Pierre Lorillard II

On May 23rd, 1843 Lorillard died at the age of 78, outliving his brothers George and Jacob.^[11] He was buried at the New York Marble Cemetery. A newspaper reporter writing his obituary tried to describe an extremely wealthy American and used the relatively new word, "millionaire".^[12][13][14]

While the word "millionaire" had been in use in the United Kingdom since at least 1816,^[15] apparently it was used for the first time in the United States in 1843 when it was used to describe Lorillard, although he was not the first American to own one million dollars' worth of property.^[16][17] While he was one of the wealthiest men in America, he was not the richest at the time, that being John Jacob Astor.^[18] Lorillard just happened to have been the first to be called a millionaire in newspapers.^{[19][20][21][22]} Cleveland Amory incorrectly reports that it was in Lorillard's 1843 obituary that the first use of the word "millionaire" appeared in print anywhere.^[23][24]

Philip Hone, one-time mayor of New York, wrote about Lorillard in his famous diary,

He was a tobacconist, and his memory will be preserved in the annals of New York by the celebrity of "Lorillard's Snuff and Tobacco." He led people by the nose for the best part of the century, and made his enormous fortune by giving them that to chew which they could not swallow.^[22]

Through his eldest daughter Maria, he was the grandfather of Mary, Margaret and Dorothea Ann Ronalds, none of whom married; Catherine Ronalds (1820–1885), who married Assistant Secretary of State John Addison Thomas (1811–1858), Eleanora Lorillard Ronalds (1825–1879), who married U.S. Representative Frederick A. Conkling (1816–1891) (brother of U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling), Julia Ronalds, who died young, Thomas Alexander Ronalds (d. 1872), who married Adeline Freeman (b. 1824) (daughter of Dr. Freeman), Peter Lorillard Ronalds (1826–1905), who married Mary Frances Carter (1839–1916),^[25] and George Lorillard Ronalds (1833–1875), who married Pauline Antoinette Witthaus,^[5] daughter of R.A. Witthaus, Esq. in 1863.^[26]

Through his daughter Dorothea, he was the grandfather of Mary Lorillard Wolfe (1823–1847), who was married to William Bayard Hoffman (d. 1880)^[27] before her early death, David Lorillard Wolfe (1825–1829), who died young, and Catharine Lorillard Wolfe (1828–1887), the philanthropist and art collector who gave large amounts of money to institutions such as Grace Episcopal Church and Union College, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.^[9]

Through his daughter Eleonora, he was the grandfather of Lorillard Spencer (1827–1888),^[7] who was married to Sarah Johnson Griswold (1827–1905). They were the parents of Eleanor Spencer (b. 1851), who married Don Virginius Cenci, 6th Prince of Vicovaro (b. 1840),^[28] in 1870,^[29] and Lorillard Spencer (1860–1912), who was married to Caroline Berryman Spencer (1861–1948),^[30] and were the parents of Lorillard Spencer (1883–1939), who was president of Atlantic Aircraft and was married to Katherine Emmons Force (1891–1956), both of whom were prominent in Newport, Rhode Island, society.^[31][32]

Notes

Sources

• Baltzell, Edward Digby, Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class, Transaction Publishers 1989, ISBN 0-88738-789-6
• Hall, Henry et al., The Tribune Book of Open-air Sports, The Tribune Association 1887, Original from the New York Public Library
• Larrabee, Eric et al., Mass Leisure, Free Press 1958
• Myers, Gustavus, History of the Great American Fortunes, C.H. Kerr & Company 1909.
• Wecter, Dixon, The Saga of American Society: A Record of Social Aspiration, 1607–1937, C. Scribner's Sons 1937, Original from the University of Michigan
• Wein, George et al.,Myself Among Others: A Life in Music, Da Capo Press 2004, ISBN 0-306-81352-1
• Whitney, Caspar et al., Outing; Sport, Adventure, Travel, Fiction, W. B. Holland 1902, Original from the University of Michigan

• Company website