Florence Griswold Museum correspondence
When I started to research Alice Snell McCrea Green, my 2nd great-grandmother, I was shocked by all the headlines surrounding her short life at the time, a life that ended when she was just 31 years old. Beyond being considered one of Chicago’s most beautiful women, she appeared to be a woman that understood her high standing in society because of her wealth and beauty. One reporter wrote, “I recollect Allie Snell as a pretty little girl, with big brow yees and golden curls, bubbling over with innocent fun. It is reported that she divorced her first husband, Wiley Solon McCrea claiming abuse, and then she set off to marry a prominent businessman Douglas Green who was already married, their relationship captured world wide headlines portraying Alice as a scandalous crazy woman, who put a voodoo like spell on Green. Many in the media blamed her for eloping with Mr. Greene, while others claimed he was mentally insane to leave his wife and children for this jezebel. Where ever Alice went she seemed to cause a headline, she was periodically portrayed in the press as the daughter of the murdered millionaire who despite her beauty was cursed every move. Alice seems to be carefree and enjoyed spending her money traveling the world. She did have two children from her first marriage, William Snell and Henrietta McCrea. Her son would unfortunately die by suicide after an argument with his father Wiley Solon McCrea at his office, while her daughter Henrietta would become well known for her marriage to the famous landscape artist Willard Metcalf and she later was the partner of two well known lesbian artists and journalist.
Tho death of Mrs. Douglas Green, which occurred in the New York Hospital Sunday night from the effects of an operation, recalls a most sensational episode In the social history of the resort known as Old Point Comfort. It was a Ittle over eight years ago, or on Feb. 14, 1800, that the New York and Chicago people who were at Old Point and who had not!ced the devotion of Mr.Green, then a very prominent Wall Street broker, to Mrs. R. S. McCrea, the beautiful divorced wife of a Chicago business man, were startled to hear that the couple had been marred that morning by a colored minister at the nelghboring village of Hamp-ton. Va. Their surprlse was natural. for It was well known thet ar.Green was mar-ried at the time and was the father of two children.
When the news of the elopement became known Mr.Green was fot ced to
withdraw from the brokerage firm of which he wag a partner, and his wife immedlately applied for, a divorce, wilch she soon after secured. Mr. Green and Mrs. MeCrea went to Europe at once and returned the follow-Ina Jugs to wed York vin Montreal were They ostracized where Seabright,Mrs. McCrea owned" Fairie Lea.
the beautitul on the Rumson Road, now the property of Mr. Wilbur Bloodgood, and since then have since passed out of the public eye, and the and Allce Hamilton McCrea. The daughter was taken by sir McCrea when they were divorced. Several of tho famous artists of Europe had painted Mrs. Green, among them the husband of Emma Dames Story. She was i Ine singer, and her friends think a career would have been assured had she been obliged lo use her voice. This winter she Intended to spend in Cairo, Egypt. Her mother and sister are Ilving at the residence. Washington boulevard and Ada street, where Mr. Snell was murdered. Ile was shot down In the night, and the murderers have never been discovered. A. T. Stone, 431 Washington boulevard, has gone to New York to bring back the remains.
A private funeral will be held from the rest. dence, and the Interment will be in the famlly vault at Rosehlll.
After some research, I was able to find hidden deep in the Florence Griswold Museum, located in Old Lyme, Connecticut a famous portrait of my 2nd great-grandma Alice tucked away. The photo was donated to the museum by her daughter, Henrietta Snell McCrea Metcalf, who also donated many other famous paintings and items from her husband. the famous artist Willard Metcalf to the museum.
Here is the correspondence I received when the museum discovered her Alice’s portrait painted by the famous artist Julian Russell Story:
August 3, 2016
Dear Ms. Beckham,
Please find attached some photos of the Julian Russell Story¹s Portrait of
Alice Snell, which is currently in storage at our museum. I¹ve included
photos of the painting, as well as the back and some details. The record
of the object is below.
Portrait of Alice Snell, (painting).
Artist:
Story, Julian Russell, 1857-1919, painter.
Title:
Portrait of Alice Snell, (painting).
Medium:
Oil on canvas.
Dimensions:
37 1/2 x 31 1/2 in.
Subject:
Portrait female -- Snell, Alice
Architecture interior -- Domestic -- House
Object Type:
Painting
Owner:
Florence Griswold Museum, 96 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, Connecticut 06371
Accession Number: 1984.10.1
Provenance:
Bequest of Metcalf, Henrietta, Mrs.,
References:
Florence Griswold Museum collection printout, 2011.
Note:
The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and
Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location
information on artworks by American artists in public and private
collections worldwide.
Repository:
Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art
Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Control Number:
IAP 07490880
Many thanks for your interest in the collection of the Florence Griswold
Museum!
Sincerely,
Jenny Parsons
Jennifer Stettler Parsons, Ph.D.
Assistant Curator
Florence Griswold Museum
96 Lyme Street
Old Lyme, CT 06371
(860) 434-5542 x. 102
The Most Beautiful Woman in Chicago
Alice Snell McCrea Green-2nd Great Grandma
Alice Eva Green formerly Snell aka McCrea
Born 3 Jun 1867 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United State
Daughter of Amos Jerome Snell and Henrietta (Sedam) Snell
Sister of Mary (Hughes) Stone, Albert Jerome Snell and Henrietta Grace (Snell) Coffin
Wife of Willey Solon McCrea — married 8 Oct 1884 (to 1888) in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States
Wife of Douglass Green — married 4 Jun 1891 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
[children unknown]
Died 6 Nov 1898 at age 31 in New York City, New York, United States
Biography
Alice Eva was born 3 Jun 1867 in Chicago, Illinois, to Amos and Henrietta Snell.[1][2]
As a young woman, she was one of Chicago's "acknowledged beauties, and was considered by many in New York to have been "the most beautiful woman ever sent from the west to the east." Artists raved about her beauty and clamored for the privilege to paint her. She was also a woman of talent, one obituary noting that "her sketches with brush and pen were greatly admired and her voice, an exceptional soprano, had been carefully trained in Europe. At some point in her life she wrote a song called Autone (Springtime) as well as a book entitled From London to Paris in a Two-Wheeler.[3]
At age 17, Alice married Willey G. McCrea at Chicago, Illinois, in 1884.[4] They had two children:
Willey and Alice were divorced in 1888 on the grounds of severe physical abuse on the part of Willie McCrea. Alice's father, who was then one of the richest men in Chicago, had been murdered earlier that year and had left her a fortune of $500,000. This may have been part of what gave her the sense of security she needed to leave her husband. Eventually the father received custody of the son, while the mother received custody of the daughter.[7]
Alice married Douglas Green on 3 February 1890 at Hampton, Virginia.[8]The elopement of Alice (Snell) McCrea and Dougal Green caused a sensation for several reasons. Not only were they married in secret by a colored minister, but while Mrs. McCrea was divorced, Mr. Green was still married and the father of two children. The news of the marriage forced Green to resign from his prestigious job at a brokerage firm, his wife files for divorce, and the couple fled to Europe. When they returned the following June, they were ostracized by the social elite.[9] Alice and Douglass said their vows again on 4 June 1891 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[10]
She passed away at age 31, 6 Jun 1898 in the New York Hospital in New York City, from the effects of an unexpected operation following a lengthy illness.[11] [12]
Sources
- ↑ Illinois State Supreme Court, Reports of cases at law and in chancery argued and determined in the Supreme Court of Illinois, Stone vs. Salisbury, 1904, page 60.Access at Goggle Books
- ↑ "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WX9-SRJ : 3 June 2020), Alice Snell Green, 6 Nov 1898; citing Death, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,322,951.
- ↑ Death of Alice Snell Green, Appleton (WI) Post, 17 Nov 1898, p.1.
- ↑ "Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1968", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N76X-G3R : 10 March 2018), Willey G. Mc Crea and Alice E. Snell, 08 Oct 1884.
- ↑ "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N77Z-KB9 : 8 March 2018), Snell McCrea, 02 Oct 1920; citing , Cook, Illinois, United States, source reference cn 27654, record number 74, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 1,309,243.
- ↑ "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDC-BR4R : 18 May 2016), Henriette A McCrea, 04 Jan 1888; Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, reference/certificate 7907, Cook County Clerk, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm .
- ↑ Death of Alice Snell Green, Appleton (WI) Post, 17 Nov 1898, p.1.
- ↑ "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRH5-PW1 : 29 January 2020), Alice Snells McCrea in entry for Douglas Green, 1890.
- ↑ New York Times, New York, New York, May 9, 1891
- ↑ "Wisconsin, County Marriages, 1836-1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZQ4-Q3J : 11 March 2018), Douglass Green and Alice E. Mc Crea, 04 Jun 1891; citing Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison; FHL microfilm 1,013,983.
- ↑ "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WX9-SRJ : 3 June 2020), Alice Snell Green, 6 Nov 1898; citing Death, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,322,951.
- ↑ New York Times, Nov 9, 1898.
See Also:
- Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 07 April 2019), memorial page for Alice E. Snell McRea Green (3 Jun 1867–6 Nov 1898), Find A Grave: Memorial #164844658, citing Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by Grave Recorder (contributor 47359603) .
Alice Sne’’s Husband #1 Wiley Solon McCrea
Wiley Solon McCrea-Husband
Willie was born 12 Apr 1858, in Morrison, Illinois. He was the son of Samuel Harkness McCrea and his wife, Coralin Isabel Johnson.
He was the head of the commission house of W.S. McCrea & Co. and "was a member of all the fashionable clubs in Chicago" He later served as treasurer for the Standard Oil Company.
Alice married Willey G. McCrea at Chicago, Illinois, 8 Oct 1884.[3] They had two children:
- William Snell "Billy" McCrea, born 13 August 1885[4]
- Henriette A. McCrea, born 4 January 1888.[5]
Willey and Alice were divorced in October 1888 on the grounds of severe physical abuse on the part of Willie McCrea. Alice's father, who was then one of the richest men in Chicago, had been murdered earlier that year and had left her a fortune of $500,000. This may have been part of what gave her the sense of security she needed to leave her husband.
Willey married second Mrs. Reinette (Thomas) Lester, 26 Nov 1891, in Chicago. She died in 1916.
Willey married third, Vera Danford, 31 Dec 1921, in Chicago. He was 63; she was 24.
He passed away in 1927, at age 69, in Chciago. His widow survived him by 64 years.
Willey Solon McCrea-Alice McCrea’s 1st Husband
Son William Snell McCrea
William Snell McCrea -son
Nationwide, the headlines reported my 2nd great grandfather, William Snell McCrea tried to kill his dad, Willie Solon McCrea.
The Headlines from the Idaho Statesman Reported on October 3, 1920:
Idahoan Shoots Self;
CHICAGO (P)-Falling in his efforts to shoot his father, Snell McCrea of Rea, Idaho, fired a bullet into his own head Saturday.
He was taken to a hospital, where he died without having regained consciousness.
The shooting occurred in the offices of the father, W. S. Md-Crea, former vice president of the People's Gas Light & Coke company.
(P)-Falling in his efforts to shoot his father, Smell McCrea of Rea, Idaho, fired a bullet into his own head Saturday.
He was taken to a hospital, where he died without having regained consciousness.
The shooting occurred in the offices of the father, W. S. Md-Crea, former vice president of the People's Gas Light & Coke
Snell was born, August 13, 1885 in Chicago, Illinois. He died by gunshot/suicide it is reported October 2, 1920 at the ago of 35 years old. He is buried with the family:
BIRTH13 Aug 1885
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA
DEATH2 Oct 1920 (aged 35)
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA
BURIAL
Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA
MEMORIAL ID164854677 · View Source
William Snell McCrea, son
Henrietta Alice McCrea Metcalf-Daughter
Henrietta Alice McCrea Metcalf-Daughter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henrietta (Henriette) Alice McCrea-Metcalf (August 4, 1888 – May 27, 1981) was an American-born, French-raised translator; she was one of the partners of Thelma Wood and was immortalized by Djuna Barnes in Nightwood.
Biography
Henrietta Alice McCrea was born on August 4, 1888, into a wealthy Chicago family at 764 West Adams Street.[1][2] Her father was Wylie (Willis) Solon McCrea, a public utilities executive and member of the Board of Trade.[3][4][5][2] Her mother was Alice E. Snell, the daughter of A.J. Snell.[2] She had one brother, Snell McCrea.[2] When she was few months old, her mother filed for divorce, accusing her husband of cruelty, and moved with her daughter to Paris.[6][7][8][2]
McCrea initially attended a Catholic convent in Paris, and then, when she was 10 years old, after her mother's death, her father took her back to Chicago where she attended other public schools. Later she attended Mlle. Bouligny's School in Chevy Chase, Maryland. By 1906 she had returned to Europe to attend a girls' school. In Paris she became friends with actress Jane Peyton and her husband Guy Bates Post.[8] By the end of 1910 she was back in Chicago, living at 720 Lincoln Park Boulevard.[9]
McCrea was married and divorced twice. First, in 1911, to Willard Metcalf, a landscape painter, with whom she had two children, Addison McCrea Metcalf and Rosalind (who married Frederick Harris). Second to Marcus Goodrich, American screenwriter and novelist.[10][7][8][4][11][5][12] Before marrying Metcalf, McCrea was in a sentimental relationship with Ned Sheldon, a leading Broadway's playwright.[8] In 1952, she became the guardian of Jacobus Arnoldus .[6][13]
A fan of theater and actors her collection of autographed photographs and other memorabilia is at the University of Kentucky.[7][11]She was the dramatic editor for Vanity Fair.[14] Metcalf was a translator from French into English, among her works: Alexandre Dumas' Camille and Anatole France's Our Lady's Juggler.[6] She was a friend of Colette and translated La Dame aux Camélias in 1931 for Eva Le Gallienne and her Civic Repertory Theater.[15][16][17]
In 1926 she was the executive secretary of the Education Committee of the Roosevelt Memorial Association for Women.[18]
McCrea met Thelma Wood in 1928, when the latter was still in a relationship with Djuna Barnes.[7][10][19][20] Wood left Barnes to live with McCrea. In Nightwood by Barnes, modeled the character Jenny Petherbridge on McCrea.[20][21][22] The relationship was acknowledged by McCrea's family to the point that her son, Addison Metcalf, included references to Wood in letters to his mother.[7]McCrea and Wood moved first to Greenwich Village and then in 1932 to Florence, where Wood studied art supported by McCrea.[19]In 1934 they moved to Sandy Hook, Connecticut, where Wood launched a gourmet catering service, always supported by McCrea's money.[7][19] McCrea remained with Wood until 1943 and the relationship ended in a bad way, so much that McCrea rejected the death bed request of Wood to see her.[6][20] In the 1950s McCrea lived at 86+1⁄2 Main Street, Newtown.[23][24] She was member of the Board of Directors for the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut.[25] In the 1970s McCrea let people farm four acres of her land in a project to have young people work together with their fathers in a rewarding activity.[26]
She was interested in animal welfare and was an activist of Pet Animal Welfare Service (PAWS),[16][23] Friends of Animals[24] and Humane Society. With other activists she opened "Ye Kit and Kaboodle" at 7 Liberty Street, Bridgeport, CT; the proceedings from the selling of antiques, clothing and paintings, displayed in a colonial-motif, were to go to the care of stray animals in the area.[27]
Henrietta Alice McCrea Metcalf-Daughter