Family Tree
Ancestors & Descendants
Seven generations of the Gilder, De Kay, Tiffany, and Palmer families — from naval officers and arctic explorers to poets, painters, and the present stewards of Four Brooks Farm.
All Biographies
- 011802–1849
George Coleman De Kay
American naval officer and patriarch of the De Kay line, whose children helped found the Art Students League and the Society of American Artists.
- 021812–1864
Rev. William Henry Gilder
Methodist minister and educator; father of the Gilder generation that shaped American letters, art, and exploration.
- 031819–1890
Janet Halleck Drake
Daughter of poet Joseph Rodman Drake and wife of George Coleman De Kay; mother of Helena de Kay Gilder.
- 041837–1909
John Francis Gilder
Prominent American composer, organist, and music editor whose work resonated in the parlors and concert halls of the late 19th century.
- 051838–1900
William Henry Gilder Jr.
Army officer, Arctic explorer, journalist, and author who served as second-in-command on the Schwatka Franklin Search Expedition.
- 061844–1909
Richard Watson Gilder
For nearly three decades, editor-in-chief of The Century Monthly Magazine — one of the most prestigious and influential positions in American publishing.
- 071846–1916
Helena de Kay Gilder
American painter and illustrator who increasingly dedicated her energy to advocating for art, artists, and women, according to her own vision.
- 081849–1916
Jeannette Leonard Gilder
Pioneering American journalist and co-founder of The Critic, a leading literary journal of the Gilded Age.
- 091856–1940
Robert Fletcher Gilder
Landscape painter of the Great Plains and amateur archaeologist who recorded prehistoric cultures of the American interior.
- 101858–1936
Joseph Benson Gilder
Discerning editor and literary organizer; co-founder of The Critic and U.S. Commissioner to the Paris Exposition of 1900.
- 111877–1953
Dr. Rodman Drake de Kay Gilder
Son of Richard Watson and Helena de Kay Gilder; a New York psychiatrist who bridged the Gilder and Tiffany families.
- 121882–1950
Dr. Walter Walker Palmer I
Distinguished Harvard-trained physician, Columbia department chair, and patriarch of the Palmer line at Four Brooks Farm.
- 131887–1974
Louise Comfort Gilder
Daughter of Louis Comfort Tiffany and wife of Dr. Rodman Drake de Kay Gilder; mistress of Four Brooks Farm in the early 20th century.
- 141891–1986
Rosamond Gilder
Theater critic, editor of Theatre Arts Monthly, arts administrator, and founding figure of the International Theatre Institute.
- 151915–1943
Richard Watson Gilder II
Grandson of Richard Watson Gilder and great-grandson of Louis Comfort Tiffany; U.S. Army Air Corps lieutenant lost in World War II.
- 161918–2006
Julia Tiffany Gilder
Daughter of the Gilder line, also descended from the Tiffany family; wife of Nobel laureate Albert Claude and entomologist Asher E. Treat.
- 171925–2006
Gilder Palmer
Steward of Four Brooks Farm for more than eight decades; Navy medic at Iwo Jima, dairy farmer, town selectman, and father of the current generation.
- 18b. 1939
George Franklin Gilder
Conservative economist, futurist, and political writer; descendant of Richard Watson Gilder and Louis Comfort Tiffany.
- 19b. 1942
Comfort Tiffany Gilder
Daughter of the Gilder Palmer family; lifelong educator with Head Start, choir singer, and bearer of the Tiffany–Gilder–Alsop–Palmer name.
- 20b. 1949
Walter Walker Palmer II
Oldest son of Gilder and Anne Spring Alsop Gilder Palmer; founder of the Cobble Mountain Band and educator.
- 21b. 1951
Reese Denny Alsop Gilder Palmer
Living guardian of the Gilder Palmer legacy; has lived, worked, and sacrificed at Four Brooks Farm for more than four decades.
- 22b. 1958
Linda C. Gilder Palmer
Co-steward of Four Brooks Farm and primary contact for the Gilder Palmer Sanctuary preservation initiative.