show visitors the spot.⁶⁴ He shared the apartment with a Mr. Tracy, a professional organist who played the organ at Martha Josselyn's wedding in 1931.⁶⁴ They had a Japanese servant who worked full time for them, cooking, cleaning, etc.⁶⁴ In a later interview, Martha DeVoe remembered the organist's name was Charles Tracy, but was no longer certain he shared a room with her father.⁶⁵ It seems likely he was Charles Lee Tracy (1865-1933), a pianist and piano teacher who was an organist in 1895.^66,67

Edgar Josselyn became a member of the Architectural League of New York in 1890.⁶⁸ He was president of the New York Sketch Club in 1894 and 1895.^69,40,12 On 10 February 1898, the Architectural League of New York awarded him the Avery Prize for the best design for a bulletin board for the league rooms.^70,12 In 1901 he was Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Architecture of the Architectural League of New York.⁷¹ He applied for and was elected an Associate Member of the American Institute of Architects in 1901.^12,40,56 He became a member of the National Arts Club in February 1904 and a member of the American Federation of Arts in May 1910.¹²

Edgar Alonzo Josselyn and Ella May Hannah were married by the Rev. George H. Bonsall on 14 October 1908 in Haverstraw, New York.⁷² Martha (Josselyn) DeVoe recalled that her father did not care for his mother-in-law, possibly because they were the same age.⁷³

From 1909 to 1916 Edgar Josselyn's office was at 3 West 29th Street.^62,74 For the period 1913-1916 the room was listed as 902.⁶²

Edgar Josselyn appeared on the census of 5 May 1910 at 144 East 22nd Street, New York, New York, in which his occupation was recorded as architect.⁷⁵ Martha (Josselyn) DeVoe recalled that the East 22nd Street home was in the middle of the block between Lexington Avenue and 3rd Avenue, on the south side; there was a fire station on the opposite side, a little more to the west. Their apartment was on an upper floor and there was an elevator. It was a short walk to Gramercy Park, a private fenced park to which they had a key. She revisited the street in the 1960s and found the building housed doctors' offices.^7,76

In 1913 the Josselyn family moved to a rented house on Denison Street, White Plains, New York.^77,78 Shortly after that the family rented a house on Fisher Avenue, White Plains, for six months. Then they moved to Bank Street, and stayed there until 1924 or 1925.^77,79,80

Edgar Josselyn, together with the architectural firm of Howells & Stokes, designed two buildings for the "country school for boys" (part of the Horace Mann School) on 246th Street, Riverdale, The Bronx; this school opened in 1914.^81,82,83

In May 1915 Edgar Josselyn received an honorable mention from the Municipal Art Society in a competition for plans for street intersections; according to the New York Times, "Mr. Josselyn's design was a solution of the problem of Fifth Avenue and Forty-second Street, and provided for such an admirable approach to the public library that the committee expressed hope that the city would adopt it."⁷⁴

In 1917 Edgar Josselyn's office address was Room 2615, 70 East 45th Street.^62,5 Martha (Josselyn) DeVoe remembered his office when she was young as being on East 43rd Street in back of Grand Central Station, on the bottom floor of a brownstone with a garden in the back; he had his own firm with draughtsmen working under him.⁶⁴ From 1918 to 1921, he again shared an office with Joseph McGuire, this time in Room 705, 103 Park Avenue.⁴⁹

Edgar Josselyn was the architect of the rebuilt Prescott Memorial, now the Prescott Administration Building, at the Good Will - Hinckley Homes for Boys and Girls in Hinckley, Maine. The building was opened 3 June 1922.^84,85 In 1922 the office of Edgar Josselyn and Joseph McGuire was at 137 East 46th Street.⁴⁹ From 1924 to 1930 their office was at 5 Columbus Circle.^86,87,49

Edgar Josselyn's design for the Municipal Building in White Plains, New York, (built 1925), still in existence on Main Street, was stolen by a part-time draughtsman in his office who took them to another firm where he also worked, allowing the other firm to win the competition.⁶⁴ Edgar Josselyn used his lawyer friend Stephen Holden to fight the case, but Holden was ineffective.³³ Edgar Josselyn designed the White Plains Baptist Church at the southwest corner of Mamaroneck and Maple Avenues, White Plains, New York, since demolished.

Edgar Josselyn appeared on the census of 17 January 1920 at 2 Bank Street, White Plains, Westchester County, New York, in which his home was recorded as rented.⁸⁸ The 1920 census shows the Josselyns had a boarder, Bessie C. Livingston, age 40, a public school teacher. The handwriting on the enumeration form was hard to make out, but Martha DeVoe supplied the correct name. Martha DeVoe recalled that Ms. Livingston rented a bedroom in the home for quite a few years, and taught third or fourth grade at the Fisher Avenue School nearby.^76,88 The January 1920 census records Edgar Josselyn's lawyer friend Stephen Holden, age 41, and family as living at 17 Midland Avenue, White Plains.⁸⁹

In 1922 or earlier, the family built a summer home on Hoanjovo Lane (then called Hoanjo Lane) in Pleasantville, Westchester County, New York.⁷⁷ The work was done by their friend Nick Filardi (who was a builder) and by themselves on weekends, using material from an old school including huge windows.⁸⁰

Edgar Josselyn designed a house at 19 Highland Avenue, White Plains, New York. The family moved into it after the Pleasantville house was built; this was probably during Martha's last year of high school in 1924 or 1925.⁸⁰ The house was rented out in summer while the family stayed at the Pleasantville house and Edgar commuted to his office in New York City. In the depression there was no work, so the Highland Avenue house was sold and the family made the Pleasantville house a permanent year-round residence; this was just before Martha's marriage in October 1931.^77,90,79

In 1926 Edgar Josselyn was a member of the Federal Grand Jury of the Second District of New York for the November term. This jury, by a vote of 19 to 4, adopted a resolution denouncing the Volstead Act (National Prohibition Enforcement Act) as the creator of a dangerous set of criminals.⁸⁶

A 1927 book with advice and ideas for small museums included a frontispiece and architectural sketches by Edgar Josselyn.⁹¹

Edgar Josselyn's grandmother, Lucy (Gay) Morse, had money which he remembered her promising to leave him.⁹² When she died in 1873, the money was inherited by her sixteen-year-old granddaughter Lucy G. M. Card. When Lucy Card died in 1929, the money should have gone to Edgar Josselyn and his older sister Alice (Josselyn) Bliss.⁹² In fact, Lucy Card had willed her estate to Edgar and Alice.⁹³ Alice had no need for the money and wished Lucy Card's caretaker to have it. Edgar sent his lawyer friend Stephen Holden to represent him but Holden failed to arrange for anything more than a token settlement "in order to keep family harmony" (which did not exist).⁹² Stephen Holden improperly told the husband of his wife's sister, Roy Angell, about the settlement. Angell, a real estate man, had a connection with the Scarsdale Bank that held the Highland Avenue mortgage. The bank, thinking Edgar Josselyn could afford it, demanded a partial payment of the mortgage which contributed to the family's having to sell this house and move to Pleasantville. Edgar was very upset, yet remained a friend of Holden. The house was bought by Stephen Holden Jr. at a lower price than they should have received (as someone later told Edgar).⁹⁴

Edgar Josselyn's maternal grandparents Harford and Lucy Morse owned a handsome grandfather's clock which was inherited by Lucy Card and was part of the settlement of her estate.⁹⁵ The clock was probably made by Elnathan Taber (1784-1854) in Roxbury, Massachusetts, as the earliest date scratched on the front face of the works is "Cleaned by E Taber 19 March 1822."^96,97 When Edgar Josselyn designed the Highland Avenue home, he made a special place for the clock.⁹⁴ The grandfather's clock is now (2016) in the possession of Howard DeVoe.

Edgar Josselyn appeared on the census of 7 April 1930 at 19 Highland Avenue, White Plains, Westchester County, New York, in which the home was recorded as owned with a value of 12,000.⁹⁸

Edgar Alonzo Josselyn retired about 1933 when there was no work due to the depression.⁹⁹

On 17 January 1937 Edgar Josselyn wrote a letter to John Prentiss Benson, his old friend from their Paris days. He said he had received a letter from "Joe" (almost certainly referring to Joseph H. McGuire) stating that Joe's business was "putrid." Also that he (Edgar Josselyn) was being supported by his wife and had two grandsons living next door.¹⁰⁰

Some of Edgar Josselyn's many interests and hobbies were described by his daughter Martha in December 2004.⁸⁰ He was a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club from 1888 to 1897.^{101,102,34,35,36,37,103,104,105,106} His interest in the science of religion is shown by an article he wrote, "Regarding Christian Origins," that appeared in 1919 in the monthly magazine The Open Court.¹⁰⁷ On 11 February 1927 he was in the cast of "A Kiss in Xanuda," a one-act fantasy given by the Fireside Players of White Plains.¹⁰⁸ He was in the cast of "The Enchanted April," presented 28 February and 1-2 March, 1929, by the drama section of the Contemporary Club of White Plains.¹⁰⁹

On 12 February 1943 Edgar Josselyn fell from a step ladder in the basement of his home in Pleasantville while changing an overhead light bulb, and fractured his left hip.^110,99,111 He was taken to Northern Westchester Hospital, Mount Kisco, New York.¹¹⁰ His doctor botched an attempt to repair the hip with a pin.¹¹² He was all right for a day or two, but then apparently a blood clot got to his brain, because he was unable to recognize his relatives.⁸⁰ He made one brief visit back to his home.¹¹⁰

Edgar Alonzo Josselyn died at 12.40 pm on 26 April 1943 at Northern Westchester Hospital, Mount Kisco, New York, at age 81.^111,2,113,99 According to the medical certification on the death certificate by his physician, Edison S. Shaw, the immediate cause of death was myocardial failure.¹¹¹

Edgar Alonzo Josselyn was buried on 30 June 1943 in Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.^114,115,116