Annette Pell Townsend (1884-1965)

She was born in Washington D.C., where her father was Adjutant-General to the U.S. Army. She was a great-great-granddaughter of Vice-President Elbridge Gerry and a cousin of Rhode Island Senator Peter Goelet Gerry. In 1904, she married Marshall A. Phillips Jr., and they lived in Philadelphia before moving to Goshen, New York, where she was a member of the Orange County Hunt Club. After divorcing Phillips, she moved to Newport in 1938 and six years later purchased Whiteholme. She was a keen genealogist and wrote histories of the Auchmutys of Scotland and the Waltons of New York. Her papers held at Yale University include notes and letters concerning her celebrated ancestor, Elbridge Gerry. She was survived by 2-sons, Townsend & Alexander.