Mary Schenley
Mary Schenley | |
---|---|
Born | Mary Elizabeth Croghan April 27, 1826 |
Died | November 5, 1903 London, England | (aged 77)
Spouse | |
Children | 7 |
Parent(s) | William Croghan Jr. Mary O'Hara Croghan |
Mary Elizabeth Croghan Schenley (April 27, 1826 – November 5, 1903) was an American
Early life
Mary Elizabeth Croghan was born April 27, 1826, near
Marriage and scandal
While in boarding school in
When Mary's father, a widower, heard of the elopement of his only child, he fainted, according to one Pittsburgh paper. He demanded that the federal government in
Though the couple's boat was not intercepted, Col. Croghan was successful in March 1842 in getting the state legislature to "confirm the title of the whole of the property to the father of Miss Croghan, now the wife of the youthful captain, and places the same after his death, in the hands of trustees who are to pay at their discretion for her support." Meaning the large estate was left in trust.
Newspapers also revealed that at the time of his elopement Capt. Schenley was absent from his post as Her Majesty's Commissioner of Arbitration in a mixed court for the suppression of the slave trade in
There the Schenleys were without means. Mary's father now had a change of heart and visited them in England. He bought them a house in London, arranged for a living allowance, and urged the couple to come to Pittsburgh to live with him. The Schenleys did come to Pittsburgh, but did not stay on, and returned to England. Her home, the Neal Log House, which she inherited from James O'Hara, is now preserved in Schenley Park.[3]
Her father died in Pittsburgh in 1850 and Mary then received her full inheritance. In 1859, her husband became a Member of Parliament for Dartmouth, but three months later was unseated after an election petition committee found his win had been secured through bribery and corruption.[4][5]
Mary and Capt. Schenley had eleven children. Mary Schenley died at her home in Hyde Park, London on November 5, 1903. At the time of her death, she was the largest owner of real estate in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and her Pittsburgh real estate holdings at the time were worth more than $50 million.[2] After her executors, including Andrew Carnegie,[6] received $5,000 each, the remainder of her property was left to her children.[7] Her English property, which was valued at about $5,000,000, was separately dealt with.[8]
Philanthropy
Throughout the late 19th century, Mary Schenley made many gifts of money to churches and public schools in Pittsburgh.
More significantly, perhaps, she donated land to the city of Pittsburgh in 1889 for
She also donated the 19 acres (77,000 m2) of land on which the Carnegie Institute, a gift of Andrew Carnegie, was built. Carnegie paid visits to Mary Schenley at her villa, Mont Fleury, at Cannes, in the south of France.
Legacy and honors
Much in the city of Pittsburgh still bears her name, including Schenley High School, Schenley Hotel, Schenley Bridge, Schenley Park, Schenley Plaza, Schenley Quadrangle, Schenley Tunnel, and the Mary Schenley Memorial Fountain.[9]
References
- ^ Killikelly, Sarah H. (1906). The History of Pittsburgh: Its Rise and Progress. Pittsburgh: B.C. & Gordon Montgomery Co.
- ^ a b "MRS. MARY E. SCHENLEY DEAD.; Donor of Public Gifts in Pittsburg and Large Property Owner" (PDF). The New York Times. November 6, 1903. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Archived from the originalon September 8, 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.[page needed]
- ^ "Election Petitions". Western Times. July 30, 1859. pp. 2–3. Retrieved May 6, 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "AN INTERNATIONAL WILL.; Andrew Carnegie a Trustee of $48,000,000 Estate" (PDF). The New York Times. January 14, 1904. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ "MRS. SCHENLEY LEAVES $4,300,000.; Property Goes to Her Children -- Andrew Carnegie Gets $5,000" (PDF). The New York Times. December 20, 1903. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ "Mrs. Schenley's English Estate" (PDF). The New York Times. December 12, 1903. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ Shine, Bernice (September 15, 1941). "Schenley Park Donated by Girl Whose Romance Shocked a Queen". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph.