George Frederic Jones (1821-1882)

He lived off the profits of the family-owned Chemical Bank of New York, acquired by the cousins Isaac Jones and John Quentin Jones in 1839 and which in 1995 was still the 3rd largest bank in the United States. Frederic also enjoyed the profits from his real estate in New York which was valued at his death at $600,000. Despite his wealth, he still managed to run into financial problems and in an effort to lower his expenditure took his family to France for six years. He married Lucretia, grand-daughter of William Rhinelander. All three of their children, including their famous daughter, Edith Wharton, ended their days in France. By the will of his cousin Joshua Jones, Frederic was entitled to one half of a one-ninth share of his $7-million estate, but having predeceased him the share was divided equally between his children.