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Josephine Hartford Bryce

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Josephine Hartford Bryce
Born
Marie Josephine Hartford

1903
New Jersey
DiedJune 8, 1992
New York, New York
Spouse(s)Charles Oliver O'Donnell (1923-1930)
Vadim S. Makaroff (1931-1937)
Barclay Kountze Douglas (1937-)
John Felix "Ivar" Charles Bryce (1950-1985, his death)
ChildrenNuala O'Donnell Pell, Columbus O'Donnell
Parents
  • Edward V. Hartford (father)
  • Princess Henrietta Guerard Pollitzer Hartford Pignatelli (mother)
RelativesHuntington Hartford (brother), George Huntington Hartford (grandfather), Claiborne Pell (son-in-law)
FamilyHartford family

Marie Josephine "JoJo" Hartford O’Donnell Makaroff Douglas Bryce (1903 – June 8, 1992) was an American heiress, thoroughbred racehorse owner and socialite from New York. She was the daughter of Edward V. Hartford, an inventor and heir to the A&P grocery store fortune.

Biography

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Marie Josephine "JoJo" Hartford was born in 1903. She was the first child born to Edward V. Hartford and his wife Henrietta Guerard Pollitzer. She was the granddaughter to George Huntington Hartford, who made his fortune leading the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. JoJo's parents were said to live ostentatiously compared to others in the Hartford family. Unlike his brothers, Edward V did not work for A&P, choosing to live as a gentleman.[1] The couple travelled extensively, maintaining a plantation in South Carolina, a home on Fifth Avenue, and a weekend estate in New Jersey.[1]

JoJo's father Edward died in 1922. Upon her father's death, his fortune would pass to JoJo, her brother Huntington and their mother Henrietta.[2]

C. Oliver O'Donnell

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After her father's death, the family began to spend their summers in Newport, Rhode Island. JoJo Hartford said her mother "always believed, as Southerners do, that she was terribly grand," and bought one of Newport's most grand oceanside estates.[1] There, JoJo Hartford met her first husband Charles Oliver O'Donnell, a grandson of Columbus O'Donnell and heir to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad fortune. The pair married in 1923 and had two children, Nuala[3] and Columbus.[2] The couple divorced in 1931, he sued her for cruelty.[4]

USS Vamarie after being transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy.
The Reef, designed by Maurice Fatio and built at 702 North County Road in Palm Beach for the Makaroffs in 1936. It was designated as a landmark in 1990.[5]

Vadim Stefan Makaroff

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In 1931 JoJo married Vadim S. Makaroff in Paris.[6] Makaroff was the son of a Naval officer, keen yachtsman and a businessman known as the "Caviar King".[7][8] Upon their marriage, Makaroff commissioned the Vamarie, a 75-foot ketch.[2] Vadim Makaroff would set several sailing records in the yacht.[9][10]

In 1935, she was named by Fortune to their roster of the richest U.S. women. The Makaroff's were described as:

"Their life is one of very luxurious sport, from a ski lodge in Canada, their racing yacht the Vamarie, on to the tennis courts under a powerfully lighted glass ceiling in their lavish Long Island estate. She is the very pattern of a young and terrifically wealthy woman, constantly entertaining, spending, taking up new diversions, traveling and like other wealthy women- constantly afraid that people are after her money."[11]

From 1935-1936, JoJo and Vadim commissioned architect Maurice Fatio to design and build The Reef, an international style estate on Palm Beach.[12][13] Mrs. Makaroff commissioned her friend Marjorie Oelrichs to design the interior. The estate would go on to win a gold medal and named "the most modern house in America" at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition.[14][15] The Makaroffs would later divorce and donate the Vamarie to the United States Naval Academy.[2]

Barclay Kountze Douglas

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The Waves mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, home to Mr. and Mrs. Barclay Douglas

On March 31, 1937, JoJo Makaroff married Barclay Kountze Douglas, a sportsman, aviator and former yachtsman of the Vamarie.[16][17] With her third husband, JoJo Douglas would become heavily involved in thoroughbred racing as well as aviation. In 1938, she received her pilot's license and bought her first plane.[18] JoJo Douglas would sell The Reef at a loss.[18] The couple moved to Newport, Rhode Island where they purchased The Waves estate, alternatively known as the John Russell Pope House in 1937.[19] JoJo and Barclay would later divorce.[20]

Mill River Stable

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JoJo Douglas' racing stable, Mill River had several notable horses throughout the 1940s. Her racing colors were orange and red.[21] Some of Douglas's top horses included Miss Grillo (the namesake of the Miss Grillo Stakes),[22][23] Eurasian and Chop Chop.[24] In 1942, Mill River's Fair Call placed seventh in that year's Kentucky Derby. In March 1944, Mill River led the nominations for that year's Kentucky Derby, with five horses.[25] None ultimately would run. In 1947 her horse Secnav would contest the Preakness Stakes, finishing seventh.[26]

Ivar Bryce

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Moyns Park estate, Essex, England

In 1950, JoJo Douglas married her fourth husband, Englishman John Felix "Ivar" Charles Bryce, the grandson of John Pablo Bryce.[27][28] Ivar Bryce was a former British intelligence officer, co-owner of the North American Newspaper Alliance and heir to Moyns Park. The couple would spend considerable time in England where JoJo worked to restore the property, and where they would travel to and host parties across Europe as members of the jet set.[18] While in Europe, JoJo Bryce moved many of her racing horses to England to race.[29]

When not residing in England, JoJo and Ivar Bryce split their time between properties in Vermont, New York, Acapulco, Newport and "Xanadu", an estate on New Providence Island, The Bahamas.[18] Ivar and JoJo Bryce would regularly host their close friend Ian Fleming, who based elements of his character Felix Leiter on Ivar.[30][31] Their lavish properties were said to have inspired several of the settings of his James Bond novels.[32][33][34] On a visit to the Bryce's Black Hole Hollow Farm in Vermont, JoJo Bryce reportedly encouraged Fleming to take a trip to Saratoga Springs to attend the Travers States.[35] The racetrack at Saratoga would later appear in Diamonds are Forever.[36][37]

JoJo's husband Ivar died in 1985, and she would die at home in New York on June 8, 1992 at age 88.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Andrews, Suzanna (2008-05-20). "Hostage to Fortune". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  2. ^ a b c d Burns, Charles J. (2024-10-07). "The Life and Times of Josephine Hartford, Part I". New York Social Diary. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  3. ^ "University community mourns loss of Nuala Pell". Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  4. ^ Times, Special to The New York (1931-07-16). "C.O. O'DONNELL DIVORCED.; Former Josephine Hartford Sued on Cruelty Charge". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
  5. ^ Duffy, Abigail (2022-02-01). "Moderne Love". Palm Beach Illustrated. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  6. ^ "MRS. MARIE O'DONNELL WEDS RUSSIAN IN PARIS; Daughter of Mrs. E.V. Hartford Marries Commander Vladimir Makaroff of Czar's Navy". The New York Times. 1931-08-15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
  7. ^ Penny, Marie. "Nautical shades of Le Corbusier: The Reef brought International Style to island in 1935". Palm Beach Daily News. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  8. ^ "Vadim Makaroff, Inventor,Dies; Supporter of Tolstoy Foundation". The New York Times. 1964-01-03. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  9. ^ "Sport: Sailor". TIME. 1935-04-15. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  10. ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (1934-08-19). "YACHT VAMARIE VICTOR.; Leads Schooner Mistress in Race of 258 Miles". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  11. ^ "America's Rich Widows" Somerset Daily American Newspaper Archives October 29, 1935. Page 10.
  12. ^ "Makaroff, Josephine Hartford". pbchistory.catalogaccess.com. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  13. ^ "Fatio - Makaroff/The Reef". pbchistory.catalogaccess.com. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  14. ^ Hofheinz, Darrell. "'A little jewel-box': Schuler Award honors architect of Art Deco-style house with green focus". Palm Beach Daily News. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  15. ^ Duffy, Abigail (2022-02-01). "Moderne Love". Palm Beach Illustrated. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  16. ^ "Rich Divorcee Weds a New York Broker" Joplin News Herald. April 1 1937. Tallahassee, Florida. Page 2.
  17. ^ "MARIE J. MAKAROFF IS WED IN FLORIDA; She Is Married to Barclay K. Douglas, a Broker and Aviation Executive". The New York Times. 1937-04-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  18. ^ a b c d Burns, Charles J. (2024-10-07). "The Life and Times of Josephine Hartford, Part II". New York Social Diary. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  19. ^ "Frazier Jelke Buys 'The Waves'" Newport Mercury And Weekly News Newspaper Archives April 13, 1951 Page 7.
  20. ^ "Mrs Josephine Hartford Douglas To Be Wedd; Son to Attend in South" Newport Daily News Newspaper Archives March 1 1950, Page Two.
  21. ^ a b Pace, Eric (1992-06-10). "Josephine Hartford Bryce, 88, Philanthropist and Sportswoman". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  22. ^ "History Challenge: They were in it for the long haul". www.drf.com. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  23. ^ "The mare whose spectacular victory puts even Secretariat in the shade | Topics: Northern Dancer, Secretariat, Miss Grillo". Thoroughbred Racing Commentary. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  24. ^ Bouyea, Brien (2019-07-23). "When the Travers was run on Long Island". Saratogian. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  25. ^ "Derby Shots" Brownsville Herald Newspaper Archives March 9, 1944 Page 21.
  26. ^ Pace, Eric (1992-06-10). "Josephine Hartford Bryce, 88, Philanthropist and Sportswoman". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  27. ^ "Milestones". TIME. 1950-04-17. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  28. ^ Social Register Association (1950). Social register, summer 1950. Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. New York, New York : Social Register Association. p. 34.
  29. ^ "Favored Ki Ming Runs Out of the Money; U.S. Horses Trail". Washington Evening Star Newspaper Archives May 30, 1951 Page 12
  30. ^ Ewing, Mark. "Ian Fleming, James Bond, And W.O. Bentley: Gooding & Co. Auctions A Bentley Continental R-type Back Story". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  31. ^ "Exclusive Interview With Raymond Benson". Artistic Licence Renewed. 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  32. ^ "JAMES BOND 007 MAGAZINE | On the Trail of Ian Fleming". www.007magazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  33. ^ Tzeses, Jennifer (2016-08-08). "Ian Fleming Penned Several James Bond Novels at This $4 Million Farm". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  34. ^ Page, Timothy (2023-07-07). "Hancy: From Arlington, with Love - Vermont Daily Chronicle". vermontdailychronicle.com. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  35. ^ Light, Craig (2021-09-08). "Black Hole Hollow Farm - An Inspiring Estate". Stratton Magazine - Celebrating Manchester and the Mountains. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  36. ^ "See Inside The New York Country Estate That Inspired Two Iconic James Bond Novels". GQ. 2020-02-24. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  37. ^ Richardson, Brenda. "Country Estate That Inspired James Bond Novelist Is On The Market In New York". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
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