To Fellow Descendants of Jekyll Island Club Members:

You and I share a unique heritage. More than 100 years ago our ancestors chose to become members of a special group of men and women who appreciated and protected a beautiful barrier island off Georgia’s coast. The Jekyll Island Club flourished at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and was referred to by Munsey’s Magazine as “the richest, the most exclusive, the most inaccessible” club in the world.

Jekyll did not attempt to recreate the social world of Newport nor the rustic nature of Adirondack camps and its members were devoted to its elegant simplicity. Many members passed their ownership shares to their widows as well as sons and daughters with several multi-generational families included on the Club’s rolls. The Club rolls included five members of my own family.
I am proud to serve as a founding member and Vice Chairman of the board of the Jekyll Island Foundation. We seek to protect this wonderful natural resource by preserving and improving its historic sites, conserving the undeveloped portion of the island (by law 65% of the island must remained undeveloped) and improving amenities for visitors. We are closing in upon completing a generous challenge grant to build a $2 million Sea Turtle Center on the island to protect and rehabilitate the highly endangered turtles of the Georgia coast.

There is an important way you can celebrate your ancestor’s appreciation of Jekyll Island while simultaneously contributing to the important work of our Foundation. Henchard Press will soon publish a beautiful book about the heyday of the Jekyll Island Club. Profusely illustrated with vintage photographs, the book includes biographical sketches of every member of the Club (whose names will be found listed in this correspondence). There are also never-published sketches drawn at Jekyll by Mrs. J. P. Morgan, Jr. You can order a special descendants-only leather-bound edition of the book and can even choose to have your name (or another you designate) in gold leaf on the book’s cover. Of the purchase price of $100 (including postage), the Jekyll Island Foundation will receive your tax-deductible $70 gift for our vital programs.

We have included a sample page spread so you can see what a valuable and enjoyable book this will be. I urge you to join us as we honor the memory of those who made possible the privileges and responsibilities you and I were given as a birthright. Help us continue to protect a special place that was so important to your family.

Sincerely yours,
Landon K. Thorne, III