Louise Whitfield Carnegie | |
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| Born | Louise Whitfield March 7, 1857 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 24, 1946 (aged 89) |
| Resting place | Sleepy Hollow Cemetery |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Margaret Carnegie Miller |
| Parent |
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Louise Whitfield Carnegie (March 7, 1857 – June 24, 1946) was an American philanthropist. She was the wife of Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
Louise Whitfield was born on March 7, 1857, in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. Her parents—John D. Whitfield (died 1878), a prosperous New York City textile merchant, and Fannie Davis—descended from families who emigrated from England in the 1600s. [1]
Reaching relative success, John moved the family from Chelsea to Gramercy Park and finally to a brownstone on West 48th Street and Fifth Avenue.
At the age of 23, Whitfield met Andrew Carnegie, himself aged 45, through her father. [1]
On April 22, 1887, Whitfield (now 30) married Carnegie (51) at her family's home in New York City in a private ceremony officiated by a pastor from the Church of the Divine Paternity, a Universalist church to which the Whitfields belonged. [2] As wedding gifts from her husband, Louise received a home (formerly owned by Collis Potter Huntington) at 5 West 51st Street and an annual income of approximately $20,000. [3] Louise signed a prenuptial agreement, renouncing any claims to Andrew’s fortune. In return, Andrew gave her stocks and bonds that amounted to an independent annual income of US$20,000(equivalent to $678,222 in 2023). [1]
Ten years later, in 1897, Louise gave birth to the couple's only child, Margaret Carnegie. Louise and her daughter were members of the Brick Presbyterian Church and later the Church of the Divine Paternity (now the Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York) for whom she and her husband funded their organ. [4] [5]
Carnegie died at the age of 89 in Manhattan on June 24, 1946. [1] She was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, in Sleepy Hollow, New York.
Louise was an influential member of the board of The Carnegie Corporation until her death. She advised Andrew Carnegie as they jointly helped the creation of over 2,500 libraries between 1883 and 1929. [1]
After Andrew's death in 1919, Louise continued making charitable contributions to organizations including American Red Cross, the Y.W.C.A., the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, numerous World War II relief funds, and $100,000 to the Union Theological Seminary. She spent her summers at Skibo Castle.
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in history. He became a leading philanthropist in the United States, Great Britain, and the British Empire. During the last 18 years of his life, he gave away around $350 million, almost 90 percent of his fortune, to charities, foundations and universities. His 1889 article proclaiming "The Gospel of Wealth" called on the rich to use their wealth to improve society, expressed support for progressive taxation and an estate tax, and stimulated a wave of philanthropy.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is the final resting place of numerous famous figures, including Washington Irving, whose 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground at the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow. Incorporated in 1849 as Tarrytown Cemetery, the site posthumously honored Irving's request that it change its name to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
Thomas Morrison Carnegie was a Scottish-born American industrialist. He was the brother of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie and co-founder of the Edgar Thomson Steel Works.
Ailsa Mellon Bruce was a prominent American socialite and philanthropist who established the Avalon Foundation.
Henry Phipps Jr. was an American entrepreneur known for his business relationship with Andrew Carnegie and involvement with the Carnegie Steel Company. He was also a successful real estate investor. After selling his stock in Carnegie Steel, he devoted a great deal of his time and money to philanthropic works.
George Eustis Jr. was an American lawyer and politician.
John Shaffer Phipps was an American lawyer and businessman who was an heir to the Phipps family fortune and a shareholder of his father-in-law's Grace Shipping Lines. He was a director of the Hanover Bank, U.S. Steel Corp. and W. R. Grace & Co.
John Stewart Kennedy was a Scottish-born American businessman, financier and philanthropist. He was a member of the Jekyll Island Club on Jekyll Island, Georgia along with J.P. Morgan and William Rockefeller among others.
Margaret Carnegie Miller was the only child of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and Louise Whitfield, and heiress to the Carnegie fortune.
The Andrew Carnegie Mansion is a historic house and a museum building at 2 East 91st Street, along the east side of Fifth Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The three-and-a-half story, brick and stone mansion was designed by Babb, Cook & Willard in the Georgian Revival style. Completed in 1902 for the industrialist Andrew Carnegie, his wife Louise, and their only child Margaret, it served as the family's residence until 1946. Since 1976, the house has been occupied by the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution. The mansion is internally connected to two townhouses at 9 East 90th Street and 11 East 90th Street, both of which are part of the Cooper-Hewitt.
William Appleton Potter was an American architect who designed numerous buildings for Princeton University, as well as municipal offices and churches. He served as a Supervising Architect of the Treasury from 1874 to 1877.
The Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York is a congregation within the Unitarian Universalist Association located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It is the last surviving of seven Universalist congregations in the city, founded on the belief of universal salvation that emphasized the love of God for all people. Today, the congregation is pluralistic and non-creedal, welcoming a diverse range of religious beliefs and practices and finding unity in a commitment to social justice.
David Nasaw is an American author, biographer and historian who specializes in the cultural, social and business history of early 20th Century America. Nasaw is on the faculty of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he is the Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Professor of History.
Ogden Mills Reid was an American newspaper publisher who was president of the New York Herald Tribune.
Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard was an American heiress and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. As a philanthropist, she funded the YMCA, helping create a hotel for guests of the organization. She was married to prominent New York City lawyer, banker, and newspaper editor Elliott Fitch Shepard.
The Brick Presbyterian Church is a large congregation at Park Avenue and 91st Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. A congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), it is known for its Day School and music programs. It was founded as an offshoot of First Presbyterian Church. Its first building, in Lower Manhattan, opened in 1768. The Park Avenue location opened April 14, 1940.
Lyman Ward was a Universalist minister who founded the Southern Industrial Institute and who was nominated by the Alabama Republican Party for Governor of Alabama in 1946.
Martha Baird Rockefeller was an American pianist, philanthropist and longtime advocate for the arts.
M. Louise Thomas was an American social leader in women's organizations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was also a philanthropist of national repute. Thomas served as president of the Woman's Centenary Association of the Universalist Church (WCA), the fourth president of Sorosis, and the treasurer of the National Council of Women.