Chisholm, George Edings I (1858–1938)

1858–1938

Parents: William Edings Chisholm (1823–1895) and Mary Ann Catherine Muhlenberg Rogers (1827–1913).
Married: Edith Lawrence (1861–1934).
Children: John Rogers Chisholm (1896–1949), Henry Lawrence Chisholm (1898–1949), Donald Muhlenberg Chisholm (1900–1974), and William Edings Chisholm (1904–1972).
Kinship: Husband of Edith Lawrence, the third cousin three times removed of the post-World War II Smith generation.

Early Life and Marriage

Born 13 June 1858 in College Point, Long Island—at the family’s residence later known locally as the Chisholm Mansion—George was the fourth surviving child of William Edings Chisholm of Charleston and Mary Ann C. Muhlenberg Rogers of Morristown, New Jersey.

He married Edith Lawrence, daughter of Henry E. Lawrence, on 18 November 1890.

Civic and Philanthropic Connections

George’s maternal family were close to the Episcopal reformer Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg (1796–1877), who founded St. Johnland in Kings Park, Long Island. The family’s connection to St. Johnland is documented in period sources: in 1888 George’s father, William E. Chisholm, is listed among the Society of St. Johnland’s trustees at its 18th annual meeting held at St. Luke’s Hospital, New York. (This demonstrates a direct Chisholm role in the institution’s governance during George’s adulthood.)

Residences and Interests

Contemporary accounts place the family in Morristown, New Jersey, and at College Point/Queens, reflecting ties to New York business and church circles. George’s activities are described in family and local histories as centering on real estate and club/yachting circles.