In Search of Leonard Jerome

This past Tuesday, I made a research visit to the Pompey Historical Society, at Pompey Center, New York.  This small, but very active, group of local history enthusiasts have quite a collection of documents, photos, and artifacts, that tell the story of the town of Pompey and other surrounding small rural communities.

I was there to do research on the family of Leonard Jerome, father of Jennie, Lady Randolph Churchill--and Winston Churchill's maternal grandfather.   He was born in Pompey Hill, New York,  in November 1817, the son of Isaac and Aurora Murray Jerome.   Several branches of the larger Jerome family have also made their homes in the Pompey Hill area over the last 200-odd years: brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and the like.   I found many of their grave sites in the Pompey Hill Cemetery, just outside the Pompey Hill limits.   They're located in three separate family plots.

The purpose for my visit to the Society was to find articles, photos and such, to assist Mr. Allen Packwood, the Chief Archivist of the Winston Churchill Archives at Churchill College, at the University of Cambridge in the UK, in putting together an upcoming exhibition on Winston Churchill's American ancestors.   This will be held at the Morgan Library in New York City, beginning in June 2012.   I met Mr. Packwood during my November 2010 visit to the UK, and was able to see some of the original Churchill letters and other documents in the Archives.   During my visit, Mr. Packwood asked if I could assist him in some way, in gathering information from local sources about Leonard Jerome's life in Upstate New York.   I said I would be happy to do what I could.

When I first arrived at the Society, I was met by a wonderful lady named Sandy Berlinguer, who lives in one of the former Jerome family homes (on Jerome Road!) in Pompey.   She made arrangements for me to go into the Society's Museum, which is only open for a few hours each day.   With the assistance of Ruth, the Director, I was able to go through their file folders and find all kinds of fascinating stuff!

First of all, Ruth showed me a display case, which had some beautiful 19th-century clothing: a small bonnet, and two black capes.   I discovered these were given to one Jennie Jerome of Pompey--by none other than Jennie Jerome, Lady Churchill! (Photo left).   The photograph on the cape in the photo is of Lady Churchill's namesake, Jennie Jerome.

It's a lovely black cloth cape, with what looks like a feathery collar.   The display case is usually kept covered, to keep these priceless artifacts from fading in sunlight, or artificial light.

The articles which I found consisted of a 1976 interview with an Irish relative of Jennie's, the author Anita Leslie.   She is the granddaughter of Jennie's sister, Leonie Jerome Leslie, and she's written several books on Leonard (The Fabulous Mr. Jerome) and Jennie Jerome, Lady Churchill.   It included photos of the Syracuse, New York, home of Jennie's paternal grandparents, Isaac and Aurora Murray Jerome, and of their gravesite in Syracuse's Oakwood Cemetery (Photo right).

It was fascinating to see the home that Isaac and Aurora lived in, on Syracuse's James Street (Photo right): this street was the site of many lovely mansions built for Syracuse's elite.   Here, Isaac and Aurora shared the house with one of their daughters.  Sadly this particular house was demolished in 1955.

I also found, and made copies of, several lengthy obituaries of Leonard Jerome himself.   He passed away in Brighton, England, in March 1891.   One of the obituaries called Leonard "A Typical New Yorker", and described his varied and colorful life and career: as a Gilded Age stockbroker, horse racing enthusiast, and music-lover.   I'll have to look at these in greater detail at leisure....

One of the really wonderful surprises I found were photographs of Leonard's parents, Isaac and Aurora (Photo right).  I should have tried to find out if the Society had copies of them, and how to obtain them!   They will make excellent additions to the exhibition.  They look like a prosperous and respectable 19th-century middle-class couple.

I hope there are photos in existence of Isaac's father Aaron Jerome--whom, I discovered, is buried in another Pompey cemetery, Sweet Hill.   Another goal to set: go there and find his grave, and get a photo or two.

One article from the Syracuse Post-Standard, dated October 26, 1941, has photos of several Jerome cousins of Winston Churchill: two elderly women and one elderly man, in their home in Pompey.   One of the ladies is Lady Churchill's namesake, one Miss Jennie A. Jerome.   The article told the story of the Jerome family's history in Pompey--and there is even a photo of the supposed birthplace of Leonard Jerome (Photo left)!   It was at one time a henhouse, if you can believe that!

The thing is: no one--not even the Pompey Center historians--knows for sure where Leonard was born.  It appears family records do not say very much.   And there are at least three locations in the town of Pompey, that claim to be the site of Leonard Jerome's birthplace.   This 'henhouse' is one of them.

Contrast that, with the huge mansion Leonard and his family called home, in Madison Square in New York City (Photo right).   It contained an opera house that seated 500, and one whole floor devoted to Leonard's beloved horses.    While not on the massive scale of, say, the Vanderbilt or Astor family 'castles' of the time, it's still a decent-sized house.

One could say that Leonard had really come a long way, from that small birthplace in rural Upstate New York.   How he managed to hold onto this house--when he made and lost at least three fortunes,

On a more human scale, I found two very charming photos of Jennie as a child: a group portrait of her with her sisters Clara and Leonie (Photo left), and one of Jennie and her mother, Clarissa Hall Jerome.   I'd love to discover where the originals of these are located.   They are ones I've never seen before.   I've got a couple of ideas where they could be....

Jennie is definitely the real beauty of the three girls, even at such a young age.   Beautiful dark eyes, and an intense face.   No wonder she charmed so many men as a grown woman!

The photo of Jennie and her mother is very interesting, too.   Once again, Jennie looks straight at the photographer, while her mother appears to be thinking of something else.   Maybe she is dreaming of the time spent in Italy, when Leonard was American consul in Trieste?

Clarissa considered herself to be more "European" than American.   She preferred living outside the US, where she felt her daughters could be 'launched into society', and meet prominent and/or important people.   It is odd, for someone who was born in Upstate New York.

All in all, it was a very fruitful time spent in Pompey Center.    I will definitely be back, to do more research, and see if I can find where the original photographs can be found.

An Amazing Opportunity

I see where I've not written a new post in a long time.   I've been busy with editing the posts about my UK/Europe adventure of November 2010, tweaking here and there for possible self-publication.   It's taken longer than I thought it would have!

But now, I want to write and share about a wonderful upcoming opportunity.   During my UK visit, I met with a gentleman named Allen Packwood, who is the Chief Archivist of the Winston Churchill Archives Centre at Churchill College--which is part of the University of Cambridge, in England.   He showed me some of the treasures in the Churchill Archives: letters, family photos, and copies of some of Churchill's own speeches.   It was a rare chance to see some well-known photos of young Winston, his brother John, and his parents Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill.

During the chat Allen and I had in his office, he shared with me about an upcoming exhibition that the Churchill Archives is involved in.   It is about Churchill and his American ancestors; Churchill's mother, the former Jennie Jerome (photo right), was the daughter of a Wall Street financier named Leonard Jerome, who was born in the hamlet of Pompey Hill, New York, in the country south of Syracuse.

Leonard's wife, Clarissa Hall, was born in the Western New York village of Palmyra.  Palmyra is also where Leonard met and married Clarissa, and where they lived briefly after their marriage--before their social ambitions and Leonard's work took them to New York City.

This exhibition will be held at the Morgan Library (photo left) in New York City, in June 2012.   And Allen has asked for my assistance, in finding any photos, documents, etc., that are related to Leonard and Clarissa Jerome, for inclusion in the exhibition.   And Allen has also asked if I can assist in the actual design for the exhibition!   He already has a principal designer--a staff member at the Morgan Library, I would imagine.   But he is also asking for my input, as the planning goes on.

Of course, I am more than happy to search for any of the documents and such.   There are historical societies in Pompey and Palmyra, that are well within driving distance to do research.   But to actually assist in the exhibition's design?!?   This is mind-boggling to me: I am just an ordinary person, with no university education or experience in such things!   It's very humbling to assist in this way.

Allen told me in a recent conversation that he will be making more visits to the US, as the exhibition draws closer.   And I invited him to come visit the Pompey Hill area, if possible.   I'd be more than happy to act as tour guide, and show the beautiful area where Leonard Jerome (photo left) was born.

I hope I am up to the design task.    I can definitely research.   But I am fighting self-doubts about the design part.   Time will tell how it all pans out.