Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr.

Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr.
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 5th district
In office January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1975
Preceded by	Charles Aubrey Eaton
Succeeded by	Millicent Fenwick
Personal details
Born	(1916-01-17)January 17, 1916 New York City, New York
Died	Harding Township, New Jersey
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Beatrice Sterling Procter
Children	Rodney P. Frelinghuysen
Parents	Peter Hood Ballantine Frelinghuysen I

Peter Hood Ballantine Frelinghuysen II (January 17, 1916 – May 23, 2011) represented New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from 1953 to 1975.

Early years

Peter Frelinghuysen came from a long line of New Jersey politicians dating back to the early years of the United States, including four United States senators and two House members. He was the grandson of George Griswold Frelinghuysen, great-grandson of Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, the great-great-nephew of Theodore Frelinghuysen, and the great-great-great-grandson of Frederick Frelinghuysen. He was also a great-great-grandson of Ballantine Brewery founder Peter Ballantine.

Born on January 17, 1916, in New York City to Peter H.B. Frelinghuysen Sr. and the former Adaline Havemeyer, Frelinghuysen's father was a banker who descended from 18th century Dutch settlers in Somerset County. His siblings included his twin brother Henry O.H. Frelinghuysen, a philanthropist and civic leader, George G. Frelinghuysen, and Frederica Frelinghuysen Emert. He attended St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts, and graduated from Princeton University in 1938 and Yale Law School in 1941.

Career

After practicing law in New York City, he served in the Office of Naval Intelligence from September 1942 to December 1945 obtaining the rank of lieutenant. He then studied at Columbia University, 1946–1947. He served as staff of the Foreign Affairs Task Force of the Hoover Commission in 1948 before returning to the private sector. He served as director of Howard Savings Bank in Livingston, New Jersey.

In 1952, he was elected to the House of Representatives from New Jersey's 5th congressional district and served there until his retirement from politics in 1975. As a moderate Republican, he supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but not the Johnson administration's war on poverty programs. In December 1959, when the Port of New York Authority's plans to develop a tract of woodlands and marsh near his estate in Morris County as an international airport serving the New York City region, Frelinghuysen led the opposition of local residents and conservationists, the Jersey Jetport Site Association, and helped raise funds to purchase almost 3,000 acres of the targeted site. With the defeat of the airport development initiative, that parcel became part of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, established by federal statute on November 3, 1960, in the middle of the development controversy. In the 1960s, extortionists targeted Frelinghuysen for blackmail, arranging for him to have a sexual encounter with an underage male and then, posing as police officers, threatening him with public exposure. Frelinghuysen paid them $50,000. He later cooperated with the FBI's investigation of the extortionist ring, but the Justice Department notified the leadership of the House of Representatives and Frelinghuysen was forced off the Armed Services Committee.

In January 1965, he was House Minority Leader Gerald Ford's choice for Minority Whip but lost on a secret ballot of the Republican caucus by a vote of 70 to 59 to the incumbent Les Arends, who had held the post since 1943.

After leaving Congress, Frelinghuysen served on the boards of several non-profit institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Botanical Garden.

Personal life

He married the former Beatrice Sterling Procter, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on September 7, 1940. She was a descendent of the founder of Procter & Gamble. Their children include Peter Frelinghuysen II, a lawyer, and Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, a Congressman.

His wife died in 1996. He died on May 23, 2011, at his home in Harding Township, New Jersey.

References

File:Longines Chronicles with Peter Frelinghuysen 1954 ARC-96008.ogv

1954 interview

• Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr. at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr. at Find a Grave

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Charles Aubrey Eaton	U.S. House of Representatives 5th District of New Jersey 1953–1975	Succeeded by Millicent Fenwick

External links

• Peter H.B. Frelinghuysen Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University
• A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with Peter Freylinghuysen (SIC)" is available at the Internet Archive