Cornelius Newton Bliss

Early life

Cornelius Bliss was born at Fall River, Massachusetts. He was the son of Asahel Newton and Irene Borden (née Luther) Bliss. His family was of English ancestry and their earliest American ancestor was Thomas Bliss, who emigrated from Belstone, Devonshire, to New England in 1635. His father died when he was an infant and his mother remarried to Edward S. Keep. They moved to New Orleans in 1840.

He was educated in his native city and in New Orleans, where he early entered his stepfather's counting house.

Career

Returning to Massachusetts in 1849, he became a clerk and subsequently a junior partner in a prominent Boston commercial house. Later he moved to New York City to establish a branch of the firm. The firm, originally Wright & Whitman, in 1874 became Wright, Bliss & Fabyan upon the death of the senior partner, Mr. John S. Wright. On the death in 1881 of Mr. Eben Wright, the firm became Bliss, Fabyan & Co., under which name it continued until well into the 20th century. Bliss, Fabyan & Co. was one of the largest wholesale dry-goods houses in the country.

Politics

A consistent advocate of the protective tariff, he was one of the organizers and for many years president of the American Protective Tariff League. In politics an active Republican, he was chairman of the Republican state committee in 1887 and 1888, and contributed much to the success of the Harrison ticket in New York in the latter year. He was treasurer of the Republican National Committee from 1892 to 1904. He turned down the offer of becoming United States Secretary of the Treasury under President McKinley, but he served as United States Secretary of the Interior in President William McKinley's cabinet from 1897 to 1899.

In 1900, he was invited to stand as President McKinley's vice-president. He refused the offer. The following year McKinley was assassinated and Theodore Roosevelt (who did accept the offer) became president.

Personal life

On March 30, 1859, Bliss was married to Mary Elizabeth Plummer (1837–1923), the daughter of Hon. Avery Plummer of Boston. Together, they were the parents of four children, two who survived him:

• Nellie Bliss (b. 1861), who died young.
• Lizzie Plummer Bliss (1864–1931), one of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
• George Bliss, who died young.
• Cornelius Newton Bliss Jr. (1875–1949), a prominent financier who married Zaidee Cobb (1881-1966).

He was also a member of the famous Jekyll Island Club (aka The Millionaires Club) on Jekyll Island, Georgia.

Bliss' health began to fail in 1910. He spent the summer of 1911 at his country home in Rumson, New Jersey, accompanied by his physician Arthur W. Bingham, but returned to New York City in September due to his frailty. He spent the last two weeks of his life at his residence at 29 East 37th Street before succumbing to heart disease at 7 pm on October 9, 1911.

Legacy

Cornelius Bliss was a collector of fine art. He owned works by Arthur Bowen Davies, along with Claude Monet's The Manneporte near Étretat, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

References

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;Sources

References

1. Obituary. (10 October 1911). "Cornelius N. Bliss, Merchant, is Dead". New York Times.
2. (1918). "American Biography: A New Cyclopedia". Pub. under the direction of the American historical Society.
3. (1901). "The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Being the History of the United States as Illustrated in the Lives of the Founders, Builders, and Defenders of the Republic, and of the Men and Women who are Doing the Work and Moulding the Thought of the Present Time". J. T. White Company.
4. (2 May 1881). "A RICH MAN'S BEQUESTS; TROUBLE LIKELY TO ARISE OVER EBEN WRIGHT'S WILL.". [[The New York Times]].
5. (14 April 1936). "COTTON AGENCIES MERGED; Haywood, Mackay & Valentine to Be Bliss Fabyan Department.". [[The New York Times]].
6. (18 May 1936). "COL. GEORGE FABYAN, SCIENTIST, DIES AT 69; l Retired Merchant Widely Known for His Studies of Sound and His War Work.". [[The New York Times]].
7. (2016). "The President Is Dead!: The Extraordinary Stories of the Presidential Deaths, Final Days, Burials, and Beyond". Skyhorse Publishing, Inc..
8. (4 March 1897). "THE CABINET COMPLETED; Cornelius N. Bliss of New York Consents to be McKinley's Secretary of the Interior. HAS YIELDED TO PRESSURE. Hanna and New York Friends Persuade Him to Accept Office When He Prefers to Remain in Private Life -- Platt Not Overpleased.". [[The New York Times]].
9. (8 December 1899). "VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES.". [[The New York Times]].
10. (22 December 1898). "A NEW CABINET MEMBER; Ethan Allen Hitchcock Is Appointed Secretary of the Interior. HIS NOMINATION CONFIRMED He Is at Present United States Ambassador to Russia -- Will Succeed Cornelius N. Bliss.". [[The New York Times]].
11. (27 April 1899). "THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF MR. BLISS.". [[The New York Times]].
12. (12 April 1900). "BLISS STILL THE CHOICE; Vice Presidential Candidate If New York Man Is Named. MR. HANNA'S STRONG PLEADING Friends Believe Mr. Bliss Will Yield to Persuasion -- Woodruff Not to Withdraw.". [[The New York Times]].
13. (10 April 1900). "BLISS NOW THE FAVORITE; Many Things Point to His Choice for Vice President. CONFERS WITH SENATOR HANNA That Is Quite Customary, He Explains, Smilingly -- Condolences for Woodruff -- President's Attitude.". [[The New York Times]].
14. (1900). "MR. BLISS NOT A CANDIDATE.; Friends of the New York Merchant Deny that He Desires to Reenter Public Life.". [[The New York Times]].
15. (14 June 1900). "BLISS BOOM IS REVIVED; Ex-Secretary Will Not Decline Nomination in Advance. MORE TALK OF A STAMPEDE Col. Youngs Does Not Think Gov. Roosevelt Can Be Forced to Run for Vice President.". [[The New York Times]].
16. (6 October 1901). "FOR THE McKINLEY MONUMENT.; President Roosevelt Appoints Trustees and They Will Meet at Canton Thursday to Organize.". [[The New York Times]].
17. (29 September 1923). "Mrs. Elizabeth M. Bliss.". [[The New York Times]].
18. (16 March 1931). "MISS BLISS AND THE MODERN MUSEUM.". [[The New York Times]].
19. (6 April 1949). "CORNELIUS BLISS, 74, FINANCIER, IS DEAD; Philanthropist, Formerly Head of Metropolitan Opera Board, Succumbs in Hospital". [[The New York Times]].
20. (27 April 1906). "BLISS-COBB WEDDING.; Son of New York Banker Makes Washington Girl His Wife.". [[The New York Times]].
21. (2005). "The Jekyll Island Club Members". Indigo Custom Publishing.
22. (13 October 1911). "CORNELIUS N. BLISS BURIED.; Many Prominent Men at Funeral Service -- Rev. Dr. Jefferson's Eulogy.". [[The New York Times]].
23. (11 October 1911). "CORNELIUS N. BLISS FUNERAL.; Services at His Home To-morrow Morning -- Eulogy from Taft.". [[The New York Times]].
24. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History". The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
25. The Frick Collection. "Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America". The Frick Collection.