David T. Layman, Jr. was born in New York City to David T. Layman, Sr., and Mary Gray in 1874. He was one of four boys born to the couple.
After his marriage to Sarah A. Nash in September of 1898, the Layman family moved from New Jersey to Evanston, Illinois. They had two children, Paul and Jeanette. The Layman’s remained married until Sarah’s death in 1947.
Throughout his career, David worked for Phipps Estates. Henry Phipps was a real estate investor who ended up dabbling in other areas. One of the most famous of these endeavors was funding Amelia Earhart’s transcontinental flight, David was Phipps attorney and all negotiations would go through him. After Earhart’s successful journey, Layman sent her a telegraph expressing how proud Phipps was of her and offering her their sincere congratulations.
In 1921, at his employer’s behest, David wrote a letter to President Theodore Roosevelt when Phipps discovered, what he believed to be a marker for Roosevelt’s brother Quentin when he was in France. Along with this letter, he sent the piece of marker and a map to where it was located.
In 1928, along with 2 other men, David help fund a trip to Africa for 3 senior Boy Scouts. The boys were taken on a real African safari trip. Despite arguments from conservatives, each Boy Scout was required to shoot a lion on their trip.
One of David’s greatest achievements was taking part in getting the Skating Club of New York, a brand new ice skating rink adjacent to Madison Square Garden. David was a key component to keeping the Skating Club going for many years. David was elected President of the Skating Club in 1933 and remained in that elected seat until 1951.
During his tenure, David commissioned Tiffany & Co., to create a new trophy for the Pairs event at the North American Figure Skating Championship. The Skating Club of New York has helped turn out many of the top skaters in the world including Johnny Weir, Sarah Hughes, and the amazing Dorothy Hamill.
On January 29, 1952, David passed away while visiting his friend, Roy Hawkins. His obituary was run in many newspapers across the country.
