John Dryden Kuser | |
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 Portrait fromBird Lore (1916) | |
| Member of theNew Jersey Senate fromSomerset County | |
| In office 1930–1936 | |
| Preceded by | Clarence Case |
| Succeeded by | James I. Bowers |
| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly | |
| In office 1925–1930 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Dryden Kuser (1897-09-24)September 24, 1897 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | March 3, 1964(1964-03-03) (aged 66) New York City, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Anthony Dryden Kuser Suzanne Dryden Kuser |
| Parent(s) | Anthony R. Kuser Susan Fairchild Dryden |
| Relatives | John Fairfield Dryden (grandfather) |
| Alma mater | Princeton University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Branch/service |  United States Naval Reserve |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
John Dryden Kuser also known asDryden Kuser (September 24, 1897 – March 3, 1964)[1] was aNew Jersey politician and a member of an influential New Jersey family. He was the son ofAnthony R. Kuser and grandson of Senator andPrudential Insurance founderJohn Fairfield Dryden.
Kuser was born September 24, 1897, inNewark, New Jersey, the first of two children ofAnthony R. Kuser (1862–1929)[1] and Susan Fairchild Dryden (1870–1932).[2]
Kuser's father, the past President of the South Jersey Gas and Electric Lighting Company and one of the original investors in Fox Movie Studios, had served on the staffs of three New Jersey governors in the late 19th century, and in 1923, donated his 10,500-acre (42 km2) estate to becomeHigh Point State Park, the largest public park in New Jersey.[3] His paternal family is of Swiss and Austrian descent.
John Dryden Kuser's grandfather,John Fairfield Dryden (1839–1911), was the founder ofPrudential Insurance Company and a United States Senator from 1902 to 1907.[4] He graduated fromPrinceton in 1918, where he was managing editor ofThe Daily Princetonian. DuringWorld War I, he served in theNaval Reserve.[5]
Kuser launched his political career in 1922, at age 25, winning election as aBernardsville, New Jersey Councilman. He was elected to theNew Jersey General Assembly two years later, and won a seat in theNew Jersey Senate in 1929.[5] His wife filed for divorce shortly after the Senate election.[6][7]
During his six years as State Senator, Kuser's top accomplishment was the passage of legislation that designated the easterngoldfinch as New Jersey's state bird (in 1916, he presided over the Somerset Hills Bird Club). In 1933, John Kuser was the victim of a kidnapping threat.[8] A man named George Sabol was arrested and confessed.[9]
Kuser's political career came to an end in 1935, when his wife, Brooke Russell, divorced him amid allegations of abuse and cruelty.[10] Democratic Assemblyman James Bowers captured Kuser's State Senate seat that year. Three months later, Kuser remarried again and moved toReno, Nevada, where he became a newspaper columnist. From 1937 to 1942, he was an insurance agent and real estate broker inSomerville, New Jersey.
Kuser worked as a consultant to the New Jersey Department of Conservation and Economic Development from 1958 until his death in 1964.[11]
In 1919, Kuser married 17-year-oldBrooke Russell, later known as Brooke Astor, the daughter of GeneralJohn H. Russell.[12] Together, they had one child:[7][10]
In 1930, Brooke filed for divorce. Kuser remarried that same year, on September 3, Vieva Fisher Banks,[6] the former wife of James Lenox Banks,[12] and a descendant ofConnecticut Colonial GovernorThomas Welles.[14] Before their divorce in July 1935,[15] they had one child:[16]
In 1935, he married for the third time to Louise Mattei Farry, daughter of Joseph Mattei, and former wife of Joseph Farry.[12] Louise was his former secretary.[18] Her former husband sued Kuser for $500,000 on the grounds of "alienation-of-affections" after Louise left him, and Kuser married her. They settled out of court in 1936.[15]
In 1958, he married for the fourth and final time to Grace Egglesfield Gibbons, former wife ofJohn J. Gibbons.[19]
Kuser died in 1964, aged 66.[5]
Ex-United States Senator John F. Dryden, President of the Prudential Insurance Company of America, also known as the "Father of Industrial Insurance", died at 6 o'clock last night at his home, 1020 Broad Street, Newark, N.J. The ex-Senator was operated on a week ago to-day for the removal of gall stones.
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