Hartford Family History & Genealogy

Huntington Hartford Born George Huntington Hartford II April 18, 1911 New York City, U.S. Died May 19, 2008 (aged 97) Lyford Cay, Bahamas Resting place Lakeview Memorial Gardens & Mausoleums Education St. Paul's School Alma mater Harvard University Occupation Heir to the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company fortune, philanthropist and businessman Spouse(s) Mary Lee Epling (m. 1931; div. 1939) Marjorie Steele (m. 1949; div. 1960) Diane Brown (m. 1962; div. 1970) Elaine Kay (m. 1975; div. 1981) Children 4 Parent(s) Edward V. Hartford and Henrietta Guerard Pollitzer Relatives George Huntington Hartford (grandfather) George Ludlum Hartford (uncle) John Augustine Hartford (uncle) George Huntington Hartford II (April 18, 1911 – May 19, 2008) was an American businessman, philanthropist, stage and film producer, and art collector. He was also heir to the A&P supermarket fortune. After his father's death in 1922, Hartford became one of the heirs to the estate left by his grandfather and namesake, George Huntington Hartford. After graduating from Harvard University in 1934, he only briefly worked for A&P. For the rest of his life, Hartford focused on numerous other business and charitable enterprises. He owned Paradise Island[3] in the Bahamas, and had numerous other business and real estate interests over his lifetime including the Oil Shale Corporation (TOSCO), which he founded in 1955. Hartford was once known as one of the world's richest people. His final years were spent living in the Bahamas with his daughter, Juliet. Early life and education Huntington Hartford was born in New York City, the son of Henrietta Guerard (Pollitzer) and Edward V. Hartford (1870–1922). He was named George Huntington Hartford II for his grandfather, George Huntington Hartford. His father and uncles, John Augustine Hartford and George Ludlum Hartford, privately owned the A&P Supermarket, which at one point had 16,000 stores in the U.S. and was the largest retail empire in the world. In the 1950s A&P was the world's largest grocer and, next to General Motors, it sold more goods than any other company in the world. Time magazine reported that A&P had sales of $2.7 billion in 1950. His maternal grandfather was from an Austrian Jewish family, and his maternal grandmother, who was Protestant, had deep roots in South Carolina. Hartford's father was a successful inventor and manufacturer who perfected the automotive shock absorber. Along with his brothers, Edward was also an heir to the A&P fortune and served as A&P's corporate secretary as well as one of three trustees that controlled A&P's stock. After Hartford's birth, the family moved to Deal, New Jersey, a wealthy community on the Atlantic shore. After Huntington's father died when he was 11, his mother moved the family to a mansion in Newport, Rhode Island known as "Seaverge" next to Rough Point, the mansion owned by tobacco heiress Doris Duke. The family also lived on a 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) plantation in South Carolina called "Wando" as well as an apartment on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. After his father died in 1922, Hartford's mother sent him to St. Paul's School. He later majored in English literature at Harvard University. After his graduation from Harvard in 1934, he went to work at A&P headquarters in New York in the statistical department. He lived on a trust fund that generated about $1.5 million per year. On 10 November 1936, he purchased from Alan Villiers the sailing ship Joseph Conrad which he converted to a private yacht, and donated to the U.S. Maritime Commission as a sail training ship in 1939. Career In 1940, Hartford invested $100,000 to help start a newspaper, PM, with Marshall Field III and worked as a reporter for the publication. An avid sailor, he donated his yacht to the Coast Guard at the start of World War II. During the war he was commissioned in the Coast Guard and commanded the Army supply ship FS-179, commissioned in May 1944, in the Pacific Theater. Hartford twice accidentally ran the ship aground. After the war, he moved to Los Angeles and attempted to purchase Republic Pictures and RKO Studios from Howard Hughes. Huntington also started a modeling agency and an artists' colony, and opened a theater. In the 1950s, Hartford purchased a penthouse duplex on the 13th and 14th floors of One Beekman Place in the 1950s after moving from an apartment at the River House in New York City. He owned a home called "Pompano" on 240 El Vedado Drive in Palm Beach, a 150-acre (0.61 km2) estate in Mahwah, New Jersey called "Melody Farm", a 160-acre (0.65 km2) Hollywood estate known as "The Pines" (also known as Runyon Canyon Park), a townhouse in London, a home in Juan-les-Pins France and a house on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Hartford owned Huntington Hartford Productions which produced several films including the Abbott and Costello film, Africa Screams, in 1949. In 1950, Hartford produced Hello Out There, the last film of James Whale, the acclaimed director of the 1931 version of Frankenstein. He produced several films starring Marjorie Steele and encouraged her to become an artist. In 1955, Hartford founded the Oil Shale Corporation, later known as Tosco, and was its majority shareholder and chairman. Tosco was later acquired by ConocoPhillips. He also set up the Denver Research Institute at the University of Denver to find alternate methods of oil extraction. During this period, he also wrote and produced The Master of Thornfield, a stage adaptation of Jane Eyre that ran for two weeks in Cincinnati starring Errol Flynn as Mr. Rochester. This partnership led to Flynn staying in Hartford's pool-house briefly in 1957–58 and is the origin of a legend that "The Pines" was Flynn's estate. Later, Hartford produced the play on Broadway. In 1964, Hartford offered The Pines as a gift to the city but was turned down by Mayor Sam Yorty. As Lloyd Wright recalled in 1977, "Here was this very wealthy man, and he wanted to give something very stunning to Hollywood. The Chambers of Commerce, the hotel owners and the various businesses were jealous of the park and with the help of the city officials, the city refused to give us permits. Hunt was so angry that he wanted to get out immediately and sold the property to [Jules] Berman who destroyed the mansion and let the place run down." When his uncle George Ludlum Hartford died in 1957, the trust set up by the elder George Huntington Hartford was liquidated and Hartford inherited his portion of the estate. The Chicago Tribune estimated his wealth in 1969 as half a billion dollars.In 1959, Mike Wallace introduced him on television interview as being worth half a billion dollars. 14th-century French cloisters reassembled by Hartford on Paradise Island In 1959, Hartford bought Hog Island in the Bahamas, renaming it Paradise Island. He developed it over the next three years hoping to turn it into another Monte Carlo. One feature of his Ocean Club was a cloister built from the disassembled stones of a monastery that William Randolph Hearst had stored in a Florida warehouse. In an interview with David Frost on British television, Hartford stated that the flag he created for Paradise Island was in the shape of a "P" and that he wanted to put it on the moon as a symbol of peace for the world. Hartford was responsible for getting the gambling license for Paradise Island by hiring Sir Stafford Sands, a Bahamian lawyer. In 1969, Hartford produced the Broadway show Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, which opened at the Belasco Theater starring the then-unknown actor Al Pacino. Pacino won a Tony for his performance.

Irwin Hartford of Haverhill, Essex County, MA was born on August 1, 1937, and died at age 57 years old on April 21, 1995.

John C Hartford was born on December 30, 1937, and died at age 63 years old on June 4, 2001. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember John C Hartford.

Estelle Hartford was born to Lillian Jule, and has siblings Beverly F Connell and Diane Jule. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Estelle Hartford.

Randall Bruce Hartford of Searcy, White County, AR was born on June 9, 1956, and died at age 52 years old on February 11, 2009. Randall Hartford was buried at Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery Section K Site 324 1501 West Maryland, in North Little Rock.

Walter Hartford of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma was born on October 20, 1909, and died at age 63 years old in March 1973.

Victor G Hartford of Rochester, Strafford County, NH was born on November 1, 1918, and died at age 76 years old on January 8, 1995.

Charles R Hartford of Lancaster, Coos County, NH was born on August 21, 1920, and died at age 57 years old in February 1978.

James H Hartford was born on June 13, 1914, and died at age 75 years old on December 1, 1989. James Hartford was buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery Section 11 Site 119 Off Connery Avenue, in Bourne, Ma. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember James H Hartford.

Elmer L Hartford was born on September 28, 1924, and died at age 61 years old on June 16, 1986. Elmer Hartford was buried at Leavenworth National Cemetery Section 45 Row 20 Site 66 150 Muncie Road, in Leavenworth, Ks. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Elmer L Hartford.

Dennis D Hartford of Dallas, Dallas County, TX was born on August 19, 1940, and died at age 54 years old on April 18, 1995.

Eddie Hartford of Lettsworth, Pointe Coupee County, LA was born on November 21, 1952, and died at age 56 years old on November 13, 2009.

Carl S Hartford of Rochester, Strafford County, NH was born on February 23, 1908, and died at age 90 years old on October 24, 1998.

Brian A Hartford of Haverhill, Essex County, MA was born on December 13, 1965, and died at age 39 years old on April 1, 2005.

Arvilla Hartford was born on March 12, 1920, and died at age 49 years old on February 22, 1970. Arvilla Hartford was buried at National Memorial Cemetery Of The Pacific Section K Site 207 2177 Puowaina Drive, in Honolulu, Hi. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Arvilla Hartford.

Henry H Hartford was born on July 28, 1932, and died at age 67 years old on January 25, 2000. Henry Hartford was buried at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery Section C-5 Site 607 32053 West Mccabe Road, in Santa Nella, Ca. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Henry H Hartford.

Dana D Hartford was born on January 14, 1967, and died at age 40 years old on December 25, 2007. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Dana D Hartford.

Hollis Hartford was born on February 13, 1905, and died at age 62 years old in February 1967.

Roscoe B Hartford of Somersworth, Strafford County, NH was born on April 4, 1903, and died at age 76 years old in March 1980.

James Hartford was born on February 13, 1961, and died at age 19 years old in June 1980. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember James Hartford.