Anne M. Archbold

Anne M. Archbold

Quick Facts

Place of Birth:

New York City, NY

Date of Birth:

1879

Place of Death:

Nassau, Bahamas

Date of Death:

March 26, 1968

Place of Burial:

Upperville, VA

Cemetery Name:

Ivy Hill Cemetery

Anne Mills Archbold was born in New York City, New York on November 24, 1873. She had a sister, Mary Lavina Archbold, who was two years older.

Anne and Mary's parents were Annie Eliza Mills of Pennsylvania and John Dustin Archbold. Archbold was one of the earliest oil refiners and became a close associate of John D. Rockefeller. Archbold took over many of the business elements of the Standard Oil Company which allowed Rockefeller to focus on his charitable works and philanthropy. 

The Archbold family grew after Anne's birth to include Frances Dana Archbold (b. 1875) and John Foster Archbold (b. 1877). In 1885, the family moved from New York City to Tarrytown, New York where they lived on a large estate called "Cedar Cliff." Anne lived a privileged life as her father amassed more wealth and more power in his involvement with the Standard Oil Company businesses. She was educated in Paris, France and Florence, Italy and in 1903 was painted by Frederick MacMonnies. The portrait is now in the Comenos Fine Arts in Boston.

Travel

John Archbold's wealth allowed his daughter to travel when she reached adulthood. Her name appears on ships lists throughout the 1890s. In 1906, she traveled to the "far east" where she was one of the first western women to visit Tibet.

While there, she met Armar Dayrolles Saunderson, an Irishman. Armar was the son of Colonel Edward James Saunderson who was a member of the English House of Commons and lead the Irish Unionist Party there. The seat of the Saunderson family was Castle Saunderson, Ireland.

Marriage

On June 14, 1906, it was announced in newspapers across the United States that Anne was engaged to marry Armar Saunderson. Two days after the announcement of the engagement hit American Newspapers, an English newspaper stated that the wedding had already happened and that it had taken place in the club house of Cuttyhunk Island in Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts. The Evening Standard of London called the island "one of the most romantic spots on the Atlantic coast." Friends later said that the wedding had come as a surprise due to the suddenness of it.

The couple traveled to Ireland and in October they were celebrated on the estate at Castle Saunderson in conjunction with Colonel Saunderson's birthday.

The couple honeymooned in Europe and were written about on their travels. In 1907, their first child, Lydia Ann, was born while they were still in France. At her baptism, she was sponsored by Grand Duke Michael, who gifted her with a full table service made of silver. Anne was later presented at the English court.

The marriage, and death of his father in 1906, allowed Armar to buy his own estate in England. He pursued his interests in agriculture and had a dairy farm.

Big Game

In 1908, the newspapers were full of news about passengers arriving on the ship Lusitania. The Saunderson family were passengers, but Lydia and her two pet lion cubs were the stars of the show. Baby Lydia (or Princess Lydia as the papers dubbed her) was seen playing on decks with two lion cubs who had been captured alive by Anne while she and her husband had been hunting big game in Africa. When the ship docked in New York, Lydia and Anne were distraught at not being able to take the lions home with them. The cubs had to remain in quarantine on the docks and were eventually taken to the Bronx Zoo where they were star attractions for many years.

Throughout 1908, Anne made several donations of big game trophies to natural history museums and was frequently featured in newspaper articles talking about decorating with exotic furnishings.

The Saundersons were guests at Oyster Bay in 1910, where they spoke with Theodore Roosevelt about their African excursion and the game to be hunted there. He was preparing for his own African safari and was gathering information for that trip.

Family

The Saunderson family continued to grow throughout the 1910s. Armar Edward was born in 1909 and a second son, John Dana, was born in 1911 in Bar Harbor, Maine. The youngest child was a girl, Moira, who was born in 1912. The family lived on an estate in England called Foxlease. Little is known about their early lives or time in England.

Death of her father

John D. Archbold died in December of 1916 of appendicitis. His illness was followed in the paper and included several blood donations from staff. The Rockefellers were remained close to the Tarrytown estate as John Archbold's health failed. He'd been Rockefeller's right hand man for many years.

After his death, papers at the time tracked Anne's journey across the Atlantic to arrive for the reading of her father's will. The will was very simple, leaving 1/3 of his property to his wife Anne and the remainder to be shared equally between his three surviving children.

Tax documents filed in Colorado show that John's one hundred and eighty shares of stock in the Continental Oil Company held a valuation of $99,900. Anne's share of just this portion of the estate was $10,779.20. Additional shares sold in Wisconsin brought Anne an additional $43,000. 

In the end, the estate was valued having a net worth of $38,239,895.68 of which Anne inherited $9 million. 

Divorce

Anne divorced Armar Saunderson in 1922. American papers claimed that she and her children were "held virtually captive" by her husband and that she was "rescued" along with her children on a Standard Oil Steamer. The divorce was certainly bitter and Anne may have "stolen" her children from England as they had been made wards of the court to prevent her from taking them from English soil.

Anne had retained Foxlease in the divorce and in an effort to sever all ties with England she offered the property, which included over 60 acres of land, to the Girl Guides. The Girl Guides did not buy the property as the upkeep was thought to be beyond their means. They still acquired the property in 1922 when the estate was gifted to Princess Mary, who was a sponsor of the Girl Guide association. Anne gave the estate to Princess Mary as a wedding present, who then presented it as a trust to the Girl Guides. In 1922, Olave Baden-Powell, then World Chief Guide, wrote to Juliette Gordon Lowe, founder of the Girl Scouts in the US to discuss the benefits of Foxlease which came with "a lovely big house with 24 bedrooms, nine bath-rooms(!), electric light, central heating, lovely garden, camping grounds, etc. Too perfect for description."

Today, Foxlease is still a training and activity center for Girl Guides in the United Kingdom.

After divorcing Armar Saunderson and returning to the United States, Anne took up her maiden name of Archbold and had her children's names legally changed to Archbold. None of the children used the Saunderson name ever again.

Feminist, Individualist, Philanthropist

Anne went by "Mrs. Anne Archbold" for the remainder of her life. She rented an estate called "Greystones" close to Rock Creek Park when she first returned to Washington, DC after her divorce. The estate was popular with Secretary of State Hughs, who rented it for his family when he was in town. Anne lived at Greystones for six months and made plans to purchase land west of town. She settled on a 60-acre tract of land on Reservoir Road to the west of Georgetown. She hired a female architect, Josephine Wright Chapman, to design her new home. She called it "Hillandale" and it was described as a Spanish style home, sometimes described as a villa. It faced south and offered visitors views of the capital dome and Washington Monument in the distance. To date, the Hillandale buildings are the only known examples of Chapman's design in the city of Washington.

Anne used the Hillandale estate to train German shepherds as guide dogs for the visually impaired and others to be used by police forces. Her children were often in society papers, especially Lydia who was captain of the Washington polo team and was a fashionable debutante.

Hillandale was not her only home. She had houses in Maine and Rhode Island and frequently traveled to Florida, New York and the Bahamas.

Anne Archbold joined the National Woman's Party and was a proponent of the Equal Rights Act. In 1923 she was photographed with a group of women who were "about to invade the offices of the senators and cogressmen from their states, to ask them to vote for Equal Rights." She also joined a delegation that petitioned President Harding directly.

Anne and Lydia's names frequently appeared in newspapers across the country--Anne's for philanthropic work and Lydia's for horses and descriptions of society events. Lydia's debut gown and March 1928 wedding to Lieutenant Elliott Strauss were described in great detail in newspapers across the United States. She was photographed many times with her champion horses and once in her costume for the Mardi Gras ball, where she's seen wearing what appears to be a Tibetan headdress.

Anne followed in her father's footsteps. She was an affluent heiress who donated money, land and time to causes. She donated to hospitals in the DC area, Maine, and New York. Some of the causes she supported included occupational therapy, social welfare programs and the Gallinger Hospital.

Moira Archbold's 1938 wedding to a Southeast Asia explorer may have spurred Anne to build a diesel powered copy of a Chinese Junk from the 15th-century. She participated in two cruises on the vessel and collected seeds and plants for botanical studies.

Glover Archbold Park

Charles Carroll Glover donated 77-acres of land to the National Capital Parks commission in 1924. Anne Archbold added 28-acres of land to the south of this holding to the donation. This was to become the Glover-Archbold Parkway which would extend from Canal Road north to Wisconsin Avenue NW. The parkway would have included a 100-foot right-of-way and was to be named Arizona Avenue. The parkway was never constructed and the land was used by neighbors as a local urban oasis. 

In 1947, plans for the right-of-way were developed which would have included a four-lane divided highway. Opposition to this plan was strong and Anne Archbold was a leader in voicing her displeasure at the thought of a four-lane-parkway going through the valley: 

“It is beautifully wooded, with a wealth of wild flowers and bird life. Quiet pathways lead down its sides along the meandering creek bed with its sycamore-tulip tangles, furnishing restful retreats for adults and fascinating children. Such a beautiful park cannot be eliminated if Washington is to grow as a living organism with its parts in proper balance.”

The plan for the roadway was amended in the 1950s to include an eight-lane bridge over the Potomac River to connect with the four-lane highway through the Foundry Branch Valley. This spurred Anne and Charles Carroll Glover, Jr. to file an injunction against the District Commissioners to prevent the project from happening. They argued that the project was a violation of the public trust and advocated for the land to remain a park. Anne and Charles had support from Secretary of Interior Stewart Udall and legislation was put forward to transfer the right-of-way to the National Park Service. The idea for Three Sisters Bridge and the highway between Canal Road NW and Wisconsin Avenue NW was considered up until 1967, when it was abandoned and the right-of-way was finally transferred to the National Park Service. Anne said “It was my purpose that the beautiful wooded valley be preserved perpetually for the benefit and pleasure of the public. It should remain and be enjoyed by all as a natural sanctuary.” 

Death

Anne died at her winter home in Nassau on March 26,1968, of a heart attack. She was 94 years old. As newspapers printed her obituary, her colorful life was splashed across the pages. She was called a non-conformist for spending her honeymoon on safari and for taking her maiden name back for herself and her children after her divorce. The Bangor Daily News published the notice of her death under the headline "Sportswoman Dead At 94." The brief article mentions that Anne had held records for big game fish and her travels to Tibet. Her funeral was held at her Hillandale estate in Washington and she was eventually buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery, near her son John's Upperville estate, which he called "Foxlease Farms."