NEWPORT - Harle Tinney is moving ahead with plans for the future of Belcourt Castle, since the state Supreme Court ruled last week that Kevin Tinney, the man her late mother-in-law adopted when he was 37, would have no ownership in the estate's antiquities and valuable antique collections.
Justice Michael Egan ruled that the valuables within the castle were the joint property of Harle Tinney, her husband, Donald Tinney, who died in January of this year, and her mother-in-law, Ruth Tinney, was died in December 1995.
"My vision is consistent with what the Tinney family began in 1969 with the Royal Arts Foundation, that it would carry on the museum at Belcourt Castle and expand on its educational programs as it pertains to the collections," said Harle Tinney, who was relieved and prematurely elated last week that the legal battles are finally over. "It's been a long time and somewhat sad that Donald didn't live to see it. That's the big hurt."
Probate Court ruled that the Belcourt valuables be passed to the joint surviving owner, Harle Tinney, a decision that was upheld later in Superior Court because a written transcription of the court proceedings had not been submitted within 30 days. The Supreme Court later reaffirmed the lower court rulings.
Kevin Tinney, who could not be reached for comment last week, had sought half ownership of Belcourt Castle's real estate and to partition the building but lost. In 2001 the court ordered that he move out of the castle. The second case, in 2002, acknowledged his standing as an adopted child although he was adopted as an adult.
The small inheritance he received was worth between $10,000 and $12,000 and included inexpensive jewelry, furniture, a grandfather clock and a saddle, said Harle Tinney.
Kevin Tinney filed for personal bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in November 2004.
The 60-room Castle is filled with priceless furniture and antiques from more than 33 countries worldwide, which Tinney said is a vision of where the family has been and somewhat of a "prediction" of where it will go in the future. Without the furnishings, it is appraised at $7 million.
At a press conference at her home last week Tinney, a well spoken, impeccably dressed woman, spoke candidly about the legal battles that have ensued in the family for nine years, since the day before Thanksgiving 1997. That was when the Tinney family realized the former Kevin Koellisch was attempting to "take things over at Belcourt."
After Ruth's husband, Harold Benjamin Tinney, died on May 31, 1989, Kevin Tinney became extremely close to the widow. Belcourt Castle received national attention in the 1990s partly because Kevin Tinney, a former plumber and handyman at the estate who arrived there around 1983, appeared to be courting Ruth Tinney, who was well into her 80s at the time, and was perhaps interested in her fortune.
"He would take her on trips to Foxwoods and horseback riding and to western Massachusetts," recalled Tinney. "There was no conflict I could see in the family. She worked her whole life and was happy now. How could I take that away from her? But in the summer of 1991, when he asked her to marry him, I said 'you are not going to get married.' So she said she'd adopt him."
Kevin Tinney moved from the south apartment at Belcourt Castle to an apartment on the third floor with his boyfriends.
According to Keith B. Kyle, Mrs. Tinney's attorney, "He started courting her even though he lived with another man. I think he's pretty openly gay. He was almost secreting her from the rest of the family. She was the matriarch of the family, and whatever she said went. He would have private conversations with her in the bedroom. He prevailed on her to adopt him."
Now that the book has been closed on the story of Kevin Tinney, Harle Tinney is looking to the future. She said the museum's board is currently revising the mission statement of the Royal Arts Foundation, formed to preserve Belcourt Castle's collections and display them properly. About $10 million is needed immediately to endow Belcourt Castle for the future and do the necessary repairs and maintenance. Tinney said architect Richard Long is in the midst of developing guidelines for what needs to be done soon and what can wait.
"Our immediate goal is to do an historic structure report and discover the evolution of Belcourt Castle because of its very interesting history and the many adaptations of what the structure has undergone as the result of the changing times," said Tinney. "Right now I'm committed to making Belcourt Castle work in the best way we can and keep the collection together as much as humanly possible. If I were to die tomorrow, I would like Belcourt Castle to be able to survive into the future as a way that is useful as a museum for educational purposes in its broadest sense. That was Donald's dream."
Tinney Family Genealogy:
Harold Benjamin Tinney
Son of Erwin and Flora (Hewitt) Tinney
Born in Hawley, Mass., on Nov. 5, 1901
Married Ruth Emily Betzer on Aug. 29, 1929 in Charlemont, Mass.
Died in Newport on May 31, 1989
Ruth Emily Betzer
Daughter of Frank and Ethel (Fuller) Betzer
Born in Providence on July 15, 1906
Narried Harold Benjamin Tinney on Aug. 29, 1929, in Charlemont, Mass.
Died in Newport, RI on Dec. 18, 1995
Donald Tinney
Son of Harold Benjamin and Ruth Emily (Betzer) Tinney
Born in Charlemont, Mass., on May 18, 1934
Married Harle Hope Hanson on Dec. 2, 1960, in Fall River, Mass.
Died in Newport on Jan. 17, 2006
Harle Hope Hanson
Daughter of Dr. Frederick and Grace Alma (Williamson) Hanson
Born in Providence on April 15, 1941
Married Donald Tinney on Dec. 2, 1960, in Fall River, Mass.
Belcourt Timeline (compiled by Dr. Christine Haverington)
1890: Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont inherits $60 million from his father August
1891 to 1894: Oliver H.P. Belmont spends $3 million building Belcourt with architect Richard Morris Hunt
1895: Oliver H.P. Belmont occupies Belcourt. Richard Morris Hunt dies.
1896: Oliver H.P. Belmont marries Alva Erskine Smith Vanderbilt
1907 to 1914 Alva Erskine Smith Vanderbilt Belmont
1908: Oliver H.P. Belmont dies from infection of appendix at age 50
1933: Alva Erskine Smith Vanderbilt Belmont dies in France
1940: Belcourt sold out of Belmont family
1955 and 1956: Newport Jazz Festival held at Belcourt
1956: Tinney family purchases Belcourt. Opens for tours in 1957
1965: Main entrance to Belcourt reversed to face Bellevue Avenue
1966 to 1969: Tinneys build gold coronation coach and convert loggia to French salon
1969: Royal Arts Foundation founded by Tinney family
1975: Tinneys create their family chapel
1992: First outing of gold coach for rededication of Bellevue Avenue
1994: Second out of gold coach for 100th anniversary of completion of Belcourt
2007: 50th anniversary of the opening of Belcourt to the public as a museum
By Marilyn Bellemore
mbellemore@ntwlive.com