Nancy Maria "Nettie" McCormick (née Fowler; February 8, 1835 – July 5, 1923) was an American philanthropist. Through marriage, she became a member of the prominent McCormick family.
Nancy Fowler McCormick | |
|---|---|
 A bust of McCormick by Erastus Dow Palmer | |
| Born | Nancy Maria Fowler February 8, 1835 Brownsville, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 5, 1923 (aged 88) Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S. |
| Education | Emma Willard School |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 7 |
| Relatives | McCormick family |
Early life
editNettie was born on February 8, 1835, at Brownsville in Ontario County, New York. She was the daughter of Melzer Fowler (1803–1835), a prosperous farmer who died a month before her birth, and Clarissa Fowler (née Spicer; 1805–1842), who died when she was seven years old. She was raised by her grandmother in Clayton, New York, and attended Emma Willard School in Troy, New York.[1]
Marriage and children
editIn 1857, while visiting friends in Chicago, Nettie met Cyrus Hall McCormick (1809–1884), the eldest son of inventor Robert McCormick and Mary Ann "Polly" McCormick (née Hall). Cyrus and Nettie were married in 1858.
Together, they were the parents of seven children:
- Cyrus Hall McCormick Jr. (1859–1936), who married Harriet Bradley Hammond in 1889.[2]
- Mary Virginia McCormick (1861–1941), who suffered from schizophrenia.[3]
- Robert McCormick III (1863–1865), who died young.
- Anita Eugenie McCormick (1866–1954), who married Emmons Blaine, son of the U.S. Secretary of State James G. Blaine, in 1889.[4]
- Alice McCormick (1870–1871), who died young.
- Harold Fowler McCormick (1872–1941), who married Edith Rockefeller, youngest daughter of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller and Laura Spelman Rockefeller.[5][6]
- Stanley Robert McCormick (1874–1947), who married Katharine Dexter.[7] Stanley also suffered from schizophrenia,[3] and his life inspired the 1998 novel Riven Rock by T. Coraghessan Boyle.[8]
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On May 13, 1884, her husband died at their home in Chicago.[9] On July 5, 1923, after a week's illness, Nettie died at her home in Lake Forest in Lake County, Illinois.[1] She was buried alongside her husband at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.[10][11]
Business and philanthropy
editWhile Cyrus was working out a controversy involving his patent of the reaper, they lived in Washington, DC. She had a keen business sense and became a great asset to her husband. Nettie became his financial counselor and oversaw many of the business affairs. She toured expositions in McCormick's interest, making contacts for the company. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. However, despite Cyrus' thoughts of retirement afterward, Nettie insisted on rebuilding even larger than before.[12]
The McCormicks provided $100,000 to bring the Hanover Seminary to Chicago.[13] The school was renamed McCormick Theological Seminary soon after Cyrus's death in 1884. Nettie continued to fund buildings, endowing professorships and scholarships at the seminary even after his death.[14] Nettie donated to over forty schools and colleges.[15] She was said to have given more money to the Presbyterian Church than any other "citizen of the United States."[1] At the time of her death, she left more than $1 million to be divided among various institutions. At Tusculum College, one of the many colleges Nettie supported, every September 13 observes Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day. On this day, students perform community service in her honor.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Mrs. M'Cormick Dies at Chicago: Inventor's Wife -- Mother of Cyrus and Harold". The Des Moines Register. July 6, 1923. Retrieved February 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nuptials". Oakland Tribune. June 6, 1936. p. 15. Retrieved February 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Miriam Kleiman (Summer 2007). "Rich, famous, and questionably sane: when a wealthy heir's family sought help from a hospital for the insane". Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration. 39 (2): 38–47.
- ^ "Emmons Blaine Married; His Wedding with Miss Anita M'Cormick; Many Distinguished Guests Witnessed the Ceremony at Richfield Springs Yesterday" (PDF). The New York Times. September 27, 1889. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
- ^ "Mrs. H. F. M'Cormick Obtains Divorce in Fifty Minutes; John D. Rockefeller's Daughter Gains Decree for Desertion, Which Husband Admits. She Testifies in Court; He Is Absent and Makes No Defense, Although Represented by Counsel. Alimony Not Mentioned; Understanding Is That Both Will Continue to Aid Grand Opera Lavishly" (PDF). The New York Times. December 29, 1921. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
- ^ "Mrs. McCormick's Career.; Her Leadership of Chicago Society Unchallenged to the End". The New York Times. August 26, 1932. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
- ^ Leander J. McCormick (1896). Family record and biography. L.J. McCormick. pp. 303–304.
- ^ T. Coraghessan Boyle. "Riven Rock". author's web page. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
- ^ "Cyrus H. McCormick Dead" (PDF). The New York Times. May 14, 1884. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
- ^ Hutchinson, William Thomas (1935), Cyrus Hall McCormick: Harvest, 1856-1884, vol. 2, New York: D. Appleton, The Century Company.
- ^ "Bankers Join Workmen At Mrs. McCormick's Bier -- Simplest of Services Mark Funeral Of Woman Noted for Unostentatious Charity". The Baltimore Sun. July 10, 1923. Retrieved February 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "American Experience - Chicago: City of the Century - People & Events". Pbs.org. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
- ^ The Philanthropy Hall of Fame, Nettie Fowler McCormick Archived January 17, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "McCormick Theological Seminary - Cross-Cultural Urban Reformed Ecumenical". Mccormick.edu. Archived from the original on February 24, 2007. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
- ^ "A421 List of People". Iupui.edu. Archived from the original on January 5, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
- ^ "TUSCULUM COLLEGE - News for Alumni, Parents and Friends". Tusculum.edu. Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
External links
edit- Graceland Cemetery
- Mrs. McCormick
- National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. "Mrs. Cyrus Hall McCormick." National Cyclopaedia of American Biography 31 (1931): 80–81.