Estelle Emma Skidmore (1830-1905)

Estelle Skidmore Doremus (1830-1905) was an American woman who was the daughter of Hubbard Skidmore who served in the American Revolution. Doremus became a Charter Member and Honorary Vice President General of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Doremus was also a Charter officer and Regent of the New York City Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution between 1892 and 1894. Doremus married Dr. Robert Ogden Doremus, a Professor of Chemistry in New York City College and son of philanthropist Sarah Platt Doremus. Doremus was a leader of the American colony in Paris during the reign of Napoleon III. Upon returning to New York City, she and her husband became important figures in society, and well-known supporters of music and the arts, including the Philharmonic Society which her husband served as President of for many years.

Biography
Doremus was born the daughter of Hubbard Skidmore and Caroline Avery on May 6, 1830 in New York. Hubbard Skidmore was believed to serve at a young age in the American Revolution under guidance from his father, the soldier Zophar Skidmore. Doremus was also a granddaughter of Thaddeus Avery, a Revolutionary War soldier on her mother's side.

She married Robert Ogden Doremus on October 1, 1850. He was a Professor of Chemistry in New York City College and was the son of philanthropist Sarah Platt Doremus. Her husband's work took him and Estelle to Paris, where he advised the French government. Estelle E. Skidmore was remembered as "the leader of the American colony in Paris during the most brilliant part of the reign of Napoleon III" in the early 1860's. Doremus returned to the United States from France following the end of the Civil War. Mrs. Doremus was a friend of many of the great singers and musicians at the time. The Doremuses formerly lived on Fourth Avenue, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth Streets, and later at a family home at 241 Madison Avenue that was often visited by leaders of the musical world.

An issue of the New York Tribune published following her death described the creative and stimulating environment Doremus created: She had brilliant conversational powers, and a charm of manner which created about her a wide circle of friends. She had a wide acquaintance throughout the country and hosts of distinguished friends abroad. There gathered at her entertainments statesmen, professional men, men of affairs, artists, musicians, actors and others of distinction. These, with their wives and daughters, formed a "salon," in which those who entertained the company with voice or instrumental music.

Doremus went on to play an important role in a number of organizations including the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Colonial Dames of America, and the Underhill Society of America. Following her death on May 21, 1905, she was buried in the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. A "Memorial Sketch" to Doremus was prepared by David Harris Underhill and read at the Underhill Family Reunion on October 7, 1905.

Participation in Lineage Societies
Estelle was a member of the Colonial Dames of America and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was said to be the only member of the New York Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution whose father actually served in the Revolution. She was a Regent of the New York Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and honorary Vice President of the National Society. Doremus was influential in honoring her ancestor Captain Thaddeus Avery, by placing a plaque at the Avery Homestead in Mount Pleasant, New York. Over one hundred people were present for the dedication ceremony on June 9, 1900. The plaque read: Captain Thaddeus Avery was branded with hot irons in this room, and his wife threatened with death by the HEssians, when they refused to divulge the hiding place of the money of the Continental Army. Mrs. Avery baked bread in this oven for the Revolutionary soldiers. This hero and heroine were the grandparents of Mrs. R. Ogden Doremus, Second Regent of the New York City Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, which organization affixed this tablet June 9, 1900. Captain Thaddeus Avery. Born October 30, 1749. Died November 16, 1836. Elizabeth Underhill Avery. Born August 8, 1762. Died May 22, 1841. "Vicit iles durum pietas"

Between 1898 and 1905 Doremus served as President of the Underhill Society of America. As early as 1887 it was mentioned how Captain John Underhill should have a suitable monument. The Underhill Society of America was founded in 1892 with the purpose of helping to establish this monument. William Wilson Underhill was selected as the first President of the Underhill Society of America and also Chairman of the Monument Committee. Having made insufficient headway with raising the $6,000 in needed funds, William Wilson Underhill resigned as President of the Underhill Society and as Chairman of the Monument Committee. Doremus took his place as the second President.

Doremus made it her objective to find a Chairman for the Monument Committee. She wisely selected Colonel John Torboss Underhill to take on that role. Following Mrs. Doremus' death in 1905, John Torboss Underhill succeeded her as President. Now as President of the Society and Chairman of the Monument Committee, he felt renewed pressure to raise the additional money needed and to proceed with work on the monument. Names on a plaque at the base of the monument recognize Mrs. Robert Ogden Doremus as one of two "Patrons" who supported erection of the monument. While neither Doremus or her husband lived to see the results of their labors, the played an important role in the erection of the Underhill monument.

Family
Estelle and Robert Doremus had the following children.
 * Charles Avery Doremus, was engaged in the general practice of chemistry. For twenty-two years he served as a faculty member of the College of the City of New York. He died December 2, 1925 of heart disease.
 * Thomas Cornelius Doremus died of pneumonia on March 25, 1928, at 74 years of age.
 * Estelle E. Doremus died in August 1937. She was an accomplished musician and member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
 * Arthur Lispenard Doremus died on April 24, 1953, at 84 years of age.