Mary Billings French
Mary Montagu Billings French was an American heiress and society figure, as well as YWCA president and board member. She was the daughter of Frederick Billings and inherited the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park from him before she died. She passed it on to her daughter, Mary French Rockefeller. She died in 1951
Early life
Mary Montagu Billings was born to Frederick Billings and his wife Julia Parmly on March 6, 1869, in Woodstock, Vermont. Her mother Julia was born as the daughter of Dr. Eleazer Parmly of New York on December 8, 1835. Mary was named after her mother's older sister. Billings French had six siblings: Parmly, Laura, Frederick, Elizabeth, Ehrick, and finally Richard. Mary was the fourth child, after her brother Frederick and before her sister Elizabeth. The Parmly Billings Memorial Library, now called the Western Heritage Center, is named for Mary's brother Parmly.Billings French grew up in a wealthy family during the Gilded Age. Her father Frederick was one of the wealthiest men in California and was considered one of its "foremost citizens". After marrying Julia, they settled in Woodstock, Vermont, where the family was the wealthiest family of the town "by far". They owned the largest corn field in the state of Vermont, as well as a mansion on the family compound.
Vermont estate
After the death of her father on September 30, 1890, Billings French inherited his Vermont compound. It comprised 4,228 acres and six buildings, including the mansion, stables, a cottage, a farmhouse, and other buildings. When she died, it passed to her daughter Mary. At left is a view from the compound, the future Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park.Marriage and family
On June 1, 1907, she married John French, son of the Hon. Warren Converse French and Sarah Ann Steele. The couple married at noon with Rev. Dr. William R. Richards officiating at the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York. The best man at the wedding was James R. Kingsley, with ushers being Dr. Frederick S. Lee, William Norman Campbell, Richard Billings and Dr. Thomas M. Taylor. After the two married, they lived in an apartment on Madison Avenue in New York.Together Billings French and John had three children:
- John French Jr., who married Rhoda Walker on June 24, 1931. She was the daughter of Roberts Walker of White & Case law firm.
- Mary Billings French, who married Laurance Rockefeller, son of John Davison Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
- Elizabeth "Liz" French, who married Ethan A. Hitchcock in 1937. He was a lawyer and direct descendant of Ethan Allen through Allen's grandson, Ethan Allen Hitchcock.