Bluffton, SC's Gilded Age Princess
- Don Schueler
- Aug 29
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 11
Special thanks to Sydney Whiteside, Library Assistant, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library for her excellent assistance in accessing key resources for this article.
Henrietta Pollitzer, born in Bluffton, SC, married Edward Hartford, an heir to the A&P Grocery fortune, and later she married an Italian Prince. So, in a sense, she was "Bluffton's Gilded Age Princess".
Henrietta Pollitzer (January 1, 1881 - June 3, 1948) was born in Bluffton, South Carolina, to parents Henry Charles Pollitzer and Mary Elliott Guerard, both from Bluffton, SC. It was a good start in life, but they were relatively humble beginnings compared to her future path.
Henrietta's mother, Mary Elliott Guerard Original photo and AI Enhanced
In 1901, Henrietta married Edward Vassallo Hartford (May 28, 1870 - June 30, 1922), heir to the A&P Grocery Store fortune. The wedding took place in Bluffton, at her parents' home at the former Squire Pope House Carriage House in Bluffton. This home has been newly renovated and serves as the Town of Bluffton Welcome Center today. With her marriage, Henrietta became one of the wealthiest women in the late Gilded Age in America. In 1901, A&P was just beginning to hit its stride, but it would soon become the "Walmart" of its day. Edward was not just a wealthy heir; he was also a skilled inventor who perfected the modern automobile shock absorber, amassing his own fortune. The couple resided on Park Avenue in New York City.
Wedding Bells Article from the Palmetto Post
Marriage of Miss Henrietta Pollitzer and Mr. Edward V. Hartford - The air of Bluffton is filled with the agreeable sound of wedding bells today, and everything seems bright for the future of Miss Henrietta Pollitzer, the lovely daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Pollitzer, and Mr. Edward Vassalo Hartford, of Orange, N.J., who have been joined in the holy bonds of matrimony. We were not present, but we let our imagination span the 40 miles that separate us, and we drew a picture of the scene. The residence of the bride's parents, where the ceremony was held, was beautifully decorated with palms and ferns. Yesterday, a private car brought the groom, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George H. Hartford, Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman, Miss Hartford, and the officiating minister from Orange, N.J., to Savannah. From Savannah to Bluffton they came on a chartered steamer. Promptly at 10:30 the young couple, preceded by Miss Lucile Pollitzer, sister of the bride, as a flower girl, walked up an aisle formed of festoons held by eight little girls. The ceremony was performed in the presence of a number of friends. The bride was becomingly attired in a handsome gray cloth suit, and looked very charming. A delightful reception was held, and congratulations were extended. The bridal party left Bluffton in the afternoon for Savannah, and thence, by rail, for various points of interest at the North. The bride is the granddaughter of old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Moritz Pollitzer, of Beaufort.
A&P was established in 1859 in New York City as Gilman & Company by George Gilman, initially operating as a tea and coffee retailer before rebranding to the Great American Tea Company in 1863. It became the equivalent of today's Walmart in its day. George Huntington Hartford joined in the mid-1860s, contributing to its growth through low pricing and a national mail-order network, expanding to 70 stores by 1878 and nearly 200 by 1900. The company was incorporated as A&P in 1901 and based in New Jersey, launching its affordable, standardized “Economy Store” in 1912. Between 1915 and 1975, it was the largest grocery retailer in the U.S., reaching its peak in the 1930s with over 15,000 stores and 10% of the national grocery market. Through vertical integration, A&P manufactured its own products under brands like Ann Page, operated fishing fleets, and ran baking plants and canneries. In 1936, it introduced the self-service supermarket, transforming grocery shopping and expanding to more than 16,000 locations at its peak.
Henrietta's paternal grandfather, Moritz Pollitzer (March 26, 1819 - July 3, 1902), was a Jewish émigré who fled Austria following the 1848 Revolution. He first settled on Staten Island, NY. After the Civil War, Moritz saw opportunity and relocated his family from New York to Beaufort, SC—initially to 250 Craven Street and later to Port Republic Street—to become a cotton merchant. He owned a cotton gin and possibly other stores in Beaufort.
The Moritz Pollitzer family home in Beaufort SC, still standing and beautifully preserved today.
Mary Elliott Guerard, Henrietta's mother, was part of the historic southern Guerard family. Born in Bluffton, SC, Mary grew up on her father's Beech Hill plantation (See Map below) and Calhoun Plantation, which is a part of the Pinckney Colony in Bluffton.
Mary Guerard's father, Barnard Elliott Guerard, raised her in a waterfront home in Bluffton, which was destroyed by the Union in 1863. Henrietta, an Episcopalian, frequently used her mother's maiden name, Guerard, to navigate the strict social circles of the South at that time. She was so intent on distancing herself from her Jewish heritage that she later offered her siblings significant amounts of money to change their last name from Pollitzer to Guerard to further secure her adopted gentile identity. This presented a stark contrast, as much of her mother's family, the Guerards, were plantation owners and had many enslaved persons as well as freedmen working on their rice and cotton plantations in prior generations.
When he passed away in 1920, Henry C. Pollitzer, Henrietta's father, was living at 248 Bay Street in Beaufort, SC, according to census records. He likely moved back to Beaufort to help run his father's mutiple businesses after he passed.
Squire Pope Carriage House, pre and post renovation, today it is the Bluffton Welcome Center.
Henrietta and Edward had two children: Josephine Hartford O'Donnell Bryce (1902–1992) and Huntington Hartford (1911–2008). When Edward died suddenly in 1922, Henrietta and their two children inherited his substantial $200 million fortune. Henrietta managed the affairs and finances of both children's trust funds until they reached the age of majority (21)
As a wealthy widow, Henrietta moved with her children to Newport, Rhode Island, where she purchased Seaverge, an estate next to Doris Duke’s renowned Rough Point.
She developed an obsession with attempting to arrange a marriage between her son, Huntington "Hunt," and Doris Duke, but that plan was destined to fail from the beginning.
The following Podcast Episode from the outstanding "As the Money Burns" series serves as a great introduction to Henrietta's fixation on marrying Huntington into the "right" wealth.
Podcast including discussions about Henrietta and her son Huntington.
In 1937, she once more became the subject of gossip by marrying Prince Guido Pignatelli of the Dukes of Montecalvo, an Italian nobleman who was 20 years younger than she was and just two years older than her daughter. Prince Pignatelli was essentially broke, but brought youth and a title to the marriage.
The couple led an extravagant lifestyle, splitting their time among Henrietta's Seaverge in Newport; Wando Plantation, Henrietta’s 32-room mansion near Charleston (which was destroyed by fire in 1942); a home in Washington, D.C., where Guido was part of the diplomatic corps; and eventually Melody Farm in Wyckoff, New Jersey, where they retired due to her declining health from leukemia.
Henrietta Hartford Pignatelli's 32-room plantation home at Wando Plantation, near Charleston, South Carolina, mysteriously burned down in 1942. She and her husband, Prince Guido Pignatelli, resided there until the fire. Following the destruction of the house, she chose not to rebuild the estate, and the property was sold in 1947. Before her death in 1948, Henrietta acquired the Joseph Manigault House in Charleston, which she donated to the Charleston Museum in memory of her mother. As a result, the original home at Wando Plantation no longer exists, having been replaced over time by developments such as the Dunes West Golf Club and Community on that land. A street named Pignatelli Crescent at Dunes West commemorates her time there. Henrietta's legacy partly endures through her historical contributions to Charleston's cultural institutions.
Shortly before her death in July 1948, Henrietta acquired the historic Joseph Manigault House in Charleston and gifted it to the Charleston Museum in memory of her mother. Most of her wealth stayed within the family, but Guido was granted only a limited lifetime interest, consisting of $50,000 and a $12,000 yearly annuity. Unhappy with this arrangement, he remarried just four months after her passing, marrying New York socialite Barbara Eastman, who was eighteen years younger than him.
Henrietta's legacy went beyond her wealth and homes. Her granddaughter, Nuala O'Donnell, eventually married U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell from Rhode Island, further solidifying the family's enduring impact in American social and political spheres.
Her spoiled son, Huntington Hartford, led the life of a playboy and essentially squandered the family fortune. We will cover this in an upcoming BLOG article here so be sure to sign up to get notifications of new articles.
The marriage she tried to arrange for her son was with DORIS Duke, not Barbara. You have her confused with Barbara Hutton. Two very famous (and very different) women of their day. A simple Google search would tell you this. Does not speak well of your “knowledge” of the subject.
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