Janet Lee Auchincloss
Born
Janet Norton Lee

(1907-12-03)December 3, 1907
New York City, U.S.
DiedJuly 22, 1989(1989-07-22) (aged 81)
Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
Resting placeCommon Burying Ground and Island Cemetery, Newport, Rhode Island
Other namesJanet Bouvier, Janet Auchincloss, Janet Morris
EducationMiss Spence's School
Alma materSweet Briar College
Barnard College
OccupationSocialite
Known forMother of Jacqueline Kennedy
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1928; div. 1940)​
​
​
(m. 1942; died 1976)​
Bingham W. Morris
​
(m. 1979)​
ChildrenJacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Lee Radziwill
Janet Auchincloss Rutherfurd
James Lee Auchincloss
RelativesJohn F. Kennedy (son-in-law)

Janet Norton Lee Auchincloss, previously Bouvier, (December 3, 1907 – July 22, 1989)[1] was an American socialite. She was the mother of the former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Lee Radziwill.

Early life

Janet Norton Lee was born on December 3, 1907, in Manhattan, New York City. She was the middle daughter of James Thomas Aloysius Lee (1877–1968), a lawyer and real estate developer,[2][3] and Margaret A. Merritt (1880–1943). Although she made differing claims about her genealogy, including that she was “from the Maryland Lees,” both her parents were of Irish Catholic descent.[4][5] She had two sisters: Marion Merritt Lee (1904–1947), who married John J. Ryan Jr. and was subsequently the mother of Mary Cecil, wife of William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil,[6] and Margaret Winifred Lee (1910–1991), who married Franklin D'Olier.

Life

Janet graduated from Miss Spence's School and attended Sweet Briar and Barnard Colleges. She was a member of the Barnard College class of 1929 but records show that she did not graduate.[7] She was a three-time winner of the hunter championship at the National Horse Show.[8]

She served as a board member of the Newport Historical Society and the Redwood Library. She was also the honorary director of the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association in Stratford, Virginia.[8]

Personal life

Janet was married three times. In 1928,[6] she married her first husband, John Vernou Bouvier III (1891–1957).[9] He was the son of Major John Vernou Bouvier Jr. (1866–1948), a successful attorney, and Maude Frances Sergeant (1870–1940).[10] He was also the brother of Edith Bouvier Beale (1895–1977), later known as the subject of the documentary film, Grey Gardens.[11] Together, they were the parents of two daughters:

Mr. Bouvier's womanizing and drinking led to a separation in 1936, a brief reconciliation for a few months in 1937, and then a divorce in 1940.[17]

In 1942, she married her second husband, Hugh Dudley Auchincloss Jr., an attorney and Standard Oil heir; becoming his third wife.[18] Together, they had two children:

Hugh Auchincloss died in 1976. In 1979, she married for a third time,[25] to her childhood friend Bingham Willing "Booch" Morris (1906–1996).[26] Jacqueline served as her witness.[27] Morris, a widower, was a retired investment banker who lived in Southampton, New York,[25] a graduate of St. George's School and Harvard, where he was a member of the Iroquois and Hasty Pudding Clubs, and was the son of Violet Lee (née Willing) Morris and John Boucher Morris of Baltimore.[28] His late wife, Mary (née Rawlins) Morris,[6][29] was a bridesmaid at Janet's first wedding.[30] They separated in 1981, but remained married until her death from complications arising from Alzheimer's disease in 1989.[8][31][32]

References

  1. ^ "Janet Morris, Mother of Jacqueline Kennedy, dies". LA Times. 24 July 1989. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  2. ^ Christopher Gray (March 12, 1995). "Streetscapes/Jacqueline Onassis's Grandfather; Quality Developer With a Legacy of Fine Buildings". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  3. ^ "740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building". Enotalone.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  4. ^ Goodwin, Hilda (April 15, 1961). "Caroline Kennedy Descendant Of Troy Family". The Troy Record. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  5. ^ "From Kilmurry village to The White House". The Clare Champion. August 1, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "JANET N. LEE BRIDE OF J.V. BOUVIER 3D; 500 Guests at Ceremony in St. Philomena's Church, East Hampton, L.I." The New York Times. 8 July 1928. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  7. ^ Columbia university alumni register, 1754-1931. New York: Columbia University. 1932. p. 510. hdl:2027/uc1.b4525470.
  8. ^ a b c "Janet Lee Auchincloss Morris, 81". The New York Times. July 24, 1989. Retrieved April 5, 2008.
  9. ^ "JOHN BOUVIER 3D, BROKER, 66, DIES; Retired Investment Adviser Was a Member of Stock Exchange for 34 Years". The New York Times. 4 August 1957. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  10. ^ Latham, Caroline; Sakol, Jeannie (1989). The Kennedy Encyclopedia: An A-to-Z Illustrated Guide To America's Royal family. NAL Books. p. 22.
  11. ^ Wolfgang Saxon (February 7, 1977). "Edith Bouvier Beale, Recluse, Dead at 81. Aunt of Mrs. Onassis Was Subject of the Documentary Movie 'Grey Gardens' in 1973". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-11. Edith Bouvier Beale, who faded from high society to re-emerge among the seedy surroundings of a rundown Long Island mansion in the film 'Grey Gardens,' died Saturday at Southampton (L.I) Hospital at the age of 81. Grey Gardens was the home she shared with her daughter, Edith, on Apaquogue Road in East Hampton.
  12. ^ "Notables Attend Senator's Wedding; SENATOR KENNEDY WEDS IN NEWPORT". The New York Times. 13 September 1953. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  13. ^ Times, Special To the New York (16 March 1975). "Aristotle Onassis Is Dead Of Pneumonia in France". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Roman Catholics: The Law's Delay". Time. February 28, 1964. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
  15. ^ "For Princess Lee Radziwill, It's the End of a Marriage" People, July 29, 1974
  16. ^ "Lee Bouvier Radziwill Weds Herbert Ross, Film Director". The New York Times. September 24, 1988. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  17. ^ Adler, Bill (2009). The Eloquent Jacqueline Onassis: A Portrait in Her Own Words. HarperCollins. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-061-87363-8.
  18. ^ "MRS. J. L. BOUVIER IS WED IN VIRGINIA; Becomes the Bride of Lieut. Hugh D. Auchincloss. U.S.N., at His Country Home". The New York Times. June 23, 1942. p. 24.
  19. ^ "Janet Rutherfurd Dies at 39; Half-Sister of Mrs. Onassis". The New York Times. 21 March 1985. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  20. ^ "Janet Jennings Auchincloss Betrothed; Half-Sister of Mrs. Kennedy Fiancee of Lewis Rutherfurd". The New York Times. 9 May 1966. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  21. ^ "Janet Jennings Auchincloss Wed to Lewis P. Rutherfurd; Half-Sister of Mrs. Kennedy Is Married at St. Mary's Church in Newport Reception at Family Estate to Held for 600". The New York Times. 31 July 1966. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  22. ^ "Jackie's Half-Sister Dies". The Vindicator. March 20, 1985. p. 50.
  23. ^ "Jackie Kennedy's Half-brother James Auchincloss Jailed Again on Child Pornography Probation Violation". Chicagonow.com. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  24. ^ "J. Randy on Jamie Auchincloss – Jackie's half-brother!". Jrandytaraborrelli.com. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  25. ^ a b "Notes on People". The New York Times. 21 August 1979. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  26. ^ Pottker, Jan (2013). Janet and Jackie: The Story of a Mother and Her Daughter, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. St. Martin's Press. p. 8. ISBN 9781466852303. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  27. ^ "Notes on People". The New York Times. 26 October 1979. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  28. ^ "Rawlins--Morris". The New York Times. 26 May 1934. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  29. ^ "MRS. C.E. Merrill is Bridge Hostess; Luncheon Event Given in Honor of Mrs. Edward Van Ingen at Southampton. Party for Bridal Couple Reception Held at the Meadow Club for Mary Rawlins and B.W. Morris". The New York Times. 3 July 1934. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  30. ^ Bradford, Sarah (2001). America's Queen: The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Penguin. p. 1977. ISBN 9781101564011. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  31. ^ "Services Held for Onassis' Mother". Daily News. July 28, 1989. p. 2.
  32. ^ Brooks, Patricia (2002). Where the Bodies Are: Final Visits to the Rich, Famous, and Interesting. Globe Pequot. pp. 26–27. ISBN 0-762-72337-8.

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