[1] Ward McAllister, the self-appointed arbiter who is best known today for revealing the names of New York society's The Four Hundred to The New York Times in 1892,[2] and three others, including Robert George Remsen, founded the "Society of Patriarchs" in 1872 and served as its president until his death in 1895.
[3] According to McAllister: "The object we had in view was to make these balls thoroughly representative; to embrace the old colonial New-Yorkers, our adopted citizens, and men whose ability and integrity had worn the esteem of the community, who formed an important element in society.
[8] In the 1880s, the list was increased from twenty-five to fifty, at which time Charles Lanier, August Belmont, Buchanan Winthrop, William R. Travers, Cornelius Vanderbilt II and J. Pierpont Morgan became members.
[11] The first Patriarchs Ball was held on December 13, 1881, at Delmonico's,[9] with 375 guests and Col. DeLancey Astor Kane led the first cotillion.
[12][13][14][15] The Ball generally started late in the evening, around ten o'clock, and after guests arrived, they were divided by sex to separate dressing rooms before entering the ballroom for dancing until dinner was served, after midnight, which was usually French cuisine.