The Rankins of Cherry Hill
Struggling with the Loss of Their World
Cherry Hill was home to Catherine Putman Rankin and her family from 1884 through 1963. Within its walls, Catherine created a refined way of life that glorified her Van Rensselaer family heritage. During her lifetime, she and other members of America’s elite faced profound social, economic and political changes that threatened their way of life and position in society. Catherine and many others chose to look to the past as a means of coping with these changes.
“When I was a very little girl I used to think that the stars were the windows of heaven and at each window was an angel and the largest and brightest star I thought was the window my dear momma was at. Shall we too leave the world and be forgotten as the clouds vanish from my view? And the lilies, and the daisies and the flowers Of the brightest hue, all must pass away.” Catherine “Kittie” B. Putman, 1871, Age 14
Catherine Putman’s life was marked by unsettling change, both personally and in the larger world around her. That Catherine was directly descended from the prominent 18th century Van Rensselaers became critically important in her life.