The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1907-09-17
OBITUARY.
D. WILLIS JAMES.


D. Willis James died at Breton
! Woods, N. H., where he had been
spending the summer at the Mount
Washington Hotel, with Mrs. James.
The end came about 10 a. m. on Friday
last.
Mr.. James suffered a sudden attack
of heart disease early in the present
month. While seated chatting with
friends on the piazza of the hotel, with
out previous warning he fell back into
his chair, gasping for breath. 1t was
at once seen that he was seriously ill,
and in addition to sending for the
nearest physician, DR.. stephen d.
| White, of New York city, was hastily
summoned to his bedside. Mr.. James
at first appeared to rally under Dr..
| White s ministrations, and for time
his recovery was hoped for and even
expected, but a few days ago he began
| to fail, and sank gradually until the
end on Friday.
Daniel Willis James, American mer-
chant and philanthropist, was born in
Liverpool, England, on April 10, 1882.
His father, Daniel James, who died in
J Beaconsfeld, England, in 1876, began
his business life as clerk for Phelps
& Peck, merchants of tin, copper and
| iron in New York, rising to partner
ship in Phelps, Dodge & Co., which
succeeded the original firm. He made
| his permanent residence in England IN
1881 as a member of the firm of Phelps,
James & Co., the Liverpool correspond
ents of the New York house. His wife
was Elizabeth Woodbridge Phelps
daughter of Arson Stokes Phelps, the
founder and long tbe head Of the two
| firms. Their son, u. Willis James, was
the eldest OF five children, of whom his
sister, Olivia P, the next in age, be-
came the wife of Robert Hoe, Jr D.
Willis James early removed to New
York, and entered the employ OF
Phelps, Dodge & Co., of which firm he
| oOUu OCC0llO q lAOluOCls
| Mr.. James married in 1854 Miss Ell
len S. Curtiss, of New York, and had
one son, Arthur Curtiss James, who is
known for his keen interest in yacht
ing as well as for his activity in philan-
thropical projects. In respect to the
latter he has followed the example OF
his father, large portion of whose
| ample fortune has been unostenta-
tiously bestowed in charity and in the
support of public spirited movements
and enterprises.
The town house house of Mr.. James
is at No. 40 East 39th street, New
York, and he had a fine country estate
at Madison, which he purchased in
1885. Two years later he bought a
tract of land in the center of Madison
and made it into a park. which he gave
to the town. In the three years that
followed, Mr.. James spent more thar
$3.50, ,OC0 on public improvements iI
Madison. Among his gifts was hand
some library and a block containing
four stores, an opera house, several of
fees and spacious assembly room, the
| income from which maintain the libra
ry and the park.
Few of Mr.. JameS'S benefactions
were of so conspicuous character as
those just noted, and as a rule he
shrank from all notoriety in the mat
ter of giving. The Children's Aid So
ciety was the object of numerous ben
efactions from him, and from 1897 to
1901 he was it's president. One of his
most recent published donations was
that of $5 900 to the Carl Schurz mem
orial fund. He was greatly interested
in the welfare of Amherst College, OF
which his son was graduate and a
trustee. The institution benefited
largely from his generosity, and in 1902
conferred on him the honorary degree
of Master of Arts. He was ever ready
to aid in movements for the promotion
of scholarship and for the encourage
ment of art and science and the eleva-
tion of the popular taste.
He attended the First Presbyterian
Church, to which he was a large con-
tributor and maintaining the vested
choir. He also did considerable to
beautify the church grounds, and is
credited with the gift of the new Park
| to Morristown, and according to report
was planning to spend considerable
on the old Green" on his return
| home.
Hewas member of and always took
La lively interest in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, the American Geo
graphical Society, the American Mu-
scum of Natural History and the Ma
tional Academy, contributing freely to
their support. He was member of