Kissam Family Collection - Paintings, Portraits, & Photographs

Portrait of Daniel Kissam (b. 1833).

Daniel was the son of Benjamin Tredwell Kissam (b. 1803) and Phebe Peggy Allen. Benjamin and Phebe were married in 1826 and Daniel was the 4th of 6 children. Benjamin was a farmer in Queens County (today Nassau County) on Long Island. Later in life Daniel married Fannie Cathcart. The painting is in a private collection.

Portrait of Samuel Kissam- artist unknown

Samuel was born in 1796, son of Peter Rutgers Kissam and brother of Dr. Benjamin P. Kissam, who was a navy surgeon during the War of 1812. Samuel married Margaret H. Adams and was a Reverend at the Reformed Dutch Church at Cedar Hill, near Albany. Their children included sons Benjamin P. and Samuel H., both financiers in NYC, and daughter Maria Louise, who married William H. Vanderbilt. These portraits of Samuel and his wife (below) were gifts of the Wortheim family of New Jersey and are on display at the Kissam House in Huntington, Long Island.

Portrait of Margaret Kissam, nee Adams - artist unknown

Margaret was born in 1796 and married Samuel Kissam. She is the subject of a poem published in Memorials by Rev. Samuel Kissam 1859 entitled "To Miss Margaret Adams" which concludes with the lines "To Cupid's power I bent my knee, And placed my future hopes on thee."

Portrait of Benjamin P. Kissam by John Singer Sargent

Son of Samuel and Margaret Kissam, brother to Maria Louise Vanderbilt and Samuel H. Kissam, Benjamin was a financier and banker in New York City, a partner in Kissam and Whitney. He later married Lucy H. Warren, whose portrait, also by John Singer Sargent, hangs in the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC, home of their nephew George Washington Vanderbilt. The portrait of Benjamin P. Kissam is in a private collection.

Maria Louise Vanderbilt nee Kissam, b. 1821

Maria Louise was the daughter of Samuel and Margaret Kissam (nee Adams). Samuel was a reverend in the Albany area of upstate New York. Maria married William Henry Vanderbilt, the son of Cornelius Vanderbilt, in 1841 when both were 20 years of age. William and Maria had four sons, Cornelius II, William Kissam, Frederick William, and George Washington, all of which contributed to the Vanderbilt family fortune. This portrait of Maria Louise hangs in the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC, built by her youngest son George Washington Vanderbilt.

William Kissam Vanderbilt II, b.

Son of William Kissam Vanderbilt, grandson of Maria Louise and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Built Eagle's Nest in Centerport, New York.

Photograph, 1895. Huntington High School Football Team, Huntington, Long Island.

Charles Henry Kissam, pictured on the far right in the second row, was an end on the Huntington High School Football team. After graduation he received degrees in forestry from the Biltmore School in Ashville, NC.

Portrait of Stephanie and Gordon Kissam - Oil on Canvas 1996

by Barry Rockwell

This painting of was commisioned in celebtration of the 25th wedding anniversary of Stephanie and Gordon's parents (Toby and Beverly Kissam). Stephanie (b. 1978) and Gordon (b. 1982) both grew up in Northport, Long Island. The artist, a Long Island native, used pictures from a family album to incorporate family pieces and favorite items in this primitive-like portrait.

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