Joseph William Drexel
Joseph William Drexel | |
|---|---|
Lucy | |
| Parent(s) | Francis Martin Drexel Catherine Hookey |
| Relatives | Francis Anthony Drexel (brother) Anthony Joseph Drexel (brother) St. Katharine Drexel (niece) |
Joseph William Drexel (January 24, 1833 – March 25, 1888) was a banker, philanthropist, and
book collector
.
Early life and education
Drexel[a] was the son of Francis Martin Drexel (1792–1863) and Catherine Hookey (1795–1870). His siblings were Anthony Joseph Drexel (1826–1893) and Francis Anthony Drexel (1824–1885). Through his brother Francis, he was the uncle of Saint Katharine Drexel (1858–1955).[3] Joseph Willam Drexel was raised a Roman Catholic, but he joined the Episcopal Church later.[4]
Drexel attended the Central High School in Philadelphia, and traveled through Spain, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and Greece.[3]
Career
Joseph Drexel was a partner in the firm of Drexel, Morgan and Company, where his brother, Anthony, was senior partner. In 1876, tired of battling the brusque
J. Pierpont Morgan, Joseph retired from the business and devoted his life to philanthropic and civic organizations.[3]
He owned a 200-acre (0.81 km2) farm near New York City, where people without work were housed, clothed, fed, and taught agriculture until they could find a job. He owned a large tract of land in
Klej Grange, a planned community, where the lots are sold to poor people at cost. About 7,000 acres (28 km2) in Michigan
were bought for the same purpose.
Society life
He was chairman of New York Sanitary Commission, the commissioner of education, president of the
U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and director of the Metropolitan Opera house.[3]
In 1887, he donated a painting made by Edward Gay, that cost $2,000, to the State of New York to be placed in the Executive Mansion, which Governor David B. Hill was about to move into.[6]
Collections
Drexel was an avid collector of music, eventually amassing a collection of over 6,000 items. Upon his death, the
Samuel Tilden to form The New York Public Library, Drexel's collection became the basis for the Library's Music Division, housed today in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
.
The Concordia Polka composed by Theodore Gundlach was dedicated to Drexel.[8]
Mount McGregor
In 1881, Drexel acquired title to
narrow gauge railway from Saratoga Springs.[9] In 1885, Drexel loaned his private summer cottage on Mount McGregor to ex-president Ulysses S. Grant.[10] Grant lived there for six weeks until his death and completed his memoirs. The cottage is now the Grant Cottage State Historic Site
.
Personal life
He married Lucy Wharton (1841–1912), the daughter of Thomas Lloyd Wharton (1799–1869) and Sarah Ann Smith (b. 1800). Together, they had four children:[11][12]
- Katherine Drexel (1866–1918), who married Dr. Charles Bingham Penrose (1862–1925),[13][14] the brother of U.S. Senator Boies Penrose, Spencer Penrose, Richard A. F. Penrose, Jr. and the grandson of Charles B. Penrose, Solicitor of the United States Treasury, in 1892.[15] They had two children.[12]
- Harry Lehr (1869–1929).[24] After Lehr's death, she married John Beresford, 5th Baron Decies (1866–1944) and thereafter was known as Lady Decies.[25]
- Josephine Wharton Drexel (b. 1878), who married Dr. John Duncan Emmet (1857–1923), the son of prominent physician, Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet,[26] in 1904.[27][28] They divorced in 1914 and in 1915, she married Seton Henry (d. 1946),[29] the son of Gen. Guy Vernor Henry and brother of Guy Henry, Jr.,[20] with whom she had children.[30][31][32]
Drexel died at his home, 103
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "Drexel, Joseph Wilhelm". The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. II. New York: James T. White & Company. 1895. p. 366.
- ^ Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Drexel, Joseph Wilhelm". Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. III. Boston: American Biographical Society.
- ^ a b c d e f "JOSEPH W. DREXEL DEAD; THE WELL-KNOWN BANKER AND PHILANTHROPIST. DYING SUDDENLY YESTERDAY AT HIS HOME IN THIS CITY AFTER MANY MONTHS OF SUFFERING". The New York Times. 26 March 1888. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ISBN 9780271063256.
- ^ "American Museum of Natural History," (episode in) Treasures of New York (PBS television series).
- ^ "THE NEW EXECUTIVE MANSION.; JOSEPH W. DREXEL SHOWS HOW ITS WALL SPACES SHOULD BE FILLED". The New York Times. 5 June 1887. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ a b "JOSEPH W. DREXEL'S WILL.; ONLY ONE PUBLIC BEQUEST, TO THE LENOX LIBRARY, CONDITIONALLY". The New York Times. 1 April 1888. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ Theodore Gundlach. Concordia Polka. Philadelphia: R. Wittig, [no date].
- ^ "History of Mount McGregor". DOCS Today. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- ^ "Strength for General Grant" (PDF). The New York Times. June 12, 1885. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- New York Times. 26 January 1912.
- ^ ISBN 9780806352398. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "DR. C.B. PENROSE DIES ON A TRAIN; Philadelphia Gynecotogist and Zoologist Was a Brother of Late Senator". The New York Times. 28 February 1925. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "LEFT $100,000 TO NURSE.; Dr. Penrose Bequeathed Bulk of $1,000,000 Estate to His Family". The New York Times. 6 March 1925. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "YESTERDAY'S WEDDINGS.; PENROSE--DREXEL". The New York Times. 18 November 1892. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ Times, Special To The New York (15 June 1944). "7 GET DREXEL $1,180,867; Children of Mrs. L.D. Dahlgren". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "SOCIETY TOPICS OF THE WEEK". The New York Times. 19 October 1890. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ Oct. 15, The Washington Post (16 October 1890). "ENGAGEMENT OF MISS DAHLGREN". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Special To The New York Times". The New York Times. 24 March 1912. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ a b Times, Special To The New York (16 May 1915). "MRS. J.W. DREXEL WEDS SETON HENRY; Divorced Wife of Dr. J. Duncan Emmet Marries Son of Late General Guy V. Henry. CEREMONY AT CORNWELLS Bride the Daughter of Late J.W. Drexel -- Her Family and Bridegroom's Related by Marriage". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "SEEKS TO DIVORCE AN ADMIRAL'S SON; Mrs. Lucy Drexel Dahlgren Was Married to Him 22 Years Ago by Archbishop Corrigan". The New York Times. 24 March 1912. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- New York Times. June 14, 1944. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
- ^ "JOHN VINTON DAHLGREN DEAD.; Son of the Admiral Passes Away at Colorado Springs". The New York Times. 12 August 1899. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
- ^ "Record of the Rich". Time. August 5, 1935. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
- New York Times. May 12, 1936.
Mrs. Henry Symes Lehr, widow of Harry Lehr, society leader in New York early in the century, will be married here on May 23 to John Graham Beresford, Lord Decies, Irish peer, according to an announcement made today.
- ^ Hoyt, James (1903). Seen & Heard by Megargee. L.N. Megargee. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ Barringer, Paul Brandon; Garnett, James Mercer; Page, Rosewell (1904). University of Virginia: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics, with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Founders, Benefactors, Officers and Alumni. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 204. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "EMMET-DREXEL WEDDING; Impressive and Picturesque Ceremony at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Trumpeters Herald Arrival of Bride and Starting of Procession in Church -- Reception to the Guests". The New York Times. 10 February 1904. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "SETON HENRY DEAD; REAL ESTATE MAN; Son of Maj. Gen. Guy V. Henry, Ex-Governor of Puerto Rico, Retired 20 Years Ago". The New York Times. 13 October 1946. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths PARKER, JOSEPHINE HENRY". The New York Times. 15 November 2002. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Delafield Family Papers (C0391) -- Series 3: Maturin Livingston Delafield, 1836-1917 -- Subseries 3B: Correspondence -- Family and General -- Henry, Josephine Drexel". findingaids.princeton.edu. Princeton University. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ISBN 9781614232384. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- New York Times. 29 March 1888.
The funeral of Joseph W. Drexel occurred yesterday from the Church of the Transfiguration, (the Little Church Around the Corner) in Twenty-ninth-street, near Fifth-avenue...
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joseph William Drexel.
- Correspondence and bills from J. Sabin & Sons, 1877-1878 (with Joseph W. Drexel) in the Music Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
- Joseph William Drexel at Find a Grave
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