Francis Jay Underhill (1863-1938) was a writer, amateur musician, and American bond broker with two firms, Fisk & Robinson and later with J.
[1] Owing to his commercial success, Underhill was a collector of art and musical instruments, including many engravings, etchings, and lithographs of noted European and American artists.
After working for Standard Oil for several years, he struck out on his own in business as a manufacturer and wholesale dealer of pine and hardwood lumber between 1885 and 1900, under the name F.J. Underhill & Co.
[8] Following the death of his first wife in 1919, Underhill married his Hendrika Charlotte de Gee (18 Dec 1887-17 Apr 1985) of The Hague ('s-Gravenhage), The Netherlands, on October 17, 1928.
[1] In 1900 he was on the committee that helped to plan the 8th reunion of the Underhill Society of America that met in Locust Valley, New York.
When the monument was formally dedicated on July 11, 1908, Francis Jay Underhill was responsible for giving the speech of acceptance.
He left $2,000 to the Children's Hospital of Buffalo and $1,000 in trust to provide a perpetual fund for toys for the Christmas Manger Service of Grace Church, Manhattan.
Trust funds of $3,000 each were bequeathed to nieces, Helen Sampson Fish of Germantown, Pennsylvania, and Elizabeth F. Cook of Haddonfield, New Jersey, and to Mrs. Johanna Sandstand of Bornholm, Denmark.
[14] The Library of the Late Francis Jay Underhill was published in catalog format following his death and numbered over 52 pages.