Harry Harkness Flagler was the only son of Henry M. Flagler and Mary Harkness Flagler. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 2, 1870 when Henry was 40 years old and Mary was 37. At this time, the Flaglers lived at 401 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH.
Harry Flagler was born in 1870, the year that Standard Oil was incorporated. His father was undoubtedly, spending most of his waking hours working on the new startup he and John D. Rockefeller had kicked off. Harry didn't likely see much of his father in those years.
In 1877, Standard Oil moved its headquarters to New York City. The Flagler's initial time in New York was at The Buckingham Hotel , that was right next to St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Rockefellers also stayed at this hotel. Later, the Flaglers moved a few blocks south to The Windsor Hotel.
When Harry was ten, he stayed with his aunt Carrie in Ohio while his family's house in New York was being renovated. His mother Mary was sick, but she still sent him kind letters. After Henry sold his Euclid Avenue home in Cleveland to Charles Brush in April 1881, Mary Flagler died on May 18th, 1881. At that time, Harry was 11 and his mother was 48.
Henry asked his sister Carrie to become Harry's caregiver and raise him. In June of 1882, Henry bought Satanstoe (Lawn Beach), a 40-room home on 32 acres in Mamaroneck, NY. This was supposed to be a more family-friendly respite from busy New York City.
On June 5, 1883, Henry married Ida Alice Shourds, 18 years his junior, who was Mary's nurse before her death. Henry sent Carrie on a vacation for the remainder of the summer, and she later moved to her own place in Manhattan. Harry didn't like his new stepmother and felt that his father was replacing his mother and aunt with her.
Harry's connections to his family were dwindling. His sister Jennie died on her way to St. Augustine to visit Henry in 1889, and his grandparents had already passed away.
In 1892, after dropping out of Princeton, Henry invited Harry to work at his hotels in St. Augustine to teach him the ways of hotel management and the railroad, with the goal of having Harry succeed him. One year later, Henry announced that Harry would be taking over responsibilities for all three of his hotels, starting with the Hotel Ponce de Leon. This was the beginning of Henry introducing Harry into his succession, but Henry didn't realize that his son was not interested in his business pursuits, which caused conflict during his time in St. Augustine.
Harry did have the hotel buildings repaired and repainted, showing his understanding of the importance of maintenance. However, his main interest was in the casino at the Alcazar, where he worked during the 1894-95 season. He made changes that became profitable, such as not charging patrons admission and instead charging them to use the bath and for double daily concerts of a Hungarian band. Despite these successes, Harry refused to work with his father to fulfill his vision, causing a rift between them as Henry increasingly wanted Harry to take on more duties while Harry was more interested in his own pursuits.
Harry Creates His Own Life
Harry married his sweetheart Anne Lamont in 1894 and moved to New York. The estrangement was not yet complete because Henry and Ida Alice attended the wedding. Harry and Ann had three children, Mary Harkness Flagler Cary, Elizabeth Lamont Flagler Harris, and Jean Louise Flagler Matthews.
Out from under his father’s shadow, Harry Harkness found his own way. Harry graduated from Columbia University in 1897, at age 26, and became an important figure in the New York music scene during the twentieth century.
Over the next few years, Harry would be involved in scandals that embarrassed his father, such as being arrested in 1896 as part of a bachelor party gone awry. Allegedly, the men had a couple of comedians at a club, they ordered several exotic dancers and solicited the famed belly dancer “Little Egypt” to do a bawdy dance for them. Though all of the men were exonerated for "enticing Little Egypt into a lewd dance," Henry could not abide by his son’s behavior. Though it is unknown what the final incident was that caused their separation, the father and son would go almost twenty years without speaking again.
In 1901, Harry and Ann purchased their townhouse in New York at 32 Park Avenue. Architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the home around 1868 for William H. Osborn.
In 1903, Harry and Ann purchased a summer residence in Millbrook, NY called Edgewood.
“The Flagler Pavilion was built across the street at Edgewood for the Flaglers' daughter Elizabeth's 1927 wedding to J. Andrews Harris lll,” said Millbrook historian David Greenwood. “It went on to become the Tennis Pavilion for the Millbrook Golf and Tennis Club after the wedding.”
Harry involved himself in the Millbrook community, becoming the first chairman of the board of trustees for the prestigious Millbrook School and the president of the Millbrook Free Library. He offered both emotional and financial support to those initiatives, creating a solid foundation for their future success.
Henry's Passing
The last time Harry Harkness would see his father would be on Henry’s deathbed in 1913. By the time he made it to his father’s side, Henry was in a coma and could not recognize his son. Unfortunately, they were unable to reconcile before his death.
According to Flagler’s doctor, Owen Kenan, “Harry Harkness Flagler was the nicest gentleman he had ever met” due to his kindness toward Flagler’s third wife, Mary Lily Kenan, during the time of Flagler’s death. Flagler only left Harry a small portion of his estate feeling that Harry did not do enough for him to leave more. A family friend felt the rift occurred because Henry did not understand his son’s love of music over business. Flagler’s biographer, Sidney Walter Martin, mused that the reason was Flagler’s being too overbearing in dealing with Harry.
Harry at the Helm
He became president of the Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York in 1914. In 1928 the Symphony Society merged with the Philharmonic Society, and he became president of the combined New York Philharmonic until 1934 when he resigned because of his ill health. He was succeeded as president by Marshall Field III.His wife died in 1938 after being ill for a year and a half. After the death of his wife, Harry Flagler made plans to move to an apartment on Fifth Avenue, and the music room, called “one of the most beautiful modern rooms in America”
When Harry Flagler passed away in 1952, his estate was divided among his three daughters. Edgewood was left to his widowed daughter, Mary Flagler Cary. As much as her father involved himself in the arts, Mary had a strong passion for planting and pruning the trees and flowers that graced the garden and sprawling grounds of the estate.
Flagler also left $5,000 to Lyall Memorial Federated Church in Millbrook and gave matching dollars up to $100,000 to the Millbrook School.
In addition to the Edgewood property, Mary owned another nearby parcel, which she donated and is now named in her honor the Cary Institute of Ecosystems Studies. As for Edgewood, Cary left that to her nephew, along with a $500,000 trust to help defray expenses such as taxes and maintenance of the dwelling and grounds. “The Harris couple’s son Henry inherited Edgewood, tore down the mansion, and gave the property to Millbrook School in 1979,” Greenwood said.
Final Rest
Harry Flagler passed away on June 30, 1952 and is interred at Woodlawn in Bronx, NY . I suspect that this plot was initially owned by Henry Flagler and I believe his wife Mary was initially interred here. Henry later had Mary relocated to be next to him and daughter Jennie in the Flagler Memorial Mausoleum in St. Augustine. This has not yet been confirmed but seems likely.
Harry's daughter Jean Louise Flagler Matthews went on to become a philanthropist and the ultimate preservationist of Whitehall, Henry's Palm Beach Mansion.
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